Constitutional literacy Workbook to the 25-Part DVD Series Michael Farris Constitutional Literacy Published by Apologia Educational Ministries, Inc. 1106 Meridian Plaza, Suite 220/340 Anderson, Indiana 46016 www.apologia.com © 2014 by Michael Farris ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Manufactured in the USA First Printing 2014 ISBN: 978-1-940110-29-5 Printed by Bang Printing, Brainerd, MN Design and Layout by Doug Powell Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Other Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Contents Introduction: Freedom At Risk ........................................................................ 7 How to Use This Workbook .......................................................................... 11 Episode 1: Introduction to the Constitution ................................................. 13 Episode 2: Article I, Section 1 ....................................................................... 26 Episode 3: Judicial Review and Original Intent ............................................. 38 Episode 4: The Powers of Congress ................................................................ 50 Episode 5: The Commerce and General Welfare Clauses ............................... 62 Episode 6: The Powers of the President .......................................................... 77 Episode 7: Does the Bill of Rights Apply to the States? .................................. 89 Episode 8: The Establishment of Religion.................................................... 101 Episode 9: The Free Exercise of Religion, Part 1 .......................................... 113 Episode 10: The Free Exercise of Religion, Part 2 ........................................ 127 Episode 11: Freedom of Speech and Press .................................................... 140 Episode 12: Freedom of Association ............................................................ 152 Episode 13: The Right to Keep and Bear Arms ............................................ 164 Episode 14: The Fourth Amendment .......................................................... 174 Episode 15: Due Process .............................................................................. 187 Episode 16: Property Rights ........................................................................ 197 Episode 17: Equal Protection ...................................................................... 207 Episode 18: Abortion Rights ....................................................................... 219 Episode 19: Homosexual Rights .................................................................. 232 Episode 20: Parental Rights ......................................................................... 245 Episode 21: International Law ..................................................................... 256 Episode 22: Is the National Debt Unconstitutional? .................................... 270 Episode 23: Was the American Revolution an Ungodly Rebellion? .............. 281 Episode 24: Was the Constitution Illegally Adopted? ................................... 293 Episode 25: Reclaiming Our Country ......................................................... 306 The Constitution of the United States ......................................................... 317 Glossary ...................................................................................................... 341 Episode 1 Introduction to the Constitution Pu r p o s e After listening to this lecture and completing this chapter, you will: • Recognize the responsibilities of an enlightened citizen. • Identify the three elements of constitutional knowledge. • Understand the two kinds of unconstitutional acts. Pa r l a n c e Using the glossary, write the definitions for the following vocabulary words: constitution Ultra Vires Enumerated Powers 13 Pr e a m b l e “We the people.” These are the first words of the United States Constitution. “We the people . do ordain and establish this Constitution of the United States of America.” Those aren’t just pretty words. They are a clear statement of the origin of all authority and power in this country. This government by the people derives its power from the people—power flows from the bottom up, not from the top down. The Constitution is not a document whereby an all-powerful government grants certain rights and privileges to its citizens. No, it’s the other way around. The Constitution is a document whereby the citizens of the United States grant certain authorities and powers to their government. “We the people” aren’t passive recipients of rights granted in the Constitution; “We the people” are the actors, the initiators in this exchange. At least, we’re supposed to be. The truth is, “We the people” have grown quite passive when it comes to our relationship to the government that we empower. As a nation, we have grown quite ignorant of how and why government works. And in our ignorance and passivity, we have surrendered too many rights and freedoms to our government. George Nicholas, a hero of the War for American Independence, found it hard to imagine a scenario in which free Americans would allow their government to abuse the powers that the people granted to it in the Constitution. He said, “An enlightened people will never suffer what was established for their security to be perverted to an act of tyranny.” However, when it comes to the Constitution, today’s Americans could hardly be described as “an enlightened people.” As a result, we have been subjected to many acts of tyranny. The goal of this course is to re-enlighten students, families, and patriotic Americans in order to stem the tide of tyranny in this country. Po n d e r Watch the lecture with your workbook open and the pause button handy. Answer the workbook questions as you go along. 14 Constitutional Literacy I. What Should We Know? What Should We Do? What does it mean for us to be the kind of citizens that George Nicholas believed would prevent the rise of tyranny? In order for us to become “an enlightened people,” we need to do the following: • First, we need to understand what the Constitution requires of our government. • Second, we need to understand what our government is actually doing today. What happens when we discover that there’s a gap between what the Constitution requires and what our government is actually doing? It is our duty as citizens to vote out elected officials who abuse the Constitution and replace them with new officials who will faithfully preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. Effective citizenship begins with a good working knowledge of the Constitution. Very few Americans—including those serving at the highest levels of government— possess an appropriate level of understanding of our Constitution. Truly being an enlightened American citizen requires three aspects of © Eti Swinford | Dreamstime.com constitutional knowledge: 1. What does the Constitution actually say? 2. What did the Founding Fathers mean by the words of each of the phrases and clauses? (Language changes through the years, and it takes some effort to work out the “original meaning” of the words used by the Constitution’s framers.) 3. In the years since the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, how has the Supreme Court ruled on the various parts of the Constitution? As you explore these three aspects of constitutional knowledge, it will become apparent that there is quite often a disparity between the first two components—the Introduction to the Constitution 15 text and its original meaning—with the third component—the Supreme Court’s decisions. The rulings of the Supreme Court are often significantly at odds with the original meaning of the Constitution. It is important to understand that we don’t study the Supreme Court’s decisions in order to determine what the Constitution really means. Rather, we study the Supreme Court’s decisions in order to understand how our nation has drifted so far away from the original meaning of the Constitution and the intentions of the Founding Fathers of our nation. Understand that adherence to the Constitution is not a partisan political issue. Republicans and Democrats alike have violated the Constitution while in power. Republican- appointed justices on the Supreme Court—with rare exceptions—have been just as unfaithful to the Constitution as those appointed by Democrats. © iStockphoto Question 1 When we become aware of a gap between the requirements of the Constitution and the actions of our government, what is our responsibility as enlightened citizens? 16 Constitutional Literacy Question 2 What are the three aspects of constitutional knowledge? Question 3 Of the three aspects of constitutional knowledge, one area of study (or, more specifically, our motive for studying that area) is quite a bit different from the other two. Explain the difference. II. What Is the Purpose of a Constitution? The Preamble of the United States Constitution declares the specific purposes of the document: • To form a more perfect union • Establish justice • Insure domestic tranquility • Provide for the common defense • Promote the general welfare • Secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity Introduction to the Constitution 17 © Dreamstime.com But there is a more basic question we must address: What are the purposes of the type of legal document that we call a constitution? In