Claim OwnershipConstitutional Chats Presented By Constituting America
Subscribed: 41Played: 1,223
Subscribe
Description
Cathy Gillespie, and Constituting America's Student Ambassadors – Tova Love Kaplan, Jule Gilbert and Jorne Gilbert – chat with Constitutional experts on hot-topic issues via Zoom!
294 Episodes
Reverse
Picture this: You are a young child growing up in a suburb of Boston. You happen to a big fan of the musical "Hamilton" and through an educational TV show, you learn that the park where you regularly ride your bike and your neighborhood is portrayed in the musical you love! This is exactly what happened with this week's special guest, Sabrina Bhattacharjya. Now a 14-year old historian, Sabrina has dived deep into the history of her town, Lexington, Massachusetts. This is where the infamous "shot heard 'round the world" took place that started the American Revolution. Sabrina has since started Lexington 250 to help celebrate in April 2025 the 250th anniversary of that famous day. Join our student panel as we learn more of the interesting facts and historical significance of what happened that day from this fabulous historian.
The American Revolution ended in 1781. The Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783. George Washington was elected our country's first president in 1788 and sworn in 1789. Besides the Constitutional Convention 1787, there has not been significant scholarly study into what George Washington was doing in the intervening years between the end of the Revolutionary War and his election as President. Our guest today wrote a book on those years called, "The Return of George Washington: Uniting the States, 1783-1789" and will chat with our student panel on Washington's role in laying the groundwork for the new country during those years. Dr. Ed Larson is a Pulitzer Prize winning author and serves as a senior fellow of the University of Georgia's Institute of Higher Education and is currently University Professor of History at Pepperdine University.
The Executive Branch of our country, led by the President, oversees millions of federal employees and hundreds of White House staff. Obviously, the President cannot directly manage all of these employees. To aid in this administrative function, the President appoints several dozen "Assistants to the President." This is the highest ranking staff position in the White House and their duty is to provide strategic counsel and oversee major initiatives based on goals set by the President. To further explain this role, we have a former Assistant to the President on our chat today. George Sifakis served in the first Trump administration as an Assistant to the President and later as Director of the Office of Public Liaison.
Essay 57: Principle of Representative Government Only Under Authority of the American People by J. Eric Wise. Click here to explore our 2023 90-Day Study: First Principles of the American Founding.
Essay 44: Principle of Establishing Justice Through the Rule of Law by Joerg Knipprath. Click here to explore our 2023 90-Day Study: First Principles of the American Founding.
They each brought a different skill set to the table. Some were born to lead armies. Some were born to pen the spirit of the new country on paper. Some were born to build foreign relations. Their skill sets were all needed and their lasting legacy defines American Exceptionalism. Today we are discussing the virtues of the Founding Fathers and how their virtues culminated in the American Experiment. To walk us through this fantastic lesson, we are delighted to welcome Dr. Jennifer London. Dr. London is a prolific author, speaker and President of the National American History and Founders Month Organization.
The Few. The Proud. The Marines. Today, we are discussing this legendary fighting force as we celebrate the United States Marines' 250th birthday. For 250 years, the Marines have shown up to protect our freedom, and helped establish the Untied States as the world's superpower. To discuss the evolution of this branch of our military, we are honored to welcome back Dr. James Robbins, Dean of Academics at the Institute of World Politics; Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council; Former special assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
There's one for George Washington. Thomas Jefferson has one. Not to overlook the President who served between those two, our country has a concerted to build a memorial to John Adams and his family on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. To discuss this process, the hurdles involved and why President Adams-and his family-is deserving of such an honor, we are delighted to welcome Jackie Gingrich Cushman, chair of the Adams Memorial Commission and president of the Adams Memorial Foundation to our chat this week.
Our country owes a lot of gratitude to the generation of men and women who were the Founders of this country and wrote its founding documents. Too often we forget they were walking in uncharted territory: they were the first group of colonies to successfully break away from an empire, we were the first post-colonial country and the first nation founded on moral principles. What they accomplished was unprecedented. Today, we examine the role of the Second Continental Congress in achieving this success. To explain why he calls them the "greatest generation," we are pleased to welcome Jeffry Morrison, Professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, and Director of Academics at the federal government's James Madison Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia.
Operating 11 carrier strike groups and numerous cruisers, destroyers, frigates and submarines among other ships and vessels, the United States Navy is the world's most powerful Navy. Composed of roughly 330,00 active personnel, our Navy is ready to protect American interests across the globe. This month, our country will celebrate the 250th birthday of this incredible fighting force. To "captain" today's discussion, we are honored to welcome one of the Navy's own as our guest. Captain Kevin Wensing (Ret.) spent 26 years in the Navy and has worked with numerous veteran-focused organizations and was the vice president of the USO.
Why has it become harder for differing views to have a conversation about those views that does not devolve into name calling, personal attacks and yelling? We have all witnessed it in our circle of family and friends. We should not have to live like this especially when that disagreement turns violent and lives are lost. At Constituting America, we have promoted the idea of civil discourse for years and want to see more of it in the public sphere. But how can we make that happen? To have an open and frank conversation, we are honored to welcome Joel Del Rosario to our chat this week. Joel is a speaker, success coach, strategist and Turning Point USA Ambassador.
Today we wrap up our discussion on checks and balances with special guest Dr. Susan McWilliams. In this concluding episode, Dr. McWilliams takes us back to our founding and explains why the founders created a system of separation of powers and checks and balances, dividing power between the branches, with mechanisms for the branches to check each other. The Founders recognized the need and virtue in ambition but also its potential path to tyranny, so they prioritized protecting natural rights in order to keep us free. Join us as Dr. Susan McWilliams walks us through this enlightening discussion! Dr. McWilliams is the 2025-2026 William F. Podlich Distinguished Fellow in Government at Claremont McKenna College and she has been on the faculty of Pomona College since 2006.
What makes a Supreme Court case a landmark case? That's going to mean something different to each of us. Generally those cases that plow new ground can be viewed as landmark. The Supreme Court rules on a wide range of cases that affect the way our government functions. To discuss a number of these cases, our special guest today is Thomas Jipping, Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation.
Marbury v. Madison is a landmark Supreme Court case that we all learned in U.S. History class established the principle of judicial review. Our guest today, Dr. Josh Dunn, takes a slightly different view. Join us as we continue our series on the Constitution's checks and balances and dive deeper into Marbury v. Madison and the concept of judicial review. Dr. Dunn is Professor and Executive Director of the Institute of American Civics at the Baker School of Public Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Tennessee.
The United States military, while not the largest by number of enlisted members, is unmatched with its number of ships, planes and tanks. The Founders divided control of the military in quite a genius way. Some power rests with Congress and some rests with the President as the military's commander-in-chief. Why did the Founders want military power to rest with civilians? How does this protect natural rights? To discuss the checks and balances in control of the extraordinary power of our military, we are delighted to welcome Mackubin (Mac) T. Owens to our podcast this week. Dr. Owens is a retired Marine Corps Colonel and Silver Star recipient for service during the Vietnam War, past dean of academic affairs at the Institute of World Politics and senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
Any amendment to the U.S. Constitution has two paths to be proposed to the states for ratification. One is the well-known path: a 2/3 vote in both houses of Congress. Article V of the Constitution also dictates how potential amendments can be proposed to the states for ratification by a Convention of States. Could a Convention of States actually happen? This week's guest says it can and will! To walk us through this process, we are pleased to welcome Gary Porter, Executive Director of the Constitution Leadership Initiative. Gary recently led the Virginia Delegation in a 2023 Convention of States Simulation held in Williamsburg.
Here's an interesting point to ponder: we think of the veto power as a presidential power but the power is found in Article I, Section VII, which we know creates Congress. This means the Founders intended the veto process to be every bit a part of the legislative process as well as an executive power. Why did they do this? What "grievance" found in the Declaration of Independence was the veto and veto override intended to rectify? What is the mechanism and process through which a veto takes place and how can a bill become law even if vetoed by the President? Our special guest today to discuss this powerful tool is Alex E. HIndman, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.
The United States has the oldest written constitution still in use than any other country. This stability is due in part to mechanisms buil in that protect our freedom. One such mechanism is the amendment process. What are the two paths for an amendment to come to pass and why did the Founding Fathers include this process when drafting the Constitution? To answer these questions, we are pleased to welcome William Reddinger. Dr. Reddinger is an associate professor at Regent University and Director of the Lincoln Program in America's Founding Principles.
In Federalist 30, published in 1787, Alexander Hamilton explains the separation of powers as the executive branch having the power of the sword and the legislative branch having the power of the purse. A functioning government needs to be able to enforce law and wage but also has to be able to raise and spend appropriate money. This creates an incredibly effective check on both of those branches as one cannot function without the other. To dive further into this special governmental check we are pleased to welcome back last week's guest Dr. Jon Schaff, Professor of Government/Director of the Center for Public History and Civic Engagement at Northern University in South Dakota.
Article II, Section II of the United States Constitution grants numerous powers to the presidency. However, Clause II dictates the President must have the advice and consent of the United States Senate in order to exercise these powers. What does this mean and what is the nomination and confirmation process between these two branches of government? When specifically must the President consult with the Senate on nominations? For whom in the executive branch does this apply and for whom does it not? To shed light on this very important power, we are pleased to welcome Dr. Jon Schaff, Professor of Government/Director of the Center for Public History and Civic Engagement at Northern University in South Dakota.
Comments
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States