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The Constitution itself is a quick read; I carry around a pocket copy. And while the language is now a little challenging, because of changing language over time, it is still pretty clear. Where there are questions about the meanings of words and phrases (i.e., “general welfare”), we have plenty of original sources to give us the founders’ understanding of what they were saying.
I’ve been enjoying opportunities this past year to improve my understanding of the Constitution. Hillsdale College is a great source. A year ago it did a free online seminar. That turned into a free online course last winter, Constitution 101, including lectures, readings, online discussions, and quizzes, just like you would expect from a course on campus. And if that weren’t already above and beyond the call of duty, they are now offering a follow-up free online course, Constitution 201 (see links listed below). In this one, they are looking at the comparison of Constitutional ideas and “progressivism,” the philosophy that has crept into government since the early 1900s.
In the second week’s lecture R. J. Pestritto, an expert on Woodrow Wilson, talks about Wilson’s view of one of our founding documents, the Declaration of Independence. Wilson said we should disregard the beginning as irrelevant; the rest of it is a list of grievances of import to those particular people at that time. Wilson asserts that such a list is the concern of every people in its day, and that’s what government should deal with—meeting the requests of the governed. But here is what he disregards:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed….
What Wilson disregards is the philosophical rationale for government, that it exists to secure our God-given rights. So he disregards God-given rights; he disregards the limited purpose of government. For a very smart man (the first PhD college professor type ever elected to the White House), he misses not just an important point, but the very essence of government's purpose.
So it shouldn’t be surprising that, when it came to the Constitution, Wilson thought the separation of powers was an inconvenient limitation on presidential powers. Usurpation of power by the exxecutive is particularly relevant today.
As Americans, I think we are beginning to wake up to the value of our brilliant Constitution. If you (or someone you know) are among those just waking up, the starting point is that above section of the Declaration, and this Preamble to the Constitution:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
If you can understand these brief writings, you can understand the basic purpose and limitations of government.
When you’re ready to understand more, I suggest:
· The Five Thousand Year Leap, W. Cleon Skousen, covering the 28 principles understood by our founders, that still need to be understood today.
· The Federalist Papers, essays written during the time of the Constitutional Convention, explaining the ideas being written into the Constitution, asking for a strong enough but limited federal government.
· The Anti-Federalist Papers, essays written during the time of the Constitutional Convention warning against too strong a federal government.
· Hillsdale College Constitution classes (all free, but you are welcome to donate, all available on demand from original presentation and afterward):
o Introduction to the Constitution, a five-part lecture series covering basic principles.
o Constitution 101, a ten-part online course on the meaning and history of the Constitution.
o Constitution 201, a ten-part online course, currently underway on the progressive rejection of the founding and the rise of bureaucratic despotism.
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