Most Americans don’t realize that the Constitution originally called for the State Legislatures to appoint the Senate in the Federal Government. If fact it operated this way for well over 100 years. A discussion on why it changed would require a longer treatment then this post would allow, however consider what John Dickinson, a signer of the Constitution, had to say about the dangers of having the Senate elected by popular vote:

If the state government were excluded from all agency in the national one, and
all power drawn from the people at large, the consequence would be that the
national government would move in the same direction as the state governments
now do, and would run into all the same mischief’s. The reform would only
unite the thirteen small streams into one great current, pursuing the same
course without any opposition whatever.

The 17th Amendment of the US Constitution passed in 1913 has dramatically disrupted the balance of power. Senators since this date have been elected by the popular vote of the people. Mr. Dickinson’s preceding quote has proven to be prophetic as we have witnessed the rapid increase in the size of the Federal Government and its reach into the affairs of the States. The result has been the erosion of one of the most important separations of powers created by the Constitution. Today as a result, “We The People” have less ability to check the unconstitutional actions which are proposed and passed by the Federal Government.

Why study the Constitution and the US Success Formula?

To answer this question I call upon the great Statesman Thomas Jefferson who had this to say concerning the Constitution:

"We owe every other sacrifice to ourselves, to our federal brethren, AND TO THE WORLD AT LARGE, to pursue with temper and perseverance the great experiment which shall prove that man is capable of living in society, governing itself by laws self-imposed, and securing to its members the enjoyment of life, liberty, property, and peace; and further show, that even when the government of its choice shall manifest a tendency to degeneracy, we are not at once to despair, but that the will and the watchfulness of its sounder parts will reform its aberrations, recall it to original and legitimate principles and restrain it within the rightful limits of self government.”

How can we expect to accomplish this with out at least a basic understanding of the principles of self-government? The Thomas Jefferson Center classes inspired by the late Dr. W. Cleon Skousen's Miracle of America Course will walk you through these principles. Listen to Dr. Skousen tell the story of Eldridge Cleaver, a former Black Panther, as an illustration of the impact of both ignoring these principles and later embracing them. You'll also hear Eldridge Cleaver express regret that he was not taught these principles earlier in life.

To attend the Healing of America constitutional studies course by Dr. W. Cleon Skousen and Dr. Glenn J. Kimber email us at healingofamerica@gmail.com

Please visit the link below for a complete listing of classes offered by the Thomas Jefferson Center. http://thomasjeffersoncenter.com/events/calendar-of-events

For more information about the content of the seminars visit: http://thomasjeffersoncenter.com/events/healing-of-america