Views about Government Influenced Both by Classical Republicans and the Natural Rights Philosophers

As the founders of this country contemplated the form of government they wanted to create, they looked to classical republics and natural rights philosophers as models for how they wanted their government to be.
Classical Republicanism is the theory that the best kind of society is one that promotes the common good rather than the interests of only one class of citizens. Founders admired the classic Roman Republic for providing the Roman citizens with the most liberty under government that the world had ever known, while at the same time demanding a high degree of civic virtue. Roman citizens set aside their personal interests in order to promote and provide for the common good. …