“A Republic: If You Can Keep It”
Locke wrote of “man in a state of nature.”
He described the essentiality of liberty and its limits.
It was an important perspective for colonial Americans
As they roamed the wilderness searching for freedom
And a new life they could call their own.
Rousseau, Montesquieu, and de Tocqueville added their visions of
government
And the need for continual vigilance of private and public corruption
Sometimes created by a concentration of power and its seduction.
Heeding the warnings of these philosophers who came before,
Hamilton, Jefferson, and Madison also offered their perspectives
As they helped shape the contours of our Democracy.
Jefferson recognized the need for an “enlightened citizenry,”
Madison wrote of the necessity of constitutional government
Dependent upon institutional “checks” on “factions” in an attempt
To minimize tyranny from either the majority of the citizenry
Or the establishment of minority rule.
Hamilton was convinced that an “independent judiciary”
Was the answer to resolve governmental conflict.
But, it was Franklin who took his colleagues to school.
He reminded them that regardless of the newly crafted compact,
Its ultimate success was dependent upon the People