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This one seems pretty obvious, but the founders believed that having good leaders would ensure the continuation of the republic. Go figure.

The founders had a lot to say about what constitutes a good leader however.  Their idea of a leader was more of a public servant-type figure, sacrificing much of their own life in order to properly serve the public. 

In fact, political positions were not meant to provide high salaries whatsoever. Their salaries were originally intended to pay a modest amount that covered the necessities, so as not to create a reason for seeking a political position other than to serve the public. It was an attempt to keep the public officials objective and focused on why they were there, which was simply to serve the people.

Things are a little different today than how they were meant to be, judging from this historical chart of congressional salaries below.

Obtained from http://www.congresslink.org/print_basics_pay.htm

Source of Chart: Senate Historical Office and Senate Disbursing Office; Paul Dwyer, Salaries of Members of Congress, Report No. 95-898GOV, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, Washington, DC, December 11, 1995. Information for 2002: http://usgovinfo.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa031200a.htm. A Congressional Research Service Report on congressional salaries is located at http://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30014.pdf. See also http://www.thecapitol.net/FAQ/payandperqs.htm

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This is the second entry in the Founding Principles series. This series is based on a book titled The 5000 Year Leap. The title stems from the fact that before America was founded, technology and society hadn't changed a whole lot over the course of 5,000 years, but since the founding of America we humans have enjoyed an explosion of technology and innovation that until now has been completely unheard of. This was possible through the efforts of the founding fathers and the 28 principles that they adhered to when building the United States. Periodically I will be posting an article about some of these principles to give readers a better idea of how our great country was originally intended to be ran.

 Founding Principle#2: Citizens Must Remain Moral and Virtuous to Retain Their Freedom    

To understand this principle, you’ll have to consider the fact that the majority of the citizens of a country need to possess strong morals and a virtuous nature to remain free. This makes sense considering the officials who are in power are elected by the people. If the citizens are corrupt and devoid of morals, then what problem would they have with electing people who have the same types of beliefs?

Probably the largest difference between the Americans of 1776 and the Americans of today is that the original Americans doubted whether they could sustain a self-governed nation, they doubted their capacity to remain moral and virtuous. Today that doubt is not considered by the general population.

 In their definition of being moral and virtuous, the founding fathers included things such as being involved in your government, staying informed on current events, possessing a sense of patriotism and community, and a commitment to liberty.

The founding fathers also had what seemed to be a curious fear of British extravagance and luxury, believing that if these things took hold in the colonies, then the industrious and virtuous nature of the American settlers would be in grave danger.

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I just finished reading a book titled the 5000 Year Leap.  The title stems from the fact that before America was founded, technology and society hadn't changed a whole lot over the course of 5,000 years, but since the birth of America we humans have enjoyed an explosion of technology and innovation that until now has been completely unheard of.

This was possible through the efforts of the founding fathers and the 28 principles that they adhered to when building the United States.

So, periodically I will be posting an article about each one of these principles to give readers a better idea of how our great country was originally intended to be ran on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. Below is the first principle.

Principle #1: Natural Law

Natural Law is a philosophy made famous by the Roman thinker Cicero (106-43 B.C.). Essentially natural law is something Cicero believed to be the one "true law", based in large part on the belief in a one true god. Natural Law is the law of nature, and as such its validity is universal, and Cicero believed all other man-made laws should be measured against it.

The tenants of natural law include things such as justice, reason, love for neighbors and others in society, high morals and a virtuous personal nature. Particularly offensive to Natural Law is unjust subjugation and persecution of citizens by their government or other groups of citizens.  

Natural Law may be easier to understand if examples from our own American society are given. Below are concepts that were derived from Natural Law by our founding fathers.

1. Unalienable rights

2. Habeas corpus

3. Limited government

4. Separation of powers

5. Checks and balances

6. Right to bear arms

7. No taxation without representation

For something that most Americans know nothing about, we sure did derive a lot of our most basic beliefs and laws from it.