Infulences on the Founding Fathers essays

Infulences on the Founding Fathers essays In his book, To Chain the Dog of War: the War Power of Congress in History and Law, Francis D. Wormuth suggests that the only two "inventions," original to American political thought, is Federalism and Judicial Review. Wormuth is absolutey correct. In fact, most ideas that now form American Government were taken from sources outside the first 13 States of America. The Founding Fathers were not alone in their political ideals and simply pieced together forms of government that fit their tastes and desires for a new government. By lookin at past forms of written law, philosophical arguments, and real-life models of effective governments, the Founding Fathers wre able to form what we now know as American Government. The Founding Fathers knew of several civilizations who knew the importance of written law and understood the importance of written law binding the ruler to the ruled. For example, by 550 BC, Greek City-States had written laws outlining their government system. Similarly, the Babylonicans followed the Code of Hammurabi and the Children of Israel lived by the Code of Moses beginning in 1300 BC. Rome also had a form of written law in 451 BC in the form of 12 tablets and the Iroquois Nation of North America established the first written constitution in America. Clearly the Founding Fathers knew the idea of written law was not new, but they saw the importance of allowing the populous know the laws and participate in a binding contract as part of citizenship. Another factor that influe4nced the Foundiing Fathers was the ideas and writings of many philosophers, both ancient and contemporary. Most of the Founding Fathers were relatively intelligent and had read the works of Plato, Aristotle, and others in their original languages. Therefore, their understanding was very real. Aristotle spent much time analyzing and studying political science and determined what he thought to be the purest forms of government. He be ...