In the 1770s and 80s, a revolution was fought for the cause of liberty. The Founding Fathers believed that there was no other solution to ending the tyranny of Great Britain. As such, in 1776, they penned the Declaration of Independence and announced that they were free from the power of King George’s hand.

As we all know, the colonists won their war - the revolutionaries secured their Independence when General Cornwallis was defeated at Yorktown in October 1781 and the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. The Patriots put their words into actions and proved that they meant what they said - they wanted Independence and they were willing to die for it. They lived out Patrick Henry’s inspiring proclamation - “give me liberty or give me death!”

But in the summer of 1787 something changed from the Revolution mindset.

The Articles of Confederation that created the first U.S. “government”, didn’t pan out all too well. There were many defects that left the confederacy in question. As such, a delegation met in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 to amend the Articles and to try to save the sinking ship.

Rather than try to patch the problematic Articles, the Constitutional Convention designed a brand new government from the ground up. The solution these men produced is the greatest political document in the history of mankind. They brilliantly designed a government with obvious preventive measures to ensure a tyrant like King George would never rise up in the United States.

Ideas such as checks and balances and federalism separate the powers of government in such a way that no faction would have absolute control. The founders even added the ability to amend their new Constitution, realizing they wouldn’t have all the answers in that single summer in 1787.

But most importantly, the greatest protection against tyrannical leaders was the representative form of government we now get to enjoy. Our government leaders up in Washington (once again discounting the bureaucrats), are put into office by the people they represent. And when they get out of line, it is our right - our duty - to push back. Thanks to our Constitution, we can start a revolution - a revolution of ballots, not bullets. No one needs to die for us to bring about change, we’ve just got to show up and vote.