Natural_Rights_Movement

The Natural Rights Movement Societies change over time, and the United States was no exception. What social movement had the largest impact on American society before the Civil War' There have been many social movements throughout our short history, but what one that sets precedence over them all, was the struggle for Natural Rights. What are Natural Rights' These Rights were derived from essays of the English political philosopher John Locke, (3) who is credited as being the founder of classical liberalism that is based on a political theory of natural rights, individualism, private property ownership, constitutionalism, and limited government. He argued that Natural Laws override man-made laws. That individuals had a natural right to life, liberty, and property, and that no government, can take such rights away. That government was there to protect these rights and if violated, the people had the right to replace its govern. (1) Locke would expand on this political theory with his classical work Two Treatises of Government in 1690 also known as The Second Treatise, which emphasized this liberalist view in which he depicts the state of nature as a primitive society without government in which individuals are relatively equal, free, independent, rational beings that are driven to acquire private property. This moral principle would allow individuals to preserve their own lives and property as long as it is not to harm the lives and property of others without the interference of government. (3) To understand what Locke is conveying in a Political sense, we must consider what State all Men are naturally in, and that is said, “ a State of the perfect Freedom so as to order their Actions, and dispose of their Possessions, and Persons as they think fit, within the bounds of the Law of Nature, without asking leave, or depending on the Will of any other Man. “ (3) A State also of Equality, no one having more than another and that all men are born into with the same advantages of Nature and should be equal to one another unless it is consented by ones will and by evidence have an undoubted right to sovereignty. “ That Man also have a Right to a State of Liberty, to dispose of his Person or Possessions, yet he has not the Liberty to destroy ones self, or as any Creature in his Possession and that this State of Nature has a Law of Nature to govern it which is reserved for everyone. “ This Law also teaches Mankind, who all being equal and independent, shall not harm another in his Life, Health, Liberty, or Possessions. (3) As that all Men may be restrained from invading others Rights, and from doing hurt to one another, John Locke also writes that “ for Peace and Preservation of all Mankind, there be an Execution of this Law of Nature. “ Stating that “ put into every Mans Hands, everyone has a right to punish the transgressors (offenders) of that Law to such a Degree, as to hinder its violation as necessary and render every offense that maybe committed, also be punished equally in a Commonwealth. “ (3) In referring to this judiciary of nature, John Locke explains that there is often want of power to back and support the sentence, and give it due Execution as Men being impartial to themselves, as not to let passion and revenge carry them to far that makes the punishment too severe or dangerous, as it would be an Injustice in itself. In that who is “ Judge and Executioner of the Law “ in society be an established law by a Legislative Power enacted by people, which is to govern even the legislative itself for the preservation of society and that it consist in the public good and everyone in it. (3) How would this political ideology cause one, if not the biggest Social Movement in American History' One has to look at some key events that would transpire in colonial America. As settlers migrated to the eastern seaports of America from Europe, that the British Empire would dominate, naturally the colonies of this New World would grow as well. The colonists insisted they should have the same Fundamental Rights as Englishmen and they too, were beneficiaries of the Magna Carta. This Great Charter, signed in 1215 under duress by King John, legally limited the king’s power and was a clear statement on due process, meaning that no one could be punished by the government, unless certain fair procedures were followed. In addition to this, American colonists looked backed to more recent English laws. One law allowed for a writ of habeus corpus, referring to knights in 1626 that had been imprisoned by the King and had challenged the legalities for their incarceration. They demanded a written confirmation, saying the King himself was subject to the law and had to answer to it just the same as every other individual. A couple of years later, a Petiton of Rights was passed, with the idea that the rule of Law reigned supreme over even the highest power of the land and guaranteed that the Monarchy could not levy any taxes without the consent of Parliament. It also outlawed the quartering of soldiers in private homes. This would be a blatent contradiction in the events to come in colonial America. (1) When the Seven Year War (French and Indian War to Americans) ended in 1763, the British accrued an astounding debt in defeating the French, so English Parliament devised laws on taxing Americans and put restrictions on their freedoms. The colonists were infuriated with the tyrannical abuse of government that Parliament bestowed upon them. The British saw them as impoverished second- class citizens. One crucial event happened in 1765, when English Parliament implemented the Stamp Act, which imposed taxes on all legal documents, stamps, newspapers, and books, pamphlets, playing cards. It also taxed any degrees from universities and from learning any trade or profession.. British clergy enforced this by entering homes of the colonists without evidence in search of violations of this act. Americans felt that this was without warrant and unjust. In March of the same year Parliament would pass The Quartering Act to address the concerns of troop deployment to protect the colonies against threats by remaining French and Indians. Under the terms of this legislation, each colonial assembly was required to to provide for the basic needs of soldiers stationed within its borders, which included food, clothing, and shelter in ones own house. This was a clear invasion of privacy. The colonists believed that they needed to have legislation and some sort of power in government to preserve their rights. This infringement on American colonists rights, would become a huge precursor leading up to the Revolutionary War. As tensions escalated between American colonists and British Parliament, the patriots would rebel and boycott English goods. were establishing a government and legislation of their own. Several more Intolerable Acts were passed in 1774 by the Parliament once again which limited political and geographical freedom of the colonies. These laws were passed mainly to punish the people of Massachusetts for the infamous Boston Tea Party of 1773. The Boston Port Bill would close the port as compensation to the East India Company for the tea that was destroyed. Since these actions were taken against Massachusetts, Americans felt that this could happen to any colonial charter. This outcome would create more oppositon to British Law. The Patriots would establish the First Continental Congress and eventually declare independence from the Monarch. War was imminent. As the Conflict between the Royal Crown and the Colonies were waging, the Americans were forming a government that would echo John Locke’s ideology. As taken in George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights from 1774, “ All men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety. “ In 1776, another fellow Virginian, Thomas Jefferson, greatly influenced by John Locke and his theory of rights, would incorporate these ideas in the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson wrote that, “ We hold these truths to be self evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with inherent and inalienable rights; that among these rights are life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness: that to secure these rights, governments, are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter it or abolish it. “ After America won its Independence from England in 1783, the colonists would adopt a new form of government, one without a Monarchy. This New Republic sought to elaborate on the Articles of Confederation that was established in 1781. This document, that which individual rights were in the hands of state governments was created by delegates who hated the abuses of The British Crown and Parliament not realizing that this confederation was extremely weak on a national level, it did however guarantee each state’s sovereignty and independence. To discourage states from becoming rogue and preserve individual rights as a whole, Congress and state delegates would sign the Constitution in 1787. James Madison, rightly regarded as “ the Father of the Constitution, “ would later introduce a Bill of Rights in 1789 with much scrutiny. Many Federalists saw little evidence in drawing up a separate Bill of Rights. They felt that the Constitution already complimented their civil liberties and because majorities could ignore these rights and enact unjust laws. Though it was deemed unnecessary at the time and after many debates, the Federalists, soon learned that the omission of a Bill of Rights would cause many problems. Anti-Federalists detailed that specific rights needed explicit protection: such as freedom of the press, prohibitions on excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment, the right to petition, free elections, and trial by jury. The deciding factors were that a Bill of Rights would educate the public on the fundamentals of of free government and that it would counteract illegal acts of the government. After much debate, a list of proposed Amendments were ratified 1791. After exploring the origins of Natural Rights and how it has evolved through generations, I would conclude that this social movement had the largest impact, not only in American political government, but how it has shaped the entire world to this today. Bibliography 1. Zacharias, Gary, ed. And Gary Zacharias, ed. The Bill of Rights. Bonnie Szumski. 2003. Pg. 5-12. I used this source as a reference to better compare the Natural Rights with the Bill of rights. I feel that this is a good source for the information gathered, because this list all the Amendents 2. Labunski, Richard. James Madison and the Struggle for the Bill of Rights. Oxford University Press, Inc. 2006. Pg. 265- 268. Richard Labunski is a professor in the school of journalism and telecommunication at the University of Kentucky. Previously taught at the University of Washington and Penn State. PhD. in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara and JD. From Seattle school of Law. Given Richard Labunski’s background, I used this source to refer to James Madison proposed Amendents. 3. Gerber, Mitchel, ed. Sources: Notable Selections in American Government. Duskin Publishing Group / Brown & Benchmark Publishers. 1996. Pg. 3 – 4. Mitchel Gerber is a professor of political science at Southeast Missouri State University, where he teaches American government and political theory course. B.A. in political science from Brooklyn College, M.A. in political science from Columbia University and a PhD. In political science from New York University. This source was useful to my assignment, due to the listed origins of Natural Rights. 4. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition; 7/1/2010, p1-1, 1p Copyright of Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition is the property of Columbia University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) Accession Number: 39013439 Database: Academic Search Premier 5. Source: Stamp Act of 1765; 2009, p1, 23p Document Type: Article Geographic Terms: UNITED States GREAT Britain Accession Number: 21212326 Database: Academic Search Premier 6. Wills, Gary. Inventing America: Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence p.240, p. 248. P.374. Gary Wills is a journalist, trained as a classicist ( Ph.D ) ‘ who wrote the Nixon Apostes. He isAdjunct Professor of Humanities at John Hopkin’s University.I used this source for obvious reasons.