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Us Constitution

A case for the connection of America's
colonial and revolutionary religious and political
experiences to the basic principles of the Constitution can
be readily made. One point in favor of this conclusion is the
fact that most Americans at that time had little beside their
experiences on which to base their political ideas. This is
due to the lack of advanced schooling among common
Americans at that time. Other points also concur with the
main idea and make the theory of the connection plausible.
Much evidence to support this claim can be found in the
wording of the Constitution itself. Even the Preamble has an
important idea that arose from the Revolutionary period.
The first line of the Preamble states, "We the People of the
United States..." This implies that the new government that
was being formed derived its sovereignty from the people,
which would serve to prevent it from becoming corrupt and
disinterested in the people, as the framers believed Britain's
government had become. If the Bill of Rights is considered,
more supporting ideas become evident. The First
Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom could have
been influenced by the colonial tradition of relative religious
freedom. This tradition was clear even in the early colonies,
like Plymouth, which was formed by Puritan dissenters
from England seeking religious freedom. Roger Williams,
the proprietor of Rhode Island, probably made an even
larger contribution to this tradition by advocating and
allowing complete religious freedom. William Penn also
contributed to this idea in Pennsylvania, where the Quakers
were tolerant of other denominations. In addition to the
tradition of religious tolerance in the colonies, there was a
tradition of self-government and popular involvement in
government. Nearly every colony had a government with
elected representatives in a legislature, which usually made
laws largely without interference from Parliament or the
king. Jamestown,...