Principles of Freedom 101

The 28 Principles outlined here are from the book, The 5000 Year Leap: A Miracle that Changed the World, by W. Cleon Skousen.

Principle 1 - The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.

Principle 2 - A free people cannot survive under a Republican Constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.

Principle 3 - The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.

Principle 4 - Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained

Principle 5 - All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.

Principle 6 - All men are created equal.

Principle 7 - The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not to provide equal things.

Principle 8 - Me are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights

Principle 9 - To protect man's rights, God has revealed certain principles of Divine Law

Principle 10 - The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.

Principle 11 - The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has ecome tyrannical.

Principle 12 - The United States of America shall be a Republic.

Principle 13 - A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers.

Principle 14 - Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right to property is secure.

Principle 15 - The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and a minimum of government regulations.

Principle 16 - The government should be separated into three branches - legislative, executive, and judicial.

Principle 17 - A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.

Principle 18 - The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution.

Principle 19 - Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained in the people.

Principle 20 - Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.

Principle 21 - Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.

Principle 22 - A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.

Principle 23 - A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.

Principle 24 - A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.

Principle 25 - Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations - entangling alliances with none.

Principle 26 - The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.

Principle 27 - The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.

Principle 28 - The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.