Constitution 101: Consent of the Governed and the Separation of Powers

On this episode of The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast, Jeremiah and Juan discuss the difference between democracy and republicanism before introducing Ronald J. Pestritto. 

The United States Constitution was designed to secure the natural rights proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. Signed by Constitutional Convention delegates on September 17, 1787—Constitution Day—it was ratified by the American people and remains the most enduring and successful constitution in history. 

In this twelve-lecture course, students will examine the political theory of the American Founding and subsequent challenges to that theory throughout American history. Topics covered in this course include: the natural rights theory of the Founding, the meaning of the Declaration and the Constitution, the crisis of the Civil War, the Progressive rejection of the Founding, and the nature and form of modern liberalism.

The Framers understood that the “latent causes of faction . . . are sown in the nature of man.” Consequently, the Constitution establishes a number of institutional mechanisms such as representation and separation of powers to control the effects of faction. In so doing, the Constitution improved upon previous models of republican government.

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