45. American Journalists (Jefferson, Payne, Franklin)

The development of political and legal thought in the United States of America was most intense during the period of the struggle for independence and the formulation and adoption of the US Constitution, i.e. during the second half of the eighteenth century. The most prominent representatives of the political and legal thought of this period can be combined into two subgroups. The first group includes the most consistent supporters of the liberation war of the North American colonies, the democratic republic, the rights and freedoms of citizens, the independence of the states and the sovereignty of the people (B. Franklin, T. Payne, T. Jefferson). The second group consists of the centralist federalists (J. Adams, A. Hamilton, J. Madison).

Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) is an American encyclopedic scholar who in 1754 came up with the idea of ​​a military-political union of the English colonies in North America. He is one of the authors of the articles of the confederation of 1781, the Declaration of Independence and the Draft Federal Constitution. He is the author of a number of works on constitutionalism, in particular the Historical Sketch of the Constitution and the Government Authority of Pennsylvania (1759), and other political and legal problems. He was one of the first to emphasize the development of a separate political science. It was he who became one of the founders and the first president of the Society for Political Studies, whose task was to improve the knowledge of public administration and develop political science in their interaction.

Thomas Paine (Paine), 1737-1809 - enlightener, one of the most popular writers of the period of the American revolution. He owns such works as Human Rights (1791), Epoch of Reason (1795) and others. In his works he puts and justifies the idea of ​​American independence, emphasizing that the cause of America, to a large extent, is the business of the whole society, since the struggle for independence is a struggle for the natural rights of man, against despotism and the usurpation of power. Important in his work is the idea of ​​the separation of society and state power. Payne emphasized that they differ not only in their role, but also in their origin, since society is created on the basis of human needs, and the government is based on human deficiencies. Society, in any case, he stressed, is a blessing, and state power, even the best, is only a necessary evil. And if the decrees of conscience were clear, definite and respected by all, people would not need legislation and, accordingly, state power. Payne bases his ideas, as he himself emphasized, on the "law of nature" and sees the goal of state power in ensuring the freedom and security of citizens. Payne believed that the birth and existence of power is based solely on the consent of those who govern it. He divides all forms of government into two types: government on the basis of elections and representation and government on the basis of inheritance law. The first is the republic, the second is the monarchy and aristocracy. These forms are different and opposite, as they are based on two different principles: reason and ignorance. Since state activity will require talent and abilities, and they are not inherited, it is obvious that only the republic is fully based on the mind.

Considering human rights, Payne emphasized that they are not only a property of a person’s social life, but also the principle of state power. Only the existence of human rights ensures the rapid progress of society, and they are necessary, as a principle for the exercise of state power, of every civilized nation. Summarizing the American experience, Payne noted that the flame ignited from a small spark in America, that is, the idea of ​​human rights, the idea of ​​freedom, will spread from nation to nation. A person acquires an awareness of his rights in the process of properly ensuring his own interests and needs, discovering each time that the power and possibilities of despotism are rooted only in the fear of finding him some resistance, and therefore, in order to "be free, you just have to want it.

An important place in Paine's work is occupied by the idea of ​​freedom of thought, the struggle against religious dogmatism. He emphasized that the right to one’s own opinion is a fundamental human right. He who denies this right to others turns into a slave to his present thought, since he loses himself of the right to change it in the future.

Thomas Jefferson (Jefferson), 1743-1826 - an outstanding statesman and public figure, representative of the radical democratic movement in American political thought. His most significant work is the "Notes on the State of Virginia" (1785), which analyzes the state structure of this state, and most The Declaration of Independence (1776) is known. He is also the author of the law establishing religious freedom (1777).