The Birth of the Republican Form of Government
Protecting Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (Illustrated)
Stephen L. Corrigan
ISBN 978-1-63630-219-5 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-63630-220-1 (Digital)
Copyright 2020 Stephen L. Corrigan
All rights reserved
First Edition
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Table of Contents
Introduction
W hen the Protestant colonies in America, declared their Independence in 1776, the King of England was governing the people by using a code of common law made over the centuries by kings and their courts. The men of the thirteen colonies, however, believed the liberty found in the Gospel of the New Testament gave them the right to separate from England and the code of common law. As Protestants, they believed all men were created equal with no man having authority over another unless by his consent. They believed the King and his courts did not have the authority to govern every aspect of their lives.
As Christians, they believed the Laws of Nature and of Natures God were written on the hearts and minds of all mankind naturally. These natural laws told them how to treat their neighbor and how not to use their property. These laws defined their liberty. They believed these laws gave to all mankind two unique capacities regardless of how much money one had, where he or she lived on earth, or their color of skin.
The founders created a unique form of republic based upon these two capacities. Being unique meant it could not be compared to any other form of republic. They also created a new form of democracy for the republic. Their elected leaders would no longer be their masters but their servants.
When God created man, He designed him to think in pictures not words. Because the American republic is the only nation to recognize the two capacities given to all mankind by God, the author came to the conclusion he had to draw illustrations to explain the context of the two capacities and the role each capacity played in the structure of the American republic and its form of government. The role of each capacity is illustrated throughout the book. These roles are the fundamental principles of Truth this nation was founded upon and cannot be changed by any branch of the government.
Because all Truth is the manifestation of limits placed upon nature and man by God, the author decided to accomplish his task by using mechanical illustrations to represent a specific law. Law, when drawn mechanically, can only be drawn one way.
He has divided the book into three sections. Each section has a mechanical illustration that describes the context of a fundamental law or principle used by the founders when creating this republic and its levels of government. The first section describes the context of the fundamental principles found in the Laws of Nature. These principles of liberty provide the foundation for the two capacities of all citizens in the new republic. The second illustrates how these fundamental principles are represented in the design of The Great Seal of the United States. The third uses mechanical illustrations to explain the context of the fundamental principles and terms used in each stage of development of the new republic and its levels of governments.
The author uses the timeline found in the first Constitution of the State of New York to explain the power the people had to control their government after joining the Republic. It illustrates the power the people had using their two capacities. The people of New York, for example, established a requirement concerning any law made to govern them. It was the first example of how the people of New York used their sovereign capacity, as members of the Republic, to control the government they were about to create.
This fundamental principle or rule for law applies to all state lawmakers in every state. It is the requirement for all law made under a republican form of government. Because it was declared in the Declaration as a fundamental principle of the people, in their sovereign capacity, it is a rule of law to be applied to all lawmakers and does not have to be declared again by the people of a given state to remain in effect.
This timeline also represents the mindset of the people in every state united as one people. Each person, as a member of the new republic, is equal in standing as a citizen. Each person, being a member of the republic and under the laws of liberty defining their freedom, can exercise both capacities at all times as a citizen regardless of their origin or the color of their skin.
The Laws of Nature and of Natures God Illustrated
T he following is taken from the Declaration of Independence. It states,
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Natures God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governedthat whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to Affect their Safety and Happiness.
Under the New Testament, our founders believed God created all men as equals and gave to each the gift of life. When God gave each man the gift of life, He also gave him the ability to keep his life. Being afraid is a gift from God and is the only motivation to get man to act. This motivation is referred to as self-love. It is the foundation for self-government. When man sees a threat to his life, his fear causes him to act and resist any actions that he sees are a threat to his life or freedom. Because our founders feared God more than they feared man, they believed this ability would keep them honest when honoring their pledge to their fellow citizens.
Our founders were Christians who were Protestant concerning their political and religious stand concerning authority. They recognized Gods laws as being supreme. They were against any human authority that they could not control. They used Gods Laws of Nature to establish an internal standard of conduct for all citizens. This pledge to follow Gods Commandments recorded in the Declaration created an internal law, which resulted in a common conscience among all adults in the new republic.
They believed all men were created equal by God and that He wrote His Laws in their minds and hearts. He then gave to each individual the ability to discriminate between right and wrong based upon those Laws. They referred to this new sense as a common sense because it was common among all men.
This common conscience guaranteed every adult would have the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It gave every person in the new republic a new sense of security, concerning his neighbors and a common purpose to keep that security alive.
