Describe the impact of the United States' concepts of democracy and individual rights on the world.

When the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia convened in 1789, they considered their work nothing less than the creation of a novus ordo seclorum, or a “new order for the ages.” As they reflected on their own political experiences in Britain and the other nations from which they had come, they sought to create a nation in which the people were sovereign, not the powerful or well-born. As they examined history and philosophy, they conceived a government, the likes of which the world had never seen. Many of them were optimistic that it would succeed. Others were not so confident but decided that they must hazard the chance.

The Founders’ Constitution, drafted at Philadelphia and ratified by the several states, is the longest surviving written constitution in the world. Together with the Declaration of Independence and the later inclusion of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution established a popular, republican form of government that derived its just powers from the consent of the governed. The people established their own government by assenting to the Constitution, under which they would select their own leaders and hold them accountable through regular and frequent elections. The rights of the people were forever protected from the infringements of enterprising or even treacherous political leaders by clearly articulated, written guarantees, enforced by an independent judiciary.

Based on a sophisticated system of separate but checked and balanced powers in a federal system, the United States system of government remains unique in the world. However, numerous aspects of the grand American experiment, the new order for the ages, have been copied and implemented around the world over the past two hundred years. Numerous countries now have written constitutions that establish the people as the source of government power and authority. Most of these nations also have written guarantees of individual rights and liberties. Popular elections, healthy systems of democratic participation, and norms of public debate and deliberation have spread throughout the globe.

While many of these trends transcend the influence of any particular nation or philosophy, the impact of the American experience on the world is difficult to overstate. Dozens of nations can trace important foundations of their political systems to the ideas and principles first embodied in the United States political system. Americans must be cautious, however, not to take too much credit for all that is good in the world, or to be too critical of other nations that do not have political systems exactly like ours. The United States is clearly a world leader in the promotion of democratic participation and individual rights, but other nations care about these values as well and work to promote them. The influence of the United States is at its peak when it leads by example, contributes to the development of emerging democracies when invited, and uses its influence to promote global political, economic, and military stability.