Joseph Ficklen’s Reviews > Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 > Status Update

“Unlike the French Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen issued by the National Assembly in 1789, the American Bill of Rights of 1791 was a less a creative document than a defensive one. It made no universal claims but was rooted solely in the Americans’ particular history. It did not invent human rights that had not existed before, but mainly reiterated long-standing English common law rights.”

“In not one of fourteen elections, [Benjamin Franklin] insisted, “did I ever appear as a candidate. I never did, directly or indirectly, solicit any man’s vote.” Showing oneself eager for office was a sign of being unworthy of it, for the office-seeker probably had selfish views rather than the public good in mind.”