This seminar is now full. To make a request that we offer it again in the future, please email iseminars@wacademy.org.
The Constitution Made Simple
What Every Student Must Know to Defend Freedom
February 2 thru May 25, 2010
| Introduction | |
| Overview | |
| Schedule & Syllabi | |
| Texts & Materials | |
| Mentor Bio | |
| Online Format | |
Things are changing. You feel it. I feel it. Power centers we’ve come to depend on are crumbling while principles of government that have defined us seem to be dissolving. People are wondering what will come next, and it’s not just the academics asking the question. Just turn on your radio. One song in pop culture, after describing how “paranoia is in bloom” and condemning all the political promises and packages that keep us trapped in greed, has this to say:
Rise up and take the power back, it's time that
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that
Their time is coming to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend
(Muse, “Uprising”)
The chorus to another popular song explains:
As your castles crumble slowly
We watch them fall
The crown slips from heads unworthy
As we take control
(Rise Against, “From Heads Unworthy”)
However, while things are drastically changing, it would be foolish to abandon the ideas of the past that have helped us accomplish so much. This seminar is designed to help high school students, ages 12-18, learn some of the specific clauses of the constitution and see how they interact in real-life situations; it will also help you understand the Judeo-Christian ethic and have a clear sense for the foundation our constitutional structure rests on. We need to be able to articulate specific principles of freedom that accurately describe our system, its foundation, our rights and our responsibilities. That is the purpose of this seminar. After this seminar you will have a small arsenal of specific principles that can inform and help you to explain your political/constitutional views (see Seminar Description and Syllabi). Together, we really can move the cause of liberty.
This seminar is divided into four month-long sections. Each section will have four classes, one per week. Following is an overview:
The Foundation. The strength of any foundation will determine the size of the building that can be built thereon. Thank goodness for us, our Constitution is built on a very solid foundation. The troubling part is that the core principles that make up the foundation of our democratic republic are neglected in today’s high schools, universities and law schools.
This section will focus on the role of God and religion, unalienable rights, natural law, and the ideas of mixed government and a written constitution in our constitutional framework.
The Structure. Once you understand the foundation of our system, you are ready to understand the structure itself. The entire power structure of our government is channeled into two molds: Vertical Powers and Horizontal Powers.
Vertical Powers include everything from basic self and family government all the way up to the federal government. Horizontal powers consider the three main branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial. To understand the structure, one must appreciate the inner-workings of each of these molds in detail and see how they interact together.
The Rights. While the Structure focuses on the flow of governmental power, the Rights section focuses on the powers retained by the people and the states. How well do you understand your rights?
This section will focus on the individual’s rights of religion, speech, arms, property, privacy, procedural and substantive due process, and other non-enumerated rights. It will also focus on states’ rights.
The Responsibilities. As Victor Frankl put it, “Freedom is only part of the story and half of the truth. Freedom is but the negative aspect of the whole phenomenon whose positive aspect is [responsibility].” Stated another way, Frankl recommended “that the Statue of Liberty on the East Coast . . . be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast.”
When asked what type of government the Founders had created, Benjamin Franklin responded, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
We have unique responsibilities as citizens of a republic, which have been spoken of by the founders, Alexis de Toqueville, Montesquieu and others. At a minimum, they include being a virtuous people, electing virtuous leaders, obtaining a certain type of education, and always exercising restraint and liberality as individuals and a nation.
Classes are held Tuesdays from 1:00-2:30 p.m., MST. Dates are in left column.
The Foundation
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Topic |
Principles |
Text/Readings |
Lecture Topics |
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Feb. 2nd |
Of God(s) & Government |
The Role of the Creator
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Chapter 5, Five Thousand Year Leap (“FTYL”) |
Impact of [the] God(s) and Religion on Government: The Ancient Orient, Greece, Rome, Ancient Israel and Christianity as Examples
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The Role of Religion
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Chapter 4, FTYL |
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The Role of Revealed Law |
Chapter 9, FTYL |
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Feb. 9th |
Unalienable Rights |
Genius of Natural Law |
Chapter 1, FTYL
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Natural Law & Nonsense: Why a Discussion About Unalienable Rights is Nonsense Without a Belief in a Creator |
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Feb. 16th |
Natural Law |
All Men Are Created Equal
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Chapter 6, FTYL |
Theories of Natural Law: Cicero, Blackstone, Locke and Finnis |
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Equal Rights, Not Equal Things
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Chapter 7, FTYL |
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Man’s Unalienable Rights
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Chapter 8, FTYL Declaration of Independence |
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Feb. 23rd |
Mixed Government, Written Constitution |
Advantages of a Republic |
Chapter 12, FTYL |
Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws: Of Republics, Monarchies and Despotisms
Aristotle’s Government Cycle: On Good Forms Versus Bad Forms |
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A Written Constitution Protects Against Human Frailty |
Chapter 13, FTYL |
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The Separation of Powers |
Chapter 16, FTYL |
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Importance of a Written Constitution |
Chapter 18, FTYL |
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Government by Law, Not by Men |
Chapter 22, FTYL |
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The Structure
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Topic |
Principles |
Text/Readings |
Lecture Topics |
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March 2nd |
Vertical Powers |
Sovereignty of the People |
Chapter 10, Five Thousand Year Leap (“FTYL”) |
Aristotle’s Line: From Cult to Polis to State (and Everything In Between)
Why It All Boils Down to the Family: And Some Commentary On How Democracy Influences the Family Unit (Tocqueville, Democracy in America, Book III) |
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Limiting and Defining the Powers of Government |
Chapter 19, FTYL |
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March 9th |
Vertical Powers |
Strong, Local Self-government |
Chapter 21, FTYL |
Laboratories of Experimentation: Why Federal One-Size-Fits-All is Usually One-Size-Hurts-All
Why Power Tends to Centralize and Then Expand: Tocqueville On Centralization of Power in Democracies (Democracy in America, Book IV) |
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March 16th |
Horizontal Powers |
Role of the Legislative Branch
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U.S. Constitution, Art. I |
The Executive Branch—Do You Want a King? Oh, yes you do! The Appeal of the Biblical Monarch and the Effect on Our National Psyche (1 Samuel 8 and Other Biblical Passages)
The Legislative Branch—Who Wants a Piece of the Pie? How the Legislative Branch Works (And How the Seventeenth Amendment Messed It Up)
The Judicial Branch—Who Made You the Boss? Commentary on Exodus 18 and Marbury v. Madison |
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Role of the Executive Branch
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U.S. Constitution, Art. II |
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Role of the Judicial Branch |
U.S. Constitution, Art. III |
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March 23rd |
Horizontal Powers |
Who Can Alter the Government?
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Chapter 11, FTYL U.S. Constitution, Art. V |
Why You Need to Know the Waltz to Understand Checks and Balances
Political Parties: A Brief Introduction |
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Checks and Balances |
Chapter 17, FTYL |
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The Rights
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Topic |
Principles |
Text/Readings |
Lecture Topics |
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March 30th |
Religion, Speech, Guns |
Free Exercise of Religion
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U.S. Constitution, 1st Amt. |
Why Freedom of Religion is First On the List: Why Religion is the Sine Qua Non of All Rights
Drawing Lines in the Sand: A Constitutional Right to “Your Mama” Jokes? What Speech Should Be Protected?
Districe of Columbia v. Heller: Why the Right to Bear Arms is a Personal Right—Not Just a Right About State Militias |
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No Establishment of Religion |
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Freedom of Speech
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Right to Bear Arms |
U.S. Constitution, 2nd Amt. |
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April 6th |
Procedural Due Process, Property, and Related Issues |
Property Rights Are Essential to Liberty |
Chapter 14, Five Thousand Year Leap (“FTYL”) |
Property Rights and the Bundle of Sticks: What is the Right to Property and Why Does It Matter?
The Four Elements of Production
Capitalism versus Free Market Economics
Procedural Due Process and Relatives: Why the Processes are as Important as the Rights! |
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Free-market Economics |
Chapter 15, FTYL |
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Searches and Seizures |
U.S. Constitution, 4th Amt. |
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Pleading the Fifth |
U.S. Constitution, 5th Amt. |
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Taking of Private Property |
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Procedural Due Process |
U.S. Constitution, Amts 5, 6, 7 and 8 |
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April 13th |
The Rights Retained by the States and the People |
The Rights Retained by the People |
U.S. Constitution, 9th Amt. |
And In This Corner: The Bleeding and Bruised Tenth Amendment! Is this a K.O. or Can It Make a Come Back?
Statesmanship, Mediating Entities and the Proper Role of Government |
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The Powers Retained by the States and the People |
U.S. Constitution, 10th Amt. |
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April 20th |
Equal Protection and Substantive Due Process |
Substantive Due Process
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U.S. Constitution, 14th Amt.
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Magic Wands and Bottomless Hats: How the Judiciary Uses the 14th Amendment to Magically Pull New Rights Out of the Constitution
Tyranny of the Majority Or Tyranny of the One: How Do We Find the Balance? |
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Majority Rule, Minority Rights |
Chapter 20, FTYL |
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The Responsibilities
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Topic |
Principles |
Text/Readings |
Lecture Topics |
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May 4th |
A Virtuous People |
A Virtuous and Moral People |
Chapter 2, The Five Thousand Year Leap (“FTYL”) |
“A Republic, If You Can Keep It….” Why Virtue Matters (Montesquieu’s Spirit of the Laws and Tocqueville’s Democracy in America, Books 1-4)
The Fatal Sequence Theory (a.k.a. Tytler Cycle): The Big Picture |
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May 11th |
Virtuous Leaders |
Virtuous and Moral Leaders |
Chapter 3, FTYL |
Theories of Representation and Republics: Should Leaders in a Republic Do What the People Want or What Their Conscience Dictates?
Law and Morality: Should Morality be Enforced by Law? The Pros and Cons |
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May 18th |
Education
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Importance of an Educated Electorate |
Chapter 23, FTYL |
But What Kind of Education? Of Conveyor Belts, Leadership and the Liberal Arts
Masses, Intelligentsia and the Elite: How One’s Type of Education Impacts Her Potential Societal Contributions
Socioeconomic Class Motives and Education |
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May 25th |
Restraint & Liberality |
Peace Through Strength |
Chapter 24, FTYL |
Ten-year-olds and BB Guns: Why Is It So Hard to Have Power and Not Use It?
Pietas, Labor and Fatum: A Lesson From the Greeks |
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Avoid Entangling Alliances |
Chapter 25, FTYL |
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Avoid the Burden of Debt
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Chapter 27, FTYL |
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The Founders’ Sense of Manifest Destiny |
Chapter 28, FTYL |
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The only texts for this seminar are The Five Thousand Year Leap, by Cleon Skouson, the Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Students must purchase these texts before the class begins. Students should do the listed readings on the syllabus (see above) before each class begins. Estimated reading time for each class is 30-60 minutes, depending on reader’s speed. No other prep is necessary.
Participants should also have a working headset that has both headphones and a mic in order to participate in the discussion (although not mandatory). Be sure to test your headset out with your computer before the first class period. Headsets can be picked up from Wal-mart or Staples for under $15. Without a headset you may still participate by typing questions/comments in the chat box and observing class, but you won’t be able to participate orally.
James C. Ure teaches Constitutional Case Law for George Wythe University and owns Williamsburg Academy, an accredited, private, online high school with an emphasis in leadership, classical works and the outdoors. James received his B.A. in English from Brigham Young University and graduated magna cum laude from South Texas College of Law. In law school, James served as President of the Federalist Society, the J. Reuben Clark Law Society and hosted speeches or debates with prominent judges and professors from around the country. He also served on the South Texas Law Review, which published an article of his on the U.S. Constitution. He has been a small business owner, clerked for a Texas state court judge and a law firm, and served as an intern in the Utah House of Representatives for the majority whip. He is married to the former Angela Stott, and they have three children.
Our Online Seminars are held in a live, highly interactive virtual classroom provided through Elluminate. Elluminate specializes in the interactive experience.
Before class begins, please see the 5-minute Elluminate Orientation.
Participants should plan on 30-60 minutes of preparation for each class. The major portion of each class will be presentation by the mentor and the second part will be interactive class discussion.
Cost & Payment Schedule: The cost of the seminar is $35 per student per month or $60 for all siblings in the home. When you pay, you will authorize a payment for the first month of the seminar, and you will authorize a recurring monthly charge for the same amount for each of the three remaining sections (each payment will go through exactly one month after the first).
Multiple Siblings Discount: You may register all siblings in your home for $60. Thanks for your honesty in seeing that only registered students view and/or participate.
Cancellation: You may terminate your enrollment at any time and all future recurring payments will be cancelled. However, no refunds will be given.
Not for Credit: Williamsburg Academy Seminars are NOT offered for official high school credit.