Constitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America

Poll after poll show young people view socialism more favorably than even capitalism.   It's a stunning trend for which the root cause needs to be explored and understood.   From social and economic inequality to the failed "promises" socialism pretends to offer to cultural and educational influence, the cause for this trend is quite vast.   To help us understand why socialism appears favorable to...

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution can be viewed as companion documents in that one lays out grievances as cause for independence and the other established institutions to protect our rights and freedoms so eloquently described in the Declaration.   In our current political climate, it is important to understand this companion relationship   especially when there's a renewed inte...

Today, we contrast the political philosophies of two of history's most influential thinkers: James Madison and Karl Marx.  Their core philosophies could not be more different. Madison believed concentrated government power posed a fundamental threat to liberty.  Marx argued against private property and capitalism, arguing both created fundamental inequalities.  With the current rise of socialism a...

Today, we contrast the political philosophies of two of history's most influential thinkers: James Madison and Karl Marx.  Their core philosophies could not be more different. Madison believed concentrated government power posed a fundamental threat to liberty.  Marx argued against private property and capitalism, arguing both created fundamental inequalities.  With the current rise of socialism a...

Sometimes we take for granted the freedom and liberty we are born with. It is good to be reminded that we should not take our country and its history for granted.   One of the best ways we can be reminded to remain grateful is to hear first-hand experiences from those born into oppressive regimes who now get to enjoy America's liberty.   Our guest today is one such example.   Denisa Traboini was b...

Socialism isn't new.  Plato's "The Republic" outlines an ideal state with elements of socialism.  The Founding Fathers were well aware of the concept and purposefully wrote safeguards against it in our founding documents. Case in point: the Bill of Rights protects private property and Article 1 of the Constitution protects patents and intellectual property.  Please join our special guest, Timothy...

Socialism sounds good in theory — but what does it look like in practice? From centralized economic policies to government control over markets and private enterprise, our guest today explores the real-world consequences of nations that have experimented with socialism — and the promises compared to the results. Dr. Shruti Rajagopalan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center and a Fellow...

This week we kick off a new Constitutional Chats Podcast series on socialism.  In our first episode this week we address the basic concept of socialism: what defines it, what is it not and how does it compare with capitalism? Young Americans are embracing socialism in record numbers. A recent survey by the Cato Institute and YouGov finds that 62% of Americans aged 18–29 say they hold a "favorable...

It's no secret, we at Constituting America are big fans of the Declaration of Independence.   What Thomas Jefferson so eloquently wrote quite literally changed the world.   But have you stopped to think exactly how it changed the world?   How did it influence other countries who were perhaps seeking independence?   Did you know in the time since our Declaration of Independence was written, over 10...

"Consent of the governed."   It's such a powerful phrase in our Declaration of Independence and truly speaks to the heart of the American Experiment.   But what does consent mean?   To dive into this notion of consent and how it is derived and utilized in the creation of our founding documents, we are pleased to welcome long-time friend of Constituting America, Professor Christopher Burkett.   Dr....

If we were to recognize one physical location as the birthplace of our great nation, it would undoubtedly be Independence Hall in Philadelphia, PA.   Originally serving as the Pennsylvania State House, this is where both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were debated and adopted.   To share more information on this magnificent and historic structure, Constituting America is hono...

We all know the Fourth of July is when we adopted the Declaration of Independence to formally sever ties with the British Crown.   But the physical act of signing the Declaration, and thus affixing the signers' personal oath to that document happened nearly a month later on August 2, 1776.   To discuss the events of that day, we are honored to have Gary Porter return for a second week.   Gary Port...

In an era of instant global communication, it is hard to fathom a time when it took it took months to communication across the Atlantic or weeks to send letters across the colonies.   But that's the world in which our country was founded.   The role of newspapers is such a vital component to our founding as it's how word of the new Declaration of Independence was transmitted to gain public support...

Signing the Declaration of Independence was just the beginning.  We then had to go out and confront the British and earn our independence.  The first major battle of the American Revolution after signing the Declaration of Independence was the Battle of Long Island in the summer of 1776.  Gen. George Washington faced off against a larger and better equipped Naval force and though the Continental A...

The Articles of Confederation were the original set of laws  established to govern the colonies after the Declaration of Independence, and were in effect from 1781 to 1789 when the United States Constitution was ratified.  A defining feature of the Articles was its protection of the colonies' sovereignty and a weak central government.  In discussing the Articles, three important questions must be...

Signing the Declaration of Independence was just the beginning.  Now the colonists and Founding Fathers had to get the word out that it had been signed and gain public support for independence. Our guest today, Professor Jonathan Den Hartog explains how in the days immediately following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, we had to figure out how this Declaration would affect the colon...

We have finally arrived at the 250th Anniversary of our independence: our country's 250th birthday!   To celebrate America 250, Constituting America produced a vertical series called "The Pursuit" to reimagine some of the stories of our founding generation.  For our show today, we invited our talented cast of actors to speak on their experience with this project, what they learned and to participa...

As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this presents a great time to not only recognize the philosophical foundation of our country but also to admire the sheer beauty of the United States bound by the principles espoused in our founding documents of constitutional self-government.  Our guest today has done just that.  We are honored to welcome Matt Mehan, author...

The Marquis de Lafayette came to America as a young man to aid the colonists in the American Revolution.   He would return 47 years later at the invitation of President James Monroe and Congress to tour the country in the lead-up to our country's 50th birthday.   On this return trip, he received a true rockstar welcome wherever he went as he toured all 24 states.   As we now prepare to celebrate o...

It's a year after the Battles of Lexington and Concord and only days before the Declaration of Independence would be signed. It's June 1776 and along the shores of South Carolina, British troops are amassing while the colonists rush to construct Fort Sullivan out of the local palmetto logs which would later be commemorated on that state's flag and in its nickname.   After a day of fighting involvi...

Did you know two years after Paul Revere's famous ride, there was a second ride made by a teenaged woman?  That's right. On April 26, 1777, 16-year old Sybil Ludington rode 40 miles throughout the night to alert and rally American militiamen to participate in a planned attack organized by her father, Col. Henry Ludington,  on British troops near Danbury, Connecticut.  To walk us through this histo...

The story of Elizabeth "Mumbet" is inspirational.   Born into slavery in New York in 1744, she spent most of her life in Massachusetts.   Following the ratification of the new Massachusetts Constitution in 1780 which stated in Article 1, "All men are born free and equal and have certain natural, essential, and unalienable rights…,"Mumbet sued for her freedom.   She won and her court victory set th...

Regular followers of Constituting America know we view the Declaration of Independence as one of the greatest documents ever written.   An interesting point to ponder is that it had to come from somewhere, that there was a buildup to its drafting.   We can point to a moment in history as the beginning of that buildup: the 5th Virginia Convention that took place immediately after a vote to disband...

The American Revolution obviously changed the course of American History.  That's a given.  Have you ever contemplated how that singular event changed the course of world history over the ensuing centuries?  Think of how the American Revolution weakened the British and Spanish Empires and as our guest discusses, "it gives rights seekers everywhere a new vocabulary."  To discuss this fascinating to...

As a teenager, he dropped out of college and served in the in the 3rd Virginia Regiment in the Continental Army.  After studying law under Thomas Jefferson, he later served in the Virginia House of Delegates, as the US Ambassador to France and England, as governor of Virginia, as the Secretary of War and then Secretary of State. Finally, in March 1817, James Monroe became our country's 5th Preside...