“[The Congress shall have the power] To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.”
If one wants to understand the Constitution, there is no substitute for actually reading the document itself, of course. But this audiobook gives historical context that is not available within the document itself. It helps to place the original Constitution into the context of its times, and leaves it to another audiobook to cover the amendments to the Constitution (a subject that I have covered elsewhere).
The most prominent feature of the Constitution may be its separation of powers. The Constitution created three branches of government: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. In principle, the separation of powers is very simple, but the checks and balances necessary to maintain it are not. Nonetheless, the checks and balances are very important to understand for a modern audience, since they are the supreme law of the land today. Thus, a significant part of this audiobook is about the checks and balances between the different branches, and what the Constitution says about them. This is the most prominent feature of their analysis of the Constitution.
Interior of Independence Hall, where the Constitution was signed
But they also talk about the influences on the Constitution. Montesquieu was probably the greatest influence on the separation of powers that we have been talking about up until this point. They give a famous quotation from Montesquieu about separation of powers, which was cited by James Madison in Federalist No. 47. But they also mention the influence of John Locke, and how the Constitution exemplifies his social contract theory. Some have questioned whether John Locke was indeed an influence on our Constitution, so I link to this blog post for the benefit of skeptics on this subject. This blog post gives the evidence that John Locke influenced our Constitution.
James Madison
I should note that I had already heard of these two men before I listened to this audiobook. But I had not heard of Sir Edward Coke, whom they mention in a later audiobook. His last name is spelled “C-o-k-e,” but it is pronounced “cook” like one who prepares food. They give a famous quote from him about how a man’s home is his castle, which was very influential on our Constitution. They also mention the influence of Sir William Blackstone, whom I had heard of before this, although I had never connected him with our Constitution before I listened to this audiobook. They give a quotation from him about separation of powers in Britain. This showed the influence of the earlier Montesquieu.
Alexander Hamilton
They also show how the Constitution departed drastically from its most immediate predecessor. The predecessor to the Constitution is actually known as the “Articles of Confederation.” It created a weak federal government with virtually no power. It was so weak, in fact, that it became necessary in 1787 to write a new Constitution – the one that this audiobook is focused on. It is hard to appreciate how revolutionary our Constitution was, if one does not examine its most immediate predecessor. This is why they spend some time comparing the two documents, and showing the stark contrast between them.
The Constitutional Convention – Philadelphia, 1787
They also talk about the “necessary and proper” clause (which I quoted earlier here). This granted an enormous amount of “implied powers” to the federal government. They jump right into the “implied powers” debate, and show what an important debate it really is. Many contemporary debates center around the “necessary and proper” clause, and the correct interpretation of its (admittedly somewhat vague) meaning. This was the most controversial part of the original Constitution in its own time, and it is easy to see why after you listen to their discussion.
Constitution of the United States
I don’t want this review to get much longer, so suffice it to say that this is a great audiobook. It is a great introduction to the hallowed passages of the United States Constitution.
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
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See also these influences on the Constitution:
Part of the audiobook series
The United States Constitution
Text of the United States Constitution
See also the audiobook series
The United States at War
Others to be covered later
See also another audiobook series
The Giants of Political Thought
Others to be covered later
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