1776 Report - A Constitution of Principles

This is the Third episode of our bonus episodes regarding the 1776 Report.

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Transcript

0:31

Welcome to the lunch shift podcast. My name is Jeff This is the third episode of our bonus episodes that we are doing on the 17th 76 report. If you haven't listened to the introduction, I encourage you to go back and listen to that. As it'll explain a little bit about why we're doing this. This episode is called a constitution of principles. Is one thing to discern and assert true principles of political legitimacy, injustice. It is quite another to establish those principles among an actual people and actual government here on earth as Winston Churchill, put it in a Nazi dis not dissimilar context. Even the best have been struggling in the most, just a causes, cannot guarantee victory that can only deserve it. The founders of the United States, perhaps miraculously. Achieve what they set out to achieve. They defeated the world's strongest military and financial power and won their independence. They then face the task for me, a country that would honor and implement the principles upon which they had declared their independence. The bedrock upon which the country, the American political system is built is a rule of law. The vast difference between tyranny and the rule of law is a central theme of political thinkers back to classical antiquity. The idea that the loss appeared. Two rulers is the cornerstone of English constitutional thought. As it's developed over the centuries. The concept was transferred to the American colonies. It can be seen express throughout colonial pamphlets and political writing as Thomas Paine reflected in commonsense. Quote for as an absolute governments, that King is law. So when free countries, the law to be King and there ought to be no. Other. But less any ill use should afterwards arise, but the crown or the conclusion of the ceremony be demolished and scattered among the people who, whose right. It is. To assure such a government and Americans demanded a written legal document. That would create both a structure and a process for securing their rice. And liberties and spell out the division and the limits of the powers of government. That legal document must be above ordinary legislation and day-to-day politics. That is what the founders meant by constitution. And why our constitution is the Supreme law of the land. Their first attempt at a form of government. The articles of Confederation and perpetual union was adopted in the midst of the revolutionary war and not ratified until 1781. During that time, American statesman. And citizens alike concluded that the articles were too weak to fulfill a governments. Core functions. This consensus produced the constitutional convention of 1787, which met in Philadelphia that summer to write the document which we have today. It's a Testament to those framers wisdom and skill that the constitution that they produce remains the longest continually operating Horton constitution and all human history. The meaning of purpose of the constitution of 17. A sound however, cannot be understood without recourse to the principles of the declaration of independence. Human equality, the requirements for government by consent. And the scaring of natural rights. What's the constitution is intended to embody, protect and nature. Nurture. Lincoln famously described the principles of the declaration. And he was borrowing from Proverbs 25, 11 as a quote, Apple of gold unquote, and the constitution as a frame of silver unquote, meant to quote. Adorn and preserve uncle at the Apple. The ladder was made for the former, not the reverse. The form of the new government that the constitution delineates is informed in part by the charges of the decoration levels at the British crown. For instance, the call, the colonial colonists charged the British King with failing to provide, or even an interfering with representative government. Hence the constitution provides for a representative last legislature. It also charges the King with concentrating executive. Legislative and judicial power into the same hands, which James Madison pronounced. Quote, the very definition of tyranny, unquote. Instead the founders organize their new government into three co-equal branches. And checking and balancing power of each against the. The others to reduce the risk of, of these, of power. The intent of the framers of the constitution was constructed government. I would be sufficiently strong to perform those essential tasks that only a government can perform. Such as establishing justice, ensuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense. And promoting the general welfare, the main task name and the documents preamble. But not so strong as to jeopardize the people's liberties. In other words, the new government needed to be strong enough to have the power to secure. Right. Without having the power as to enable or encourage it to infringe rights more. Typically the framers intended the new constitution to keep the 13 States United to print the breakup, the union, and to tour more. Smaller countries. While maintaining sufficient latitude and Liberty for the individual States. The advantages of the, of you. And being in our detail in the first 14 pages. Of the Federalist papers. A series of essays written. Two herbs, constitution, adoption, and bull down to preventing and deterring foreign adventurism in North America. Avoiding conflicts between threats, achieving economies of scale and best utilizing the diverse resources of the content. While the constitution is fundamentally a compact among the American people. It was ratified special by special conventions in the States. The people's other States admire and cherish or state governments. All of which should adopt a Republican constitution before federal constitutional was completed. Hence the framers of the new national government had to respect the States. Prior existence and jealous guarding of their own prerogatives. They also believe that the role of the federal government should be limited to performing those tasks that only a national government can do. Such as providing for the nation's security or regulating commerce between States and that most tasks were properly. The responsibility of the States and they believe the strong States as competing power centers would act as counterweight to can say potentially overweening central government. In the same way that ACEP the separation of power. Checks and balances. The branches of the federal government. For the founders, the principal, but just government requires the consent of the govern in terms requires republicanism because of the cheap. Because the chief way that consent is granted to a government on ongoing basis is through the peoples. Participation in the political process. This is the reason the constitution guarantees to every state in the union, a Republican form of government. Under the United States constitution, the people are sovereign, but the people do not directly exercise. Sovereignty for instance, by voting directly in popular assemblies. Rather they do so indirectly the representative institutions, this is on the post basic level. A practical requirement and Republic with a large population and extent of territory. But it is also indeed to be remedy to the defect's common, to all republics up to the time. The framers of the constitution faced a two-fold challenge. They had to assure those alarmed by the historical record. That the new government was not to Republican in simply copying the old failed forms. I'll also reassuring those concerned about overwhelming. Central life power that the camera into the new constitution was Republican enough to secure equal natural rights. And prevent them. Re-emergence of tyranny. The main causes of prior Republican failures were class conflict and tyranny. Of the majority in the simplest terms, the largest single faction in any Republic would tend to band together and unwind unwisely, wield their numerical strength against unpopular minorities. Leading to conflict and eventual collapse. The founders primary remedy was union itself. Against the old idea. That Republicans had to be small. The founders countered that the very smallest of prior republics, all but guaranteed their failure. In small republics, the majority can more easily organize itself into a dominant faction. In larger public address become too numerous for any single faction to dominate. The inherent or potential parts of that partisan on wisdom of a dominant faction also would be tempered by representative government rather than the people acting as body, that people would have stats like office holders to represent autumn. This would in necessary Federalist 10. I'll refine and enlarge the public views by passing them through the medium. Have a chosen body of citizens whose wisdom. May be best discern the true interest of their country and his patriotism and love of justice will be least likely to sacrifice it to temporary or potential considerations. Unquote. And the separation of powers would work in concert with the principles of representation by incentivizing individual office holders, to identify their personal interests with the powers and the progress of their offices. And thus keep them alert to the danger of encroachment from the other branches and offices. The founders asserted that these innovation centers and others combined to create a republicanism that was at once old, as well as new, true to the eternal principles. Timeless ends of good government. But awake to the corrective. Of the deficiencies in prior examples of popular rule. One important feature of our written constitution is the careful way that it limits the powers that each branch of government. That it States at these, those branches may do. And by implication, what they may not do, this is the real meaning of limited government. Not that the government size or funding levels remain small, but the government's power and activities and must remain limited to certain carefully defined areas of responsibility as guarded. Bye bye. Bye. Camera realism, federalism and the separation of powers. The constitution was intended to endure, but because the founders well knew that no document written by human I would ever be perfect or anticipate every feature contingency they provided for a process to amend the document, but only by popular decision making and not by ordinary legislation. Or do you just do digital decree? The first 10 amendments, which would come to be known as the bill of rights. Were included as the demand of those, especially concerned about the vesting, the federal government with too much power and who wanted an enumeration of specific rights that the new government lawfully could not transgress. But all agreed that substitute rights are not granted by government. Any just government exist only to secure these rights. And they specifically noted in the ninth amendment. The bill of rights was a selective and not exclusive list. That is the mere fact that they right. Is not mentioned in the bill of rights is neither proof. Or evidence that it does not exist. It is important to note that the founders understood. Understanding of three of these rights that are decisive for Republican government in the success of the founders project. Our first freedom, religious Liberty is foremost more, a moral requirement of the natural freedom of human mind. As discussed in appendix two, it is also the indispensable solution to the political religious. Problems that emerge in the world. Modern world. Faith is both a matter of private conscious and public import, which is why the founders encourage religious freedom. Free exercise, but bars, the government from it. Establishing any one natural religion. The point is not merely to protect the state from religion, but also to protect the religion from the state. So that the religious institutions would flourish and pursue their divine mission among men like re religious Liberty, freedom of speech, and the press is required by the freedom of the human line. More plainly it is required for any government in which they, which the people choose the direction of government policy to choose requires public deliberation and debate people that cannot publicly express his opinions. Exchange ideas or open, openly argue about the course of its government is not free. Finally, the right to keep and bear arms is required by the fundamental natural rights of life. But no, man, may justly be denying the means of his own defense. The political significance of this right is hardly less important. An armed people is a people capable of defending their Liberty no less than their lives and his laugh, desperate check against the worst Tierney. As a conclusion of section three in the next section, we will be talking about challenges to America's principles.