I have just watched The Original Intent of the [US] Constitution by Prof. Mark Stoler. This taught me some things and this essay reviews these points and looks at lessons for the UK, the EU and the rest of the world.
For so long, I have considered the US separation of powers to be the model of democratic control but what was to become the USA was governed by the Articles of Confederation which implemented a legislative government[1]; the Revolutionaries didn’t want a King/Monarch nor powerful judges as previously appointed by the King.
The Confederation was designed to protect the power of smaller states, there was no taxation without a super majority and a veto on amendment to the Articles. The weakness and reasons that they decided to revise the constitution were due to an inability to conduct an effective foreign policy, a need for a common currency, and a need for further commercial policy developments including a law of debt and foreclosure.
Two other important political theory issues drove the development of the 2 ndUS Constitution. The founding fathers did not want a democracy, they feared the tyranny of the monarch and of the mob. It was also common sense that republics had to be small, as large republics degenerated into tyrannies.
