The Original Intent of the Constitution | Myths of American History

I came out of High School [1983] with a reasonable understanding of this and the process and context which produced the constitution. It was required class for a year and I had a great teacher. Civics classes seem to have disappeared from school. I talk to people all the time who never got any schooling about civics and government. The fabric that holds society together has been forgotten by most. The lack of understanding leaves room for con men and scoundrels of all kinds to prey on peoples mis-fortune and take advantage. I think the results are clear. My generation has a lot to answer for.

At college in New England about 30 years ago, some of the students decided to do a survey. They took a copy of the Bill of Rights(the first 10 amendments to the constitution) around to people. They pretended that they were circulating a petition to have them added to the constitution. Most people after reading them refused saying they these were to radical. I would have loved to seen some of those idiots reactions when they told them that it was already part of the constitution.

Wonderful lecture; clear, direct, nuanced, and open about the fact that, while he’s trying to understand the founding fathers on their own terms, he’s also doing so from the perspectives and problems of his own times. Excellent work!

I definitely wasn't taught this in school, but I'm glad I discovered this lecture to truly understand the purpose of the Constitution!

When I was in grade school it was a requirement that you pass a constitutional exam before you could graduate onto high school. My exam was 500 questions. I got an A++ for a perfect score plus bonus questions. These poor kids today couldn't answer 10 questions about it.

I perused the history, social science book my sons were using in high school. There were dozens of pages devoted to capitalism and only a page devoted to the Constitution. No wonder people have no knowledge of its meaning and content. The same was true for me when I was in school in the 1950s. Most of my knowledge came from reading books and documentaries later in life. Apparently publishers of school curriculum are purposely withholding this knowledge from young people.

Extremely well done, very through and informative. Well done sir, thank you. I’m 80 years old and had excellent teachers in History and Civics. Don’t believe high school students today have any idea what our Constitution is all about.

I think our leaders need a refresher course in American History.

I was expecting much political spin and found none. Thank you for teaching history and not using history to further a political agenda.

I found this fascinating. I learned these things in the 1960s and 70s in bits and pieces. It was great to have it all put together.

I'm the family tree keeper. Listening to this puts the image of my ancestors, during this time period, into a completely new light. They didn't get here until the mid-1800s, but it's still an incredible image.

As a Canadian I appreciate this unbiased overview of the US constitution. It explains a lot that most people have tended to just ignore.

In a time when mentioning the Constitution is used as a kind of ‘discussion quasher’ it is obvious that we need to have a general public that is much more informed on what the Constitution is and its relationship to our democracy and to our Republic.

I thought this presentation was extremely well done and fair. It was as unbiased as I could have hoped for. Kudos to the professor for a fine presentation, full of essential information, and clearly presented. Thank you very much.

It is great to see videos like this getting close to millions of views cuz it means ppl care or least someone does

If the executive branch is not enforcing laws and the Congress/legislative is not impeaching, does the judicial have a power to balance this?

2 minutes in and I am shocked at the ignorance in this country. The education system is broken.

In the early 90's this was still taught in my grade school. It was the first thing in the class which set the stage for the history behind it starting in the 17th century. We had a pretty good social studies program. Not as complete as a 19th century grade school where it would have plumbed the depths in more detail, but it was pretty good for the '90's.

What a great lecturer; precise, articulate and easy to follow. Bravo!

Thank you, Mark. I haven’t herd these points since grade school. This video should be required in public school.