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Abstract. In January 1776 a British-born firebrand by the name of Thomas Paine proclaimed in his pamphlet ""Common Sense"" that"" We have it in our power to begin the world over again."" Up until then, no prediction had ever come close to the optimism of that vision. Paine was referring to a new nation, one that was to become the United States of America. It would be the first in history founded on the Enlightenment principle of individual rights. To secure those rights, America's founders, imbued with the spirit of its Declaration of Independence, designed a constitution to minimize initiated physical coercion in human affairs. And equally important, it was a constitution that looked to limit America's government to a single function, to protect its citizens from those who would practice that evil. Armed-charged-with such a constitution, America, in its first century and a half, grew and flourished at a rate and to an extent never before seen. America was the freest and most prosperous nation in history. Long has it stood as a beacon of freedom to the world's oppressed. America in the late 18th century truly did begin the world over again, her rise was that extraordinary. But the beacon has dimmed. What conditions existed in 1776 America to convince Thomas Paine that America had the power to begin the world over again? How did its constitution drive America's rise? Why is she now in decline, though still a great power? Is a permanently free sovereign state even possible today, or is it too late? This essay explores these questions.

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