British ideas, American parliamentarism. Republican and Liberal echoes in the Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787

The process of building the American Constitution had a powerful impact on society and politics by empowering the people. It acknowledged their sovereignty and the exercise and protection of their rights into the future. What stands out from a review of the original constitutions of the founding states is their repeated reliance on the principles of natural law and the widespread understanding that individuals are entitled by nature to enjoy of certain natural or inalienable rights. The Philadelphia Constitutional Convention of 1787 drafted the constitution of the United States based directly on natural rights, including life, liberty, property and happiness as theorized by John Locke. At the same time, the people had an inherent right to live under a republican government, and possessed an inalienable right to reform or abolish governments that failed to secure these rights, or ruled without the consent of the governed: the framers relied on the classical republicanism of James Harrington (1611–77) which celebrated the ideals of virtuous citizenship in a republic. It is only in recent times that popular participation in constitution-making has been accommodated. Traditionally, as typified by the Constitutional Convention, attention is paid to the sovereignty of the people; if sovereignty is indeed vested in and flows from the people it is natural that they should determine how it should be delegated and exercised. From the Convention, key elements of the modern parliamentary system evolved to a more modern form of governmental system, a new constitutionalism. The idea that a written constitution spells out the supreme law of the land and sets limits on the ruling authorities has become the most significant element of American modernity.