As the nation approaches a somewhat divided celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, another significant milestone has quietly arrived. Today marks the 239th anniversary of the presentation of the Bill of Rights in the U.S. House of Representatives.
This should be a day we celebrate every year. The Bill of Rights stands as one of the most crucial documents in human history. James Madison, a key founder and future president, presented it to Congress on June 8, 1787.
This central idea behind the Bill of Rights is to unite all branches of government with the primary goal of safeguarding individual rights from the tyranny of the majority.
Madison’s concerns emphasized that prior to the Constitutional Convention, he wrote about the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation. One major issue was that dominant majorities in each state enacted unfair laws that infringed on minority rights. He saw the persecution of religious dissidents in Virginia and became a staunch advocate for the Virginia Religious Freedom Ordinance.
During the Constitutional Convention, Madison pushed for key principles like separation of powers, checks and balances, bicameralism, and federalism as safeguards for freedom. However, he lost one crucial aspect of his proposal: the right of the people to challenge state laws meant to prevent tyranny.
Today, we’re far from Madison’s original vision and the Founders’ intended safeguards. Neither Madison nor anyone else could compel the American populace and its government to adhere strictly to the Constitution’s letter and spirit. The founders only set down their aspirations in constitutions, laws, and precedents, hoping that future generations would honor them.
Regrettably, that’s often not the case.
By 1840, just fifty years into the American experiment, Alexis de Tocqueville predicted the emergence of “soft despotism” in the U.S. He feared that an obsession with equality might undermine commitments to natural law, rights, and self-governance.
Tocqueville warned that such sovereignty would hold individuals in a strong grip, enveloping society in a “dense, uniform network of regulations.” He noted that this power would not necessarily oppress outright but instead would “hinder, stifle, weaken, and extinguish,” ultimately reducing the state to “a herd of timid and industrious creatures, led by a shepherd government.”
He cautioned that this gentle form of oppression could manifest “in the very shadow of popular sovereignty.”
This is the predicament that America faces today.
Tocqueville foresaw that people might willingly relinquish their sovereignty for fleeting economic security and government resources. In doing so, they would sacrifice the qualities that elevate nations: autonomy, protection against majority coercion, voluntary affiliation, free market enterprise, and, ultimately, respect for each individual as a unique person.
If we are to pull America back from the soft despotism that has tainted the experiment, and from the harsher totalitarianism that seems to be on the rise, we must revive our reverence for the Bill of Rights and the foundational vision.
But merely having documents and laws can’t rectify this. To turn things around, we need to eliminate the allure that drives these issues: the power of majorities at all levels of government to take ownership over the property, freedom, and lives of others.
Interestingly, the U.S. may be edging closer to a possible resolution. This could very well stem from the national government’s diminishing ability to fund promises made over the past century and a half.
Entitlements like Social Security, food assistance, Medicaid, Medicare, and various federal housing subsidies are becoming increasingly unsustainable. We may be teetering on the edge of a debt crisis, especially as high-interest rates and inflation strain the economy and diminish the government’s revenue base.
Currently, federal debt is surpassing 100% of the nation’s gross domestic product, and it’s escalating alarmingly. With total debts nearing $40 trillion and projections suggesting it could rise to $55 trillion by 2031—and possibly hit $77 trillion by 2036—these figures represent a staggering upward trend.
Meanwhile, both federal and state governments continue to undermine individual rights, freedom of association, free enterprise, election integrity, and other essential protections.
This situation stems from majority tyranny. We have less than five years to prevent a federal financial collapse and the ensuing social and economic havoc that could follow. It’s hard to predict what disasters might ensue.
History doesn’t provide much comfort. What comes after our flawed but sturdy constitutional framework may differ vastly from what our ancestors envisioned in the 1700s. Nations built on the principles of individual rights and personal freedom can, and often do, vanish.
This is the reality Americans must confront as we head into yet another election season—a critical moment for reflecting on our nation’s founding values.
