The Founding Fathers risked comfort to come up with the greatest nation in the world. These were diverse people with varied intellectual capabilities, but tied together in their resolve to achieve American liberty. This is evident in the Declaration of Independence that announces freedom for the American people. The Founding Fathers intended to have a form of government and economy that had the consent of the governed. Therefore, their main intention for America was freedom. The American people were to have the major say on the matters of running their affairs, meaning that the form of government was not to have more power over the subject. At the same time,the Founding Fathersforesaw an economy that allowed people to undertake their daily businesses with limited interference or control from the government.
Before the Declaration of Independence, the system of government entailed an authoritarian monarchy rule by the queen. According to Gaustad & Roger (12-14),such a system did not allow Americans to undertake their businesses with freedom because orders came from the UK. On the same note, the people had no authority to replace leadership, in case of dissent. Any opposition met the full force of the law, with many people losing their lives in the process. It is important to appreciate the sacrifice the Founding Fathers made in opposing the oppression in order to gain independence for America. The Declaration of Independence as penned by Thomas Jeffersonmarked the turning point to all Americans, challenging the fact that Kings had absolute authority. Americans were free to fight for their rights at all costs, which they successfully did.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Original Design
According to the Founding Fathers, the system ofgovernance should be different from the Kingdom system. As per their intention, people should never beg the government for their rights; instead, the governed should give consent to the government. America was to become a land of freedom and unlimited opportunities. The government was never to interfere with the operations of the people. The major thing the Founding Fathers never wanted was the intrusion of a central system of governance (Gaustad & Roger 12-14). In this way, the people would be free to exercise their abilities to innovate and prosper.
However, the unlimited freedom of the Americans would allow the people to develop their abilities without certain controls. This means that all Americans could exercise freedom in their pursuit of happiness using any means possible. The draft by the Founding Fathers did not consider the extreme ways in which people would go in their pursuit of happiness. Absolute freedom for the people was a recipe for the disaster of the country, owing to the fact that it would lead to the abuse by certain elements. On the same note, their assumption of absolute freedom and limited control by the government did not capture instances of the abuse of rights. The fact that America is one of the developed nations with much freedomhas led to some of the social problems in the country (Spalding 6). The levels of crime, as well as other societal ills, are on the increase because of the freedom crafted by the Founding Fathers.
How ChangesHaveHelped or Hurt the Intentions of the Founding Fathers
Soon after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, political leaders saw the need to come up with various amendments in order to put into perspective some of the parts of the constitution. These amendments resulted in the changes of certain aspects, one of them being the Bill of Rights. These rights have helped in ensuring certain order in the extent people can exercise their rights. Over the years,the government has ensured the necessary control to give direction on the freedom established by the Founding Fathers. It is important to note that the constitutional changes haveredefined theAmerican freedom as intended by the Founding Fathers. Some of the changes seem to have diluted the intentions of the Founding Fathers, whereas other changes have worked to strengthen the realintention (Owens 718). The current threat from various issues such as extremism and crime has led to the need to come up with constitutional amendments in order to secure the country. On the same note, the changes have ensured that the intended freedom is entrenched in the constitution.
Economic Consequences
The intention of the Founding Fathers has been changed by the various amendments and legislations. The drafters of the American constitution wanted a nation that offered all the people full potential to do business and prosper. However, the changes by the legislators have led to some of the laws that limit the people. For instance, government control has been on the increase, making it difficult to achieve individual liberty as intended by the Founding Fathers. Another aspect is connected with the Federal Government’s decision to take resources away from successful people in order to spend themon those with scarcity (Owens 717). The problem comes when such a form of governance leads to the reoccurrence of the same situation, thus limiting the progress of people. In the name of security concern, individuals are nolonger free to associate, meet, and express themselves. It seems that power to govern has been taken away from the governed. Therefore, economic growth has reduced because of the various forms of control on the part of the government.
Works Cited
Gaustad, Edwin & Roger Williams.Concise Biography of an Early American Champion of
Church-state Separation. Oxford University Press, 2007.
Owens, Erik. “Taking the ‘Public’ Out of Our Schools: The Political, Constitutional and Civic
Implications of Private School Vouchers.” Journal of Church and State, vol. 44, no. 4, 2002, pp. 717-747.
Spalding, Matthew. America’s Founders and the Principles of Foreign Policy: Sovereign
Independence, National Interests, and the Cause of Liberty in the World.The Heritage Foundation, 2010.