The Declaration stated that men have a natural right to “Life, Liberty and pursuit of Happiness”; that Government can rule only with “the consent of the governed”; that any government may be dissolved when it fails to protect the right of the people. This theory of politics came from the British philosopher John Locke, and it is central to the Anglo-Saxon political tradition.

The 13 colonies were now “free and independent states” – but not yet one united nation. Since 1781 they were governed by the Article of Confederation, a Constitution that set up a very weak central government.

In May 1787 a convention met in Philadelphia with instruction to revise the Article of Confederation. The delegates – among whom were George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and James Madison – drafted a new and more workable Constitution. It established a stronger federal government empowered to collect taxes, conduct diplomacy, maintain armed forces and regulate foreign trade and commerce among the states.

It established a Supreme Court and Federal Courts, and it gave executive power to an elected President. It also established the principle of a “balance of power” to be maintained among the three branches of government – executive, legislative and judicial.

The Constitution was accepted in 1788. Many Americans feared that a powerful central government would trample on the liberties of the people, and in 1791 10 amendments – the Bill of Rights – were added to the Constitution. This document guaranteed freedom of religion, a free press, free speech, the right of citizens to bear arms, protection against illegal house searches, the right to a fair trial by jury and protection against “cruel and unusual punishment”.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYEfLm5dLMQ

Daily, Americans exercise their rights secured by the Constitution. Watch the video and answer the following questions:What is the most widely discussed and debated part of the Constitution?What do the first ten amendments grant every American citizen?

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