How would our founding fathers view Homeland Security?

Answer 1

Like any patriot, they would have been proud to defend their country. However, they would not have wanted to give up their personal freedoms in the process.

The colonists didn't like having their rights violated. "No taxation without representation" was one of the long-established "Rights of an Englishman." Being British colonists, we figured we had those rights also. England essentially said, "No you don't - you're just colonists."

Having a British soldier living in your house, keeping an eye on you, was another violation of the "rights of an Englishman." This was particularly hated by the colonists.

These violations led to the Revolutionary War. And, they shaped our Declaration of Independence and Constitution. Which gets back to your question...

The Founders wanted to create a government that would protect our individual rights, not violate them.

As it says in the Declaration, "...all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Persuit of Happiness -- That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men..."

So, protecting our country must be done in a way that does not sacrifice our rights.

One issue that comes up in homeland security is government wiretapping or electronically monitoring what websites you visit on your computer. This is the kind of thing that would have made the hair on back of the Founders' necks stand up.

The Bill of Rights prevents the government from keeping soldiers in our homes to monitor us. Is doing it electronically any different?

The colonists greatly admired William Pitt, a British prime minister (Pittsburgh is named after him). He once said, "The poorest man may in his cottage, bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. ... The wind may blow through it; the storm may enter; the rain may enter; but the King of England may not enter."