At the founding of our nation (1776, not 1620) there are some very important ideas that are relatively new to the world. Not minor among them is the idea of Natural Right. The old idea of Divine Right is the means by which a king would generally say that they were appointed to office by a vision from God, etc. Whereas Natural Right presumes certain rights are bestowed upon us all. Consider our Declaration of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
What is, then, the difference between Divine Right and Natural Right? Divine Right states that the King is reposed with rights and responsibilities by God, and Natural Right says that all are. The biggest single difference is that Divine Right is a special revelation, where Natural is not. But both are held to proceed from God. And in both cases, God is invoked as our common Creator as a means of bolstering their claims (however silly).
The point of the revolution is not a valiant interest in the freedom of all, for not all were freed by it. Rather, white, male, land-owning men were intended to have this freedom. So that they believed that all men are created equal did not intend women, poor, and slaves. This is not some amazing new concept in freedom, rather, a subversive power grab, and a recasting of the aristocracy. What now is the difference between the old king with his dukes, and lords, and the new president with his judges and senators? Admittedly there is a difference. There is now a balance of powers. This is a notable difference, indeed. But this in no way justifies the undermining of the authority of the King of England. It may be that all our founders really intended was to steal the power from the King, and when they did, they could not agree who would be king, so they worked out a deal, senators, representatives, judges, and presidents, whereby no one is king, but all share some of the weakened power.
The only reason why we count these men heroes is that they won. Had they lost the revolutionary war, they would be counted traitors, and George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson would have the same poor ring as Benedict Arnold or Judas Iscariot.
Aside: to be clear, I believe that we are all created in God’s image, and in that we are responsible to treat each other with dignity, and are owed respect, as humans. Though that is not to say that we are all equal and deserving of the same respect. I would not expect a king to bow to a subject, a captain to first render his salute to a sergeant, etc. I also believe that all authority on heaven and on earth is ordained by God, so while I don’t believe that English Kings received any visions from God telling them that it was their office to be king and defensor fidei, I do believe that they are ordained by God to fill that position, as is evidenced by their filling of it.
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