founding fathers

[ForLibertyFight]

Can I say that the founding fathers formed our country on Libertarian views? Are there any good quotes or articles? thank you

[USPatriot36]

Well it is based upon Liberty! To me, Libertarian implies agreement with the Libertarian party. And I am afraid the Libertarian party does not embrace the Constitution. They tend to think of 'no government should....' which implies to me that the people in California want to tell the people in Georgia how they should run their city governments. It also reads to me like they want to tell the people in Bora Bora how they should run their lands also.

[Chester Copperpot]

Can I say that the founding fathers formed our country on Libertarian views? Are there any good quotes or articles? thank you

I would say that is accurate, with perhaps some exceptions.. but overall yes. The Constitution is a good example as is the articles of confederation before it.


I cant think of any quotes off the top of my head other than the Constitution guarantees each state a Republican form of government.

Here is a quote you might use.

Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding on what to have for dinner - Ben Franklin.

[hard@work]

Libertarians go back to the philosophies the founders had fought for, not the other way around.

;-)

[drpiotrowski]

Yes. The founders of the country were generally strong believers in the philosophy of "classic liberalism." Classic liberalism champions the idea that the only duty of the government is to protect the rights ot the individual. Libertarianism takes it's roots in this ideology.

As far as good quotes -- there are tons of them. The majority of popular quotes from Benjamen Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the rest of the group deal heavily with the ideas of liberty and rights.

The works of John Locke (especially on social contract theory and natural rights), as well as Voltaire and Adam Smith, are the main foundations for the "classic liberalism" ideology of the founders.

The Federalist Papers gives a good idea of what the founders meant when they wrote the constitution (it's the best way to beat the "different interpretations" or "living document" arguments of anti-constitutionalists).