A Balance of Rights [Back to Top]
Classical republicanism refers to the idea that individuals should put the needs of the community before self-interest. In natural rights philosophy (modern liberalism), the purpose of government is to protect individual rights. The ideal government achieves and maintains a balance between the two ideas. The key word here is balance, there was no either/or intended when the framers wrote the United States Constitution. It was suggested by one of the speakers that we need to cultivate the capacity to hold contradictory ideas simultaneously and that we cannot become terrorized by dichotomies.

Checks & Balances: Maintaining Our Liberties [Back to Top]
It is important in a republic to guard against the oppression of its rulers as well as the factions within the society. In the federal system of government in America, there is a compound republic. The sovereign power given by the people is divided between the Federal and State governments. Each of these governments is subdivided into separate, distinct departments. The different governments should control each other as well as themselves.

Encroachments & Oppressions By The Representative Body [Back to Top]
In Federalist # 78, Alexander Hamilton is addressing the reasons for life tenure, salary, and the qualifications of those to serve in the judiciary department of the federal government. Hamilton explains that to expect the judges to hold their offices during good behavior follows an already established precedent in many of the state constitutions of the day. He contends that this is a barrier to the “encroachments and oppressions of the representative body. And it is the best expedient which can be devised in any government to secure a steady, upright, and impartial administration of the laws.”

Judicial Activism Undermines The Integrity Of The Constitution [Back to Top]
The Constitution of the United States was established to protect the sovereign right of citizens’ to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Inherent in the structure of the federal government was a system of checks and balances to assure that a minority would not be positioned to force their will upon a majority. Many argue that the “original intent” of those who drafted the Constitution or any subsequent laws should be taken under utmost consideration when forming any interpretation about its meaning so to uphold the framers’ intent when formulating the rule of law.

The Bill Of Rights: Its Intent & Application [Back to Top]
Alexander Hamilton is addressing miscellaneous objections to the Constitution. He reminds those who criticize it for lacking a Bill of Rights that many of the state constitutions also do not have one. However, the body of the constitution contains various provisions in favor of particular privileges and rights including the power to impeach, writ of habeas corpus, the allowance for no bill of attainder or ex post facto law, no granting of title of nobility, trial shall be by jury in the state the crime was committed within, and punishment for treason will not extend to family members of the person convicted of that crime.