They existed because had the government not acknowledged our freedoms we wouldn't have accepted the government. It's not like people were sitting around in fear

They existed because had the government not acknowledged our freedoms we wouldn't have accepted the government. It's not like people were sitting around in fear and a government walked by and said "Hey, how about some rights in trade for tax?". They proposed and created a government that helped to protect the rights they had already decided to die protecting.