04/20/2024
Constitution 101:
They Came to America and spent 150 years developing it then proclaimed a regime built on these two documents
What kind of thing are they
Some say they are opposed, which is wrong.
??Radical?? ??Conservative??
Declaration Constitution.
1776. 1787
The declaration has 3 parts
The first part states universal principles
The second part spends 17 paragraphs talking about the bad stuff the king did that justifies the making of America, throwing off the monarchy and adopting a new government.
The king interfered with the legislature and violated the making of laws or "a separation of powers".
He also Interfered with the people's ability to elect their representation
He then interfered with the judges, arrested people for crimes, and shipped them to England to be judged by people who weren't their peers. In England, the people who judge the accused would be controlled by the King.
If you have a government that does these things then you are justified to rebel against that government and to kill anybody that resists you. It generally "Implies" the Constitution.
The Declaration Opens with:
"When in the course of human events (Any Time), it becomes necessary for one people (Any People, Anywhere) to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the law of Nature and Nature's God entitle them..." (It's Right At ALL TIMES for EVERYONE)
This is a document about the Ultimate Purposes or Final Causes. They are the things we seek above all others or the things we would die for. The Declaration of Independence makes those statements (Ultimate Purposes).
The Constitution
It provides a form of government, how it will work, and even how it will look. It operates in three branches: The Executive (White House), Legislative (Congress), and Judicial (Supreme Court).
It has to grant and constrain the power of the government. There are 7 articles and the first 3 set up the 3 branches of government. The Government does not have unlimited power. State Governments have "Police Power" (general authority to legislate for the health, safety, and welfare of the people). The Constitution delegates certain powers to the Federal Government.
In Federalist 51, Madison writes, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men no external or internal controls would be needed." People who make laws are people too.
Aristotle explains that the making of law is written in human nature and proceeds from our ability to talk. Nations are natural things where people can understand each other, they share a common "Final Cause", and they can cooperate with each other to appoint and manage a government that responds to their will.
"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."
The rights that we have call for government to protect those rights and to be responsive to us.
There was no monarchy or elite to run everything they only had ideas of freedom and equality.
The "Big Job" of the Federal Government is about National Defence.
The second biggest job was to make provisions guaranteeing our system of commerce for contracts, bankruptcies, weights and measures, and money. And to operate in the states on the ground where the Federal Government has installations (Federal Buildings, Post Offices, etc).
Article 1:8 = Limits things the Congress can do
Things changed gradually here, they used to hang Quakers and over 150 eventually adopted the idea of civil and religious freedom. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness include our duty to God.
In the Declaration of Independence
God occurs 4 times in the Declaration of Independence, demonstrating how important God is, and how important limited Government is.
He appears as the maker of the laws of nature and nature's God (the Legislator), The supreme judge of the world (Judiciary), Divine Providence (the Executive), and ultimately the Creator.
They acknowledge that control of all those powers can only be achieved by the hand of God.
By dividing the powers they created different methods for electing different parts.
President serves 4 years
House of Reps. serves for 2 years
Senate serves for 6 years
Judges are appointed by the President, on the advice of the Senate. They serve a lifetime term.
The constituency for a Senator is a State
The constituency for a President is an electrical college won by a majority of electors from a state. The State electors are calculated according to the number of Senators and representatives they have.
It spreads authority across space. The Senate spreads political authority and allows people who live in vastly different and widely separated parts of the country to get a say even if they're not numerous.
The fastest you can flip the control of Government is 6 years. "It is our Reason alone that must be placed in control of the Government. Our Passions must be controlled by it"
In Federalist 63, Madison argues that "America is the first purely Representative Government in history." The "Sovereignty" in America is the Constitutional Majority., but they don't occupy a branch of Government. We can only act through elections, we can't make changes in the spur of the moment.
The President is the only person who can act alone in matters of ex*****on. When there is a war, he can act suddenly, but the law prevails because if he engages in a War and Congress doesn't like it they don't have to fund it. Citizens have all the power but can only act through our representatives. That adds patience and deliberation to the process.
There are 2 ways to control human beings, Talking or by force. We are the speaking beings. We are connected through our rationality. Legitimate political systems are always built on talking not violence. They may take violence to install, and require violence to persist and to defend, but they must not proceed in their ordinary workings by violence of one citizen to another.
We are supposed to discuss our issues, teach each other, and learn from each other.
