Thursday, July 27, 2023

Introduction to the Constitution with Hillsdale College Professor Larry P. Arnn Videos 7-8

 Introduction to the Constitution with Hillsdale College Professor Larry P. Arnn Videos 7-8

https://online.hillsdale.edu/course-list


Video 7: Reason and Passion

 reason outweighs the passions


-problem latent in majority rule

-the majority has the right to express the will of the people as a whole, it is important that its decisions be products of calm reason and not volatile passions

-a democracy is just as capable as a monarchy of becoming tyrannical

-Founders designed the Constitution to enable the people as much as possible to make well-reasoned laws that are beneficial to the common good


***Side note: British Constitution,Magna Carta, was issued in June 1215 and was the first document to put into writing the principle that the king and his government was not above the law.


-American constitution longest living in all of history, why?

  1. Gives effect to consent through representation

  2. Locates all the sovereignty in the people not the government

-no one in government can say they are acting alone in his own will

  1. Excludes the sovereign from the ordinary operation of the government


-places a check on the sovereign as well-ruled by reason-things should be talked through before making decisions and should not be our passions

-enthusiasms come and go-reason talks over a long period of time-long term purposes-

-passions come and go and will not withstand the 6 years is take to change the government then reason outweighs the passions

-conviction-Madison-connection between people and government

-power to government but ultimate authority to the people

-prescribes how the people must hold opinions over time is most effective 

-delegate more authority in more than just one place 

-legislative power to the congress-article 1 of the constitution

-executive power to the president-article 2 of the constitution

-they each have their own relationship with the sovereign people

-they are equal that guards authority

-judicial power to the courts-article 3 of the constitution

-article 1 and 2 combined appoint judges

-leave most of the power in the hands of the states 

-protect the state-article 4 of the constitution


***see the symmetry and centric and strength-in this consent of the sovereign


-Government by consent-we see these truths to be self-evident-secure these rights

-God-natural law-we the people-government-separation of powers 

-Government should be grounded in the people and powers are so arranged that drives the government 


***a way of arranging the government so we can control it, and it can protect our freedom with sufficient power to do 

Video 8: Separation of Powers


-built on the principles of equality, consent, and rule of the majority, the Constitution provides the sovereign people with the means of effective and reasonable self-governance

-as the sovereign, the people separate the three functions of government into departments and delegate specific powers to each, which protects against tyranny and preserves liberty

-the principle of separation of powers helps the people maintain control of their government.

-separation of power:

-kinds of powers we have in government are divided into different branches and same people don’t hold them at the same time-means more than one person running the government all the time and in its different functions & more than one group is running them

-James Madison says it's the most important thing about the constitution and gives the constitution structure


What are the grounds for the separation of powers?


-Federalist papers Madison makes a point & Hamilton says the judiciary is the least dangerous of all three branches and the house of representatives is the most dangerous of the branches 

-house of representatives closest to the people and power of the purse

-the seed is that all men are created equal so no one can be governed unless by their consent

-have unanimous consent to form the republic then majority rule to decide things 

-country is rooted in the gift of speech we have-always going to have laws-laws are built on some agreement-final cause of the nation makes the people strong

-monarchy makes the eldest son of the the oldest family the most powerful

-sovereign is the strongest then the sovereign is the most dangerous thing against a monarchy

-only thing that can cause imbalance is the sovereign-where all power is unto itself

-all men are created equal, therefore they may be governed only with their consent.

- Therefore, the majority will be sovereign. Therefore, the majority will be the most dangerous thing. 

-how does the sovereign going to operate alongside the government 

-where do they put the sovereign in the government 

-Madison 63rd federalist-unique-we put the sovereign on the outside-which means they can get out of hand-they are in control so it's harder to oppress others 

-Madison-in nature of things-the Constitution has built in check and balances 

-if you give someone absolute power over you they are more likely to abuse that power

-power delegated in variety of ways to a variety of people to do a variety of tasks and delegations can be at different times 

-our powers are separated and equal only done to protect

 single biggest protection is separation of branches

-people through Constitution delegating to authorities

-by giving consent is also divisions of power-keep them separate and accountable to the sovereign