Much of American politics today consists of compromise, and revolutionary America was little different. However, instead of compromising, many times leaders synthesized; instead of giving and taking, they blended ideas into an entirely new form of government. In the United States secession from Great Britain, and in the first formations of their government, they exhibited many influences from Modern, Ancient, and Christian traditions. The resulting government was one that allowed for personal freedom, and at the same time sought to cultivate virtue under guidance from their Creator.

The modern, or liberal, influences are especially evident in American's zest for freedom as a natural right of humankind, and also in their embracement of the Age of Reason. The Declaration of Independence is a good example of this modern influence. "it is the right of the People to alter or abolish [destructive government] . . . as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness." (Declaration of Independence) That people have certain natural rights prior to government was a distinctively Lockean, and thus modern philosophy. Sandel also made note of this when he wrote, "the idea that certain rights are prior to government, and so limit what government may do, has figured in American political experience since before the American Revolution." (Sandel, p. 28) This train of thought was not inherited from England, however, for their Constitution could be easily changed and did not set down any fundamental rights, unlike the American Constitution. Limiting what government can do by setting down people's rights is a form of negative liberty, and goes hand in hand with putting the right before the good. American separation of powers also reflected the Lockean idea that humans make government for their own needs. George Washington also was influenced by these Enlightenment theories, evidenced when he called his current time "an Epoch where the rights of mankind were better understood and more clearly defined." (AHSR, p. 37) This was also a time when more people, in France and America at least, began relying more on logic and reason to form the basis of their governments, as opposed to religion or social status. John Adams exhibited this attitude inherited from the French Revolution when he stated, "of all the nonsense and delusion[s] . . . none had ever been more extravagant than the notions of absolutions . . . uninterrupted successions, and canon law" (AHSR, p. 31) This reluctance to rely on religion for government, as well as the liberal concept of natural rights, figured prominently in the formation of our government.

Americans also esteemed virtue and tradition and incorporated it into their government, thus portraying the effect of Antiquity, or republicanism. While Adams disdained a wholly religiously founded government, he also recognized that, "Happiness . . . can never be found without virtue." (AHSR, p. 35) George Washington also displayed his republican influences when he admonished the American people to increase, "the prevalence of that pacific and friendly Disposition . . . to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest of the community." (AHSR p. 38) This emphasis on the whole rather the individual is markedly ancient in nature, yet the Founders sought to have it coexist with individual natural freedoms. Yet this freedom also had a community purpose. "Liberty as political participation was thought to be the key to personal and civic virtue, the essence of which was to act for the good of the whole." (Kelly, p. 67) This is very different from the modern view of freedom, which includes the freedom to disdain political participation. Here both the positive and negative concepts of liberty are visible, for while the republican government encourages political participation (positive liberty), the liberal government prohibits government from forcing political participation (negative liberty). The American government tried to do both during the Revolution; encouraging citizen's moral character without requiring it. James Otis, describing his outrage at taxation without representation, Sandel wrote that those taxes were "absolutely irreconcilable with the rights of the colonists as British subjects and men." (Sandel, p. 30) Here in one sentence is both the liberal conception of natural rights of all humans, and also the republican belief in rights by tradition as English citizens. Therefore, freedom was a means by which the community could become more virtuous.

The ancient and modern influences found a meeting place in a Christian interpretation, where government encouraged virtuous living within the bounds of God-given freedom. The Puritans had a great deal of influence in the formation of American government, including a strong work ethic, for, according to Cotton, every Christian, "in serving God, serves men, and in serving men, serves God," (AHSR, p. 14) demonstrating the influence of the Christian work ethic on revolutionary America. "Providence," or God, is mentioned often in revolutionary writings. George Washington recognized His role in events when he said, "we shall have equal occasion to felicitate ourselves on the lot which Providence assigned us." (AHSR, p. 36) Not only does this portray the Christian view of government in that it acknowledges God, but also the ancient view that all are assigned a role, or a meaning of existence, if you will, by some Higher Power. The Declaration of Independence bears similar references to a Supreme Being, where the Founders, "with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, [they] mutually pledge[d] to each other . . . [their] sacred Honor." Besides relying on God for aid in their cause, they also relied on each other, bound by their Honor. An example of the synthesis of liberal and Christian ideas is apparent in John Dickinson's statement that natural rights "are created in us by the decrees of Providence." (Sandel, p. 31) Thus government was to improve its citizens within the natural bounds of their God-given rights.

This synthesis of Ancient, Modern, and Christian ideas was not merely a mixing of separate ideas, however. Shute blended all three when he outlined the goals for civil government: "to secure the rights and privileges necessary to their happiness, to go into [what] is morally fit, and evidently the will of their Creator." (AHSR, p. 27) This fusing of perspectives is part of the reason this country was (and, hopefully, is) so successful.