The Founding Fathers of the United States Constitution suspected that through democracy, a government ruled by the majority, the majority could easily become tyrannical in its unlimited use of power . In other words, by denying or denouncing the rights of certain minority groups. Among these fathers, Thomas Jefferson said in his inaugural address as President of the United States in 1801: "All will equally keep in mind that sacred principle that while the will of the majority should prevail in all cases, it will be legitimate must be reasonable; that the minority has equal rights, which an equal law must protect, and which to violate would be oppression. Despite the possibility of defying majority rule, leading to disastrous upheaval, the government's most ardent responsibility should lie more in its responsibility to protect the rights of minorities rather than conforming to majority rule. Since, of all possible outcomes, the worst would be a situation in which a minority group is denied their rights, not due to a simple social complication, but rather due to a general lack of government protection. While a democracy is based on majority rule, minority rights should not be neglected. One of the principles of democracy is that a minority has an equal opportunity to become a majority, thus providing competition most of the time. Competition has the potential to force a majority to become a minority, necessitating the protection of its rights to give it the opportunity to become the majority again. Furthermore, the smallest minority is the individual. By protecting the rights of minorities against the oppression of the majority, the individual is protected and vice versa. For example, individual rights of expression and speech... middle of document ... certain minority groups: African-Americans. Yarbrough, Tinsley. "AMERICAN GOVERNMENT > Introduction to the American System > Documents on Democracy." ç¾Žåœ‹åœ¨å °å ”æœƒ - 首é. Np, and Web. October 21, 2013. Yarbrough intimately and accurately describes the trials of the “African American experience.” These lawsuits include, but are not limited to, slavery, denial of the right to vote, and retraction of equality through government policy. Yarbrough is thorough in describing this experience, refusing to allow mere opinion to decimate the facts. The "African American experience" is a large part of minority rights, in that the entire "experience" of African Americans consisted of the failure or victory of the government in protecting their basic rights guaranteed by the constitution of the united states..