A conscious, deliberate act of creating a system of government.  

Ultimate political power within a jurisdiction. (the "final say")

·         A tyrant or dictator often goes to extremes to maintain power.

tyranny--revolution--anarchy--competing groups

                Most people throughout human history have been caught in the cycle of the human predicament.   

: Actions are motivated by standards, ideals, or concerns beyond our own self-interest. (Altruism)

Motivations should not be confused with outcomes.

a.       Self-interest may lead to good outcomes.

                b.    Virtue may lead to bad outcomes. 

Settlements based on religious or moral values mostly interested in being an example to Europe or living according to their own moral liberty. 

Plymouth Pilgrims (Separatists)

John Winthrop

*The Lord will bless them if they do what he says and he will break out in wrath if they don't.

                The Body of Christ: each person is part of the body of Christ. Everyone has a role.

                                *Members are knit together by love (the ligament which ties all parts together)

                                *Governance through mutual consent

                                *Purpose: to improve their lives and other's lives through service to the LOrd. 

Puritans.  

Massachusetts Bay

John Winthrop

Two conceptions of liberty:

Ancient Liberty: Freedom to participate in gov and community life.  freedom from gov or the arbitrary will of others.

Modern Liberty: freedom from gov or the arbitrary will of others.  The ability to spend your time the way you want to. 

He said we can't ever go back to ancient liberty because of three reasons:

1.  Size

2. Slaves (citizens had a little more free time)

3. Commerce 

So, he said that "it is necessary...to combine to two together" to get Political Liberty.

Locke's work arguing that true political authority comes not from God or precedent but from the people.

1. In a state of Nature there is no governement (no divine right of kings)

2. Men create a social contract.

3. Government's only job is to protect people's natural rights.

4. Government exists by consent of the governed.

5. If Government violates the social contract, the people have the right and duty to revolt.  

A set of metalegal principles developed by the English legal system as a way of distinguishing whether a particular law supported freedom or not.  

Michael Millane

1. Generality:when laws are made they must apply to broad categories of people and must not single out individuals or groups for special treatment. 

2. Prospectivity: laws must apply to future action and not past action

3. Publicity: laws must be known and certain so that everyone knows of their existence. 

4. Concent: Laws must be generally acceptable to those who must live by them.  

5. Due Process:that states when laws are applied they must be administered impartially  

a) Efficiency:  produce the most goods at the lowest cost

b) Equity:  distribute goods and rewards fairly. 

c) Freedom:  preserve liberty

1. Command/Planning: power and authority of the government to create cooperation and resolve conflicting interests as well as allocate resources and set prices. (Mercantilism, Communism)
2. Market: Free exchange creates cooperation, and market determined prices create incentives that allocate resources. (Capitalism)

• Economic success is based on how much gold and silver is in king's treasury
• Used taxes and subsidies to encourage exports and discourage imports
• kept employers and key industries from moving to other countries
• regulated the economic activities of the colonies to support the empire

• 1776: The Wealth of Nations
• Critique of mercantilism and an explanation of the operation of the market system.
• Professor of Moral Philosphy and logic at Glasgow University
• Known as the father of Modern economics

• Value of Markets
• Self-interest as motivation
• Specialization
• Invisible Hand

• Characterized by free and open exchange
• Through self-interest people seek out exchanges that would be most beneficial to them. 
• The Miracle of Exchange

• The Miracle of Exchange
• Scarcity:
• Opportunity Cost: the cost of the best foregone alternative. 
• Human Nature assumptions

• Adam Smith and "division of labor" 
• Focus your resources on producing only a few goods because it lowers costs and increases efficiency. 
• Comparative Advantage: Every individual, group, or nation is a low opportunity cost producer of something. (How we decide what to specialize in)
• Specialize in producing the goods for which you have the lowest opportunity cost. 

1. Full employment of resources
2. Widest possible gains from exchange
3. Economic Interdependence

Competition: no buyer or seller nor

group of buyers or sellers controls the

price in exchange.

• Helps keep self-interest in check
•  Helps economies become more efficient
•  Disperses gains from exchange widely

As the price of a particular good or

service rises, people will buy less of that

good or service.

As the price of a particular good or

service rises, people will produce more

of that good or service.

The point where buyers wish to

purchase the same amount that sellers

wish to sell.

• Efficiency

• Equity

• Freedom

• Keeps government limited

• Facilitates individual pursuit of

happiness

1. Prevent Coercion and Fraud
2. Provide money
3. Provide Basic Transportation and Communication
4. Define Property Rights
5. Enforce the Exchange Agreements

1. All men are created equal
2. We are endowed by our Creator with certain rights, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
3. The purpose of gov is to secure these rights
4. Gov receive power from the consent of the governed.
5. Whenever gov's do not fulfill their basic purposes, the people may alter or abolish their government.

• Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes.
• Evidence of repeated injury.
• Other means tried first: warned...reminded...
• If all else fails, they have a duty to throw off gov.  

• Equality
• Natural rights
• the purpose of gov
• Power to the people (consent)
• Right (or even duty) of revolution
• The case against the King
• Free and Independent States
• A new nation?

• The idea of America: The declaration contains powerful ideas about equality, freedom, and democracy. 
• Idea vs. Reality: While we have sometimes (or even often) fallen short of them, the Declaration announces our nation's highest principles and aspirations. 
• It is a Powerful Tool: Those principles have motivated considerable political action.
• It can Motivate Us: It represents a standard toward which we can aspire and to which others can hold us. 

• 1775:

• Battles of Lexington

and Concord

• Ride of Paul

Revere

• Battle of Bunker Hill

• Washington assumes

command of the

Continental Army

• British largely driven from New Jersey

• Renewed optimism about the war effort

• Increased enlistment in army

• French government releases supplies

for the war effort

• Difficult winters at Morristown, NJ and

Valley Forge

• Defeats (Fort Ticonderoga, Brandywine,

Germantown, Charleston, Savannah,

and many others)

• Lack of funding/supplies from Congress

• Mutiny or attempted mutiny