The Founders on Civic Participation
The Boston Tea Party: December 16, 1773
The Bill of Rights Institute
Charlotte, NC
September 30, 2008
Artemus Ward
Department of Political Science
Northern Illinois University
http://polisci.niu.edu/polisci/faculty/ward
U.S. Constitution: Preamble
• “We the People of the United
States, in Order to form a more
perfect Union, establish Justice,
insure domestic Tranquility,
provide for the common defence,
promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of
Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity, do ordain and establish
this Constitution for the United
States of America.”
• Does this sentence merely
explain the meaning of the
document or is there an ongoing,
instructive component?
Do the Framers Matter?
George Washington was
sworn in as the nation's first
president on April 30, 1789,
on the balcony of Federal Hall
in New York. The mural
depicts (from left to right)
Robert R. Livingston,
chancellor of the state of New
York, administering the oath;
Secretary of the Senate
Samuel Otis holding the Bible;
George Washington, with his
hand upraised; and Vice
President John Adams.
• We will discuss how some members of the founding
generation thought about civic participation.
• What did they mean by education, voting, knowledge
of current affairs, and public service?
• Can we apply their ideals to American society today?
John Adams on Education
• “Wisdom and knowledge, as well
as virtue, diffused generally among
the body of the people being
necessary for the preservation of
their rights and liberties; and as
these depend upon spreading the
opportunities and advantages of
education in various parts of the
country, and among the different
orders of the people, it shall be the
duty of legislators and magistrates
in all future periods of this
commonwealth to cherish the
interests of literature and the
sciences.” – John Adams, The
Constitution of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, 1779
• What did Adams mean by
“spreading the opportunities”?
Alexander Hamilton on Voting
• "A share in the sovereignty
of the state, which is
exercised by the citizens at
large, in voting at elections
is one of the most important
rights of the subject, and in
a republic ought to stand
foremost in the estimation
of the law." --Alexander
Hamilton, 1784 editorial as
Phocion
• What did Hamilton mean by
“a share in the sovereignty
of the state”?
Jefferson on Attention to Public Affairs
• "Cherish, therefore, the spirit
of our people, and keep alive
their attention. If once they
become inattentive to the
public affairs, you and I, and
Congress and Assemblies,
judges and governors, shall all
become wolves. It seems to be
the law of our general nature."
- Thomas Jefferson to Edward
Carrington, January 16, 1787
• What are the consequences to
an “inattentive” public?
• How can the public’s
“attention” to “public affairs” be
cultivated?
James Wilson on Public Service
• "Need I infer, that it is the duty of every
citizen to use his best and most
unremitting endeavours for preserving it
[the Constitution] pure, healthful, and
vigorous? For the accomplishment of
this great purpose, the exertions of no
one citizen are unimportant. Let no one,
therefore harbour, for a moment, the
mean idea, that he is and can be of no
value to his country: let the contrary
manly impression animate his soul.
Every one can, at many times, perform,
to the state, useful services; and he,
who steadily pursues the road of
patriotism, has the most inviting
prospect of being able, at some times,
to perform eminent ones." – James
Wilson, Independence Day speech,
July 4, 1788
• What “useful services” should citizens
undertake?
James Madison on Knowledge
• "Knowledge will
forever govern
ignorance; and a
people who mean to
be their own
governors must arm
themselves with the
power which
knowledge gives." -James Madison to
W.T. Barry, August 4,
1822
• How can the “people”
“arm themselves” with
knowledge?
Conclusion
• The framers of the Constitution recognized that
civic engagement was crucial for America.
• Do the American people take seriously their
responsibility for education, voting, knowledge
of current affairs, and public service?
• What can be done, either in the public or private
sphere, to promote these responsibilities?