Understanding the U.S. Constitution part 2 - 5 Key Concepts Everyone Should Know

[MrPloppy1]

I think you make a great mistake in saying that the Declaration and Constitution were designed to work together. The writers of the Declaration had no intentions other than seperating from Britian. No new nation sprang froth from that document. It was basically a "we quit, you ain't the boss of us no more, and each of us can seek employment or self-employment as we see fit" resignation letter.

[cmseibert]

glad you found them helpful and hope your exams go well

[TheHollowstranger]

thank you for your work. I am going to have an exam tomorrow by the name British and American political Systems and your videos of the US Constitution helped me a lot.

[hscotthooper]

The Establishment clause says "...shall make no law respecting AN establishment..." (emphasis added), and not "...shall make no law respecting THE establishment..." as your video claimed.

Also, I would be careful when referring to this clause using your own words "...not make a law that establishes a religion," as that is neither what is in this important document, nor the only interpretation.

[cmseibert]

sorry the naming convention is not clear... Part 1 (has concepts 1 and 2) Part 2 (has concepts 3,4,5)... Together Part 1 and Part 2, - cover the 5 concepts in total. It was originally a single presentation on the 5 concepts, when we took it to YouTube we just split it into 2 parts.

[programedmind]

@cmseibert thanks great infromation i didn't know all this, thanks to your video now i do. and now trying to get my family and friends to understand but they dont want to hear it. thanks once again for this video keep up the good work.

[programedmind]

I CANT FIND PART 3, 4, 5

[Fjallgeirr]

I think also it is #better to change the title to: Understanding the U.S. Constitution part 2/2 - 5 Key Concepts Everyone Should Know

[r8rfan00]

Sir, I have very much enjoyed your videos. I believe there are far too few people with even a moderate grasp of the concepts or even content of our Constitution. For your efforts, thank you. I would take issue with you on one particular item, however. At about the 2:35 mark in part 2 you said "All 3 Branches are to uphold and interpret the Constitution." I submit to you that, "All 3 Branches are to uphold and APPLY the Constitution. As the "interpretation" took place during the vote.

[justinsleeper]

Very good video, something like this should be shown every year K-12 to every student in this country. "Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty." -Thomas Jefferson

[bojstafford]

Very good posts, thank you.

[Bullettube]

Nice post but may I suggest that you use light colors on a dark background or better yet, dark letters on a light background.

The 9th amendment, my favorite and probably the most important amendment in the Bill Of Rights.

The Senate originally was made up of representatives appointed by state governors to represent states' rights as a check against the House and Executive branches.

Direct election of Senators is probably the biggest change ever made to our Constitution. (maybe the worse?)

[bilashhossain]

thanks this really helped for my AP class

[b4ihang]

Great video! My only suggestion is to edit the title--clean it up a little. You have "...Constitution part 1 - 5 (and 2 - 5) Key Concepts..." It hypnotically makes you believe it is five parts, instead of paying attention to the "5 Key Concepts".

[glenncookiowa1979]

"Much that once was is lost, for none now live, that remember."

[SpotterOz]

@glenncookiowa1979 Fellowship of the Ring. Great quote it is too.

[bodaciuos357]

i have a question to ho ever can answer it.. why is it that Washington D.C. is not a state..

[kat111290]

@bodaciuos357 The founding fathers did not want the federal government to be run by a state. It remains neutral to all state laws that way.

[50srefugee]

@bodaciuos357: "why is it that Washington D.C. is not a state"

Roughly, the Founders feared that any state containing the Capital would gain power above the other states. Instead, it is merely a "federal enclave", wholly a creature of the government. It was never intended to be a proper city with permanently resident citizens or much business beyond governance. It was literally the national "servants' quarters", housing only public officials and their personal servants (including many slaves).

[50srefugee]

One more point:

I think the Constitution is best understood as structuring and limiting the government, without specifying what we, the people, may or may not do. Beyond that, it's an alarm tripwire, which we can use to determine when the government has exceeded its powers to the point where it loses legitimacy, something it is perilously close to doing, if it has not already.

[50srefugee]

Very good summary, but the assertion that the Declaration and the Constitution were designed to work together is wrong. The Declaration preceded the Constitution by a decade, and it doesn't call for a constitution, or even a federal government. There was fierce debate over the Constitution, and the signing was nowhere near unanimous. (See Anti-Federalists.)

No question, though, that the Declaration gives the Constitution purpose and direction, and enables its revocation if necessary.

[cmseibert]

@50srefugee - I think it is accurate to say Constitution cannot be correctly interpreted without the Declaration and that you agree with that piont. To your point, when I re-record these items to clean up a few things, I would not use the word "design", as the Dec was over a decade before the Constitution. It was not as if they sat down and planned out both documents at the same time. Your other points I agree with as well. Thanks for your input.

[50srefugee]

@cmseibert: "Constitution cannot be correctly interpreted without the Declaration "

Absolutely, and I'm sorry I wasn't clear on that; I think I accidentally edited that point out to meet Youtube's restriction on comment length.

So, yes, the Declaration stands on its own, as far it goes; but the Constitution is only valid insofar as it implements the ideals in the Declaration.

[johnnibarger]

@cmseibert - The Declaration was the official position of Independence, to be separate from Britain and provide a basic philosphy or basis of this newly declared freedom and independence. Of course, there was no clear method of governance yet envisioned and established and many of the colonial states feared a strong central government which is why we initially ended up with a Confederacy initially. However, the constitution definitely is created within the stated basis of the declaration

[Kingery4President]

@50srefugee I disagree. The Constitution (Articles or Const.) ARE the FORMS OF GOVERNMENT that the Declaration identifies when it refers to governments deriving their just powers from the consent of the people. According to the 1787 Constitution, the People created and ordained it, which is the power that the PEOPLE retained. The Declaration identifies powers corrupted by government. The PEOPLE, via the Constitution, set out to correct those corrupted powers. The Declaration being superior.

[spnov59]

Thank you so much! I am 71 yrs old and I will have to listen to many more times to get it engraved in my gray stuff.

[xtaxplayer]

Legislative branch is the one that can declare war, unless the battle takes place on U.S. soil. In the latter instance the President must go to the Houses within 30 day's to explain, and each 30th day to apprise the Houses. By the 90th day the houses must decide either enter into war or not. The Houses are so lacking in knowledge of this that in 1973 they passed the war powers act. It was brought to the Supreme Court to decide on and they wouldn't view it because it held no merit with them.

[beckrecordingstudios]

Dr Ron Paul the Champion of the Constitution is considered today to be a nut :(

90% thats horrible

Good video I will pass around

[8bloc]

thank you very much. This is a very informative video!

[helltrackrider]

What i find interesting is that the Army is only supposed to maintained for a timeframe of two years...with the Navy fully maintained...seems logical as the Militia could be called upon in a time of war at home.

[Kingery4President]

When I traveled 33 states back in 2007-08, I could not find one person who understood this. Not one lawyer, law professor, news reporter, or politician (either seated or running).

Good to see there are others with this basic understanding.

Keep up the good work.

[w4rr3np34c3]

@Kingery4President shit i accidentally gave you a thumbs down :( 3 people thumbs up this to make up for my stupidity!

[brent538]

wow - good content - it's like "The U.S. Constitution for Dummies." I like the visuals on the Constitution itself - good job!

[andrewhirsch]

This video provides I great introduction and I thank the author for creating it; however, the only way to gain your own understanding of the DoI and Constitution is to read and analyze it yourself.