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.ccxxxvii These two states are obviously satisfied withauthoritative political documents that fail to ground individual rights ontheoretical principles.Both Delaware and Maryland have declaration ofrights sections that closely resemble Virginia, Pennsylvania, andMassachusetts in sections, but do not include the statements aboutnatural equality and independence.Thus, whether or not such a claim isincluded is not entirely driven by whether the state is a pervasivelyslave-holding society or by regional and cultural differences.Clearly,the southern states do draft some sections of their constitutions verycarefully to authorize and protect slavery, as discussed above.But,even in the southern states, certain aspects of the nature of a humanbeing are shared across racial lines.The inviolability of trial by jury is a principle that is virtuallyunanimously held by the early American states.What does thiscommitment demonstrate about their view of human nature? First, itdemonstrates that all men are capable of deliberating.Everyone canthink rationally and draw conclusions based on facts.Second, peoplehave the ability to make conclusions that are just.They can judge andmake a distinction between justice and injustice.This ability is notperceived to be the exclusive possession of those who are intelligent,talented, or experienced.Bright people who are able to study the natureof electricity, like Franklin, and who have a multitude of talents, likeJefferson, have no advantage over a collection of common folk inhearing the facts of a criminal case and deciding what the just verdictis.While Americans realize that it is imperative for judges to beunbiased, they largely place legal verdicts in the hands of randomly-chosen commoners.Every early American constitution mentions conscience.Theconstitutions portray conscience primarily as a guide to lead eachindividual to proper expression of worship.By and large, theconstitutions presume that people will worship.Some states assert thatpeople are obliged to worship.But regardless of whether they claimthat worship is a universal duty of mankind or not, the assumption isthat people will worship and that each person is responsible forheeding well the guidance of his or her conscience. Faith, Reason, and Consent120Rights language is present in virtually every constitution (exceptSouth Carolina).Rights are those means to objectives to which anindividual is entitled.In most early American constitutions, individualsare entitled to the opportunities to make a living, move around freely,and own private property.No person, however, has a right to propertysimply, but rather the right to acquire property.No person has the rightto peace with God or eternal salvation or spiritual favor before Godsimply, but rather the right to worship God in a manner that leads tothose spiritual objectives.Thus, rights are understood as rights to andnot rights from something.They are not essentially understood to bebarriers that keep some other person or group from making them dosomething.They are not negative.In other words, they are not anexcuse to do nothing with one s life.The statement, I have the right toruin my life if I want to, communicates an understanding of the term right of which the early state constitutions know nothing.A right iswhat guarantees an individual the freedom to pursue his or her bestinterest.It is the opportunity for individuals to attain good objectivesfor themselves.The following table identifies references to certain terms andconcepts that relate to human nature in the state constitutions.Trial byjury and conscience are the only concepts mentioned by each stateconstitution. The Nature of Man in Early American State Constitutions 121TABLE 2: Human Nature in Early American State ConstitutionsVA NJ DE PA MD NC GA NY VT SC MAx x x x x x x x x x xConsciencex x x xPeople bynature freex x x x xPeople bynatureindependent/equalx x x x xJustgovernmentgrounded inpeople or by compact ccxxxviiix x x x x x x x x x xTrial by juryx x x x x x x x xRight of lifeand libertyx x x x x x x x x xRight topropertyccxxxixx x x x x x x xGoal ofhappiness andsafetyccxlx x x x x xPropertyassessment forall suffrageccxlixPropertyassessment forupper house,no assessmentfor lowerhouseccxliix x xNo propertyassessment forsuffrageccxliiicxxxivOnly Georgia and Maryland exclude explicit mention of conscience .cxxxv Constitution of New York, 1777 .cxxxvi Constitution of Virginia, 1776 .Bill of Rights, Sec.1.cxxxviiLocke is acutely aware of the importance of qualifyinghuman liberty.He defines government as the establishment of society uponcertain rules or laws, which require conformity to them and absolute liberty asthe condition whereby can do whatever he pleases. John Locke, Essay Faith, Reason, and Consent122Concerning Human Understanding.In light of those two definitions Lockeasserts, No government allows absolute liberty. I am as capable of beingcertain of the truth of this proposition as of any in the mathematics. Locke,Essay Concerning Human Understanding.(In the opening passages of TheSecond Treatise, Locke couples freedom/rights with duties i.e.the laws ofnature obliges or binds one to refrain from (and do) certain things.)cxxxviiiJefferson, The Life and Selected Writings of ThomasJefferson.Query XVIII.Notice that while Jefferson is commonly considered adeist (for example in his treatment of the New Testament Gospels) he refers tosupernatural interference in this passage, a concept that is in conflict withdeistic principles.cxxxix Constitution of Virginia, 1776 .Italics mine.cxlIbid.cxliIbid.cxliiIbid.cxliiiIbid.cxlivIbid.cxlvAnother way of saying that a right is natural or fixed is tosay that it is indubitable or inalienable. These are rights that human reasoncan deduce beyond any doubt and that cannot be dismissed under anycircumstances.cxlvi Constitution of Virginia, 1776 .Virginia s list has astrange aspect that is removed by Pennsylvania.Among a list of virtues(justice, moderation, temperance, and frugality), Virginia includes the term virtue. It is very curious that the drafter would have placed virtue among alist of virtues, unless this term is not understood to be the genus of which theother terms are a species.The easy solution is to attribute this to sloppy writingby the drafters.This author is unaware of another explanation the might stemfrom a unique usage of virtue during this period that makes this passagemore understandable.cxlviiIbid.cxlviii Constitution of New Jersey, 1776 .cxlixIbid.clIbid.cliIbid.cliiIbid.cliiiIbid [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.ccxxxvii These two states are obviously satisfied withauthoritative political documents that fail to ground individual rights ontheoretical principles.Both Delaware and Maryland have declaration ofrights sections that closely resemble Virginia, Pennsylvania, andMassachusetts in sections, but do not include the statements aboutnatural equality and independence.Thus, whether or not such a claim isincluded is not entirely driven by whether the state is a pervasivelyslave-holding society or by regional and cultural differences.Clearly,the southern states do draft some sections of their constitutions verycarefully to authorize and protect slavery, as discussed above.But,even in the southern states, certain aspects of the nature of a humanbeing are shared across racial lines.The inviolability of trial by jury is a principle that is virtuallyunanimously held by the early American states.What does thiscommitment demonstrate about their view of human nature? First, itdemonstrates that all men are capable of deliberating.Everyone canthink rationally and draw conclusions based on facts.Second, peoplehave the ability to make conclusions that are just.They can judge andmake a distinction between justice and injustice.This ability is notperceived to be the exclusive possession of those who are intelligent,talented, or experienced.Bright people who are able to study the natureof electricity, like Franklin, and who have a multitude of talents, likeJefferson, have no advantage over a collection of common folk inhearing the facts of a criminal case and deciding what the just verdictis.While Americans realize that it is imperative for judges to beunbiased, they largely place legal verdicts in the hands of randomly-chosen commoners.Every early American constitution mentions conscience.Theconstitutions portray conscience primarily as a guide to lead eachindividual to proper expression of worship.By and large, theconstitutions presume that people will worship.Some states assert thatpeople are obliged to worship.But regardless of whether they claimthat worship is a universal duty of mankind or not, the assumption isthat people will worship and that each person is responsible forheeding well the guidance of his or her conscience. Faith, Reason, and Consent120Rights language is present in virtually every constitution (exceptSouth Carolina).Rights are those means to objectives to which anindividual is entitled.In most early American constitutions, individualsare entitled to the opportunities to make a living, move around freely,and own private property.No person, however, has a right to propertysimply, but rather the right to acquire property.No person has the rightto peace with God or eternal salvation or spiritual favor before Godsimply, but rather the right to worship God in a manner that leads tothose spiritual objectives.Thus, rights are understood as rights to andnot rights from something.They are not essentially understood to bebarriers that keep some other person or group from making them dosomething.They are not negative.In other words, they are not anexcuse to do nothing with one s life.The statement, I have the right toruin my life if I want to, communicates an understanding of the term right of which the early state constitutions know nothing.A right iswhat guarantees an individual the freedom to pursue his or her bestinterest.It is the opportunity for individuals to attain good objectivesfor themselves.The following table identifies references to certain terms andconcepts that relate to human nature in the state constitutions.Trial byjury and conscience are the only concepts mentioned by each stateconstitution. The Nature of Man in Early American State Constitutions 121TABLE 2: Human Nature in Early American State ConstitutionsVA NJ DE PA MD NC GA NY VT SC MAx x x x x x x x x x xConsciencex x x xPeople bynature freex x x x xPeople bynatureindependent/equalx x x x xJustgovernmentgrounded inpeople or by compact ccxxxviiix x x x x x x x x x xTrial by juryx x x x x x x x xRight of lifeand libertyx x x x x x x x x xRight topropertyccxxxixx x x x x x x xGoal ofhappiness andsafetyccxlx x x x x xPropertyassessment forall suffrageccxlixPropertyassessment forupper house,no assessmentfor lowerhouseccxliix x xNo propertyassessment forsuffrageccxliiicxxxivOnly Georgia and Maryland exclude explicit mention of conscience .cxxxv Constitution of New York, 1777 .cxxxvi Constitution of Virginia, 1776 .Bill of Rights, Sec.1.cxxxviiLocke is acutely aware of the importance of qualifyinghuman liberty.He defines government as the establishment of society uponcertain rules or laws, which require conformity to them and absolute liberty asthe condition whereby can do whatever he pleases. John Locke, Essay Faith, Reason, and Consent122Concerning Human Understanding.In light of those two definitions Lockeasserts, No government allows absolute liberty. I am as capable of beingcertain of the truth of this proposition as of any in the mathematics. Locke,Essay Concerning Human Understanding.(In the opening passages of TheSecond Treatise, Locke couples freedom/rights with duties i.e.the laws ofnature obliges or binds one to refrain from (and do) certain things.)cxxxviiiJefferson, The Life and Selected Writings of ThomasJefferson.Query XVIII.Notice that while Jefferson is commonly considered adeist (for example in his treatment of the New Testament Gospels) he refers tosupernatural interference in this passage, a concept that is in conflict withdeistic principles.cxxxix Constitution of Virginia, 1776 .Italics mine.cxlIbid.cxliIbid.cxliiIbid.cxliiiIbid.cxlivIbid.cxlvAnother way of saying that a right is natural or fixed is tosay that it is indubitable or inalienable. These are rights that human reasoncan deduce beyond any doubt and that cannot be dismissed under anycircumstances.cxlvi Constitution of Virginia, 1776 .Virginia s list has astrange aspect that is removed by Pennsylvania.Among a list of virtues(justice, moderation, temperance, and frugality), Virginia includes the term virtue. It is very curious that the drafter would have placed virtue among alist of virtues, unless this term is not understood to be the genus of which theother terms are a species.The easy solution is to attribute this to sloppy writingby the drafters.This author is unaware of another explanation the might stemfrom a unique usage of virtue during this period that makes this passagemore understandable.cxlviiIbid.cxlviii Constitution of New Jersey, 1776 .cxlixIbid.clIbid.cliIbid.cliiIbid.cliiiIbid [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]