In the political turmoil of post-revolutionary America an extremely libertarian government was established, the Articles of Confederation. It became readily apparent that the government was inadequate for the needs of the country. Several intellectual and political leaders believed that a federal government was necessary to lead the new nation. The political figures who had originally fought for the libertarian government still had clout in society and politics and forced the federalist to make changes to their proposal. The result was a system that allowed for the central government to come into power and retained the rights of the individual stressed in the libertarian governmental format, the US Constitution was created.

The US Constitution was in some ways nearly a reversal back to the traditional European model of political leadership, with a central government lead by the intellectual and political elite. This system was inviting to many who thought...