Fisher Ames, Warrior Against Democracy, the Enlightenment, and the Sovereignty of Man

Many know Fisher Ames as the man who moved for the House version of the First Amendment on August 20, 1789. The most important actions by Fisher Ames were his long-standing wars against the destructive philosophies of democracy, the enlightenment and the sovereignty of man. Because of Fisher Ames' power in Congress, in these matters Thomas Jefferson singled him out for defeat in his 3rd run for Congress. Ames received 1,627 votes out of 2,900 votes cast.

Fisher Ames was concerned that the French Revolution would find a foothold in the American mind. His logic and eloquence held audiences spellbound in his defense of the Christian idea of man and government, as against the sovereignty of man espoused by the Democracy and enlightenment movement coming from the French Revolution. His opinion of the destructive nature of the French Revolution is clear. He warned, “The morbid cause of the French Revolution lies deep; it is not a rash on the skin; it is a plague that makes the bones brittle and cankers the marrow.” And, “democracy will kindle its own hell, and consume in it.” Finally, “Liberty has never lasted long in a democracy; nor has it ever ended in any thing better than despotism.”

Ames saw the deep-seated flaw of federalism. It sought, from the very beginning, to dominate the American system of government. He illustrated its flaws by saying,
'Suppose a missionary should go to the Indians and recommend self-denial and the ten commandments, and another should exhort them to drink rum, who would first convert the heathen? Yet we are told, the vox populi is the vox dei; and our demagogues claim a right divine to reign over us.” Fisher Ames recognized what is being revealed in America today; that evil men see themselves as God, and unless bound, they will lord over whomever and whatever they can.

There is a lesson in the way Fisher Ames saw his mission against democracy, the enlightenment, and the sovereignty of man. He believed that a small minority can act as a check against the destructiveness of these systems of thought, until gradually men will become ready to “pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor...” to the cause.

History has never been ruled by majorities but by dedicated, motivated minorities. You have seen the havoc wrought on America by minorities playing their power games, homosexual “rights”, welfarism, and evangelistic atheism, to name just a few. This was not Ames' game. No, he believed that the minority of men of strong faith and Biblical ethics would overcome the lies of the French Revolution.

It is the French Revolution that threatens America today. There may not be enough churchmen dedicated to “pledge their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor” to deliver America from this evil. The dedicated minority, however, can check the evils being perpetrated by false philosophies.