Bill Norton is a constitutional scholar and civics educator, coauthor of Speaking the Language of Liberty, and author of the forthcoming book Behind the Constitution, a companion to Behind the Bill of Rights and Behind the Declaration of Independence. He is the third-lesson instructor in this Constitution and first principles training series and runs a concrete business in Arizona, where he once ran for town council.
Jenny Beth Martin is the host of The Jenny Beth Show, co-founder of the Tea Party movement, and Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action.
Key topics:
The founders studied democracy and rejected it, in James Madison's and John Adams's own words
The five basic forms of government and the simple definition of each
Why Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa all call themselves republics
How anarchy devolves into monarchy, and how democracy devolves into oligarchy
The 365-day test that separates a republic from every other system
Rule by balance as the working definition of an American republic
Elizabeth Powell, the founders' confidante, and the letter that changed George Washington's mind
Which form of government the founders placed in the House, the Senate, the presidency, and the courts
Why the Seventeenth Amendment broke the Senate and what the filibuster is patching over
Good behavior, impeachment, Marbury versus Madison, and judicial review
The 20 powers granted to Congress and the roughly six granted to the president
Article Five, the fix-it article, and the two things that can never be amended
00:18 — Welcome and where this lesson sits in the series
04:19 — We are not a democracy, and the founders rejected it
07:29 — Why Russia, China, and Brazil all call themselves republics
10:45 — The five forms of government: anarchy, monarchy, oligarchy, democracy
14:11 — John Adams on why democracy never lasts
21:30 — Anarchy becomes monarchy, democracy becomes oligarchy
25:54 — Polybius, Montesquieu, and the mixed form of government
29:06 — Madison on the accumulation of all powers
34:50 — The 365-day test that defines a republic
43:01 — Elizabeth Powell and a republic, if you can keep it
52:50 — Rule by balance
56:17 — Which form of government lives in each branch
59:06 — How the Seventeenth Amendment broke the Senate
1:01:25 — Washington's tea saucer and what the Senate is for
1:13:50 — The presidency as the monarchy element
1:23:54 — Marbury versus Madison and judicial review
1:34:06 — Gouverneur Morris and the preamble
1:39:46 — The 20 powers of Congress
1:48:17 — Article Five, the fix-it article
1:54:19 — Why there were 13 colonies but 11 original states
1:57:22 — If men were angels
Links: teapartypatriots.org | jennybethshow.com