Walter Dellinger, former acting Solicitor General of the United States, shares remarks entitled "September 17, 1787: The Debate Begins," addressing the ratification debates and the enduring significance of the Constitution today -- despite the ongoing debates about the meaning of particular phrases.
Paul Clement, former Solicitor General of the United States, then provides a response, followed by a question and answer period for those in the audience (both in person and online).
Bio
Paul Clement
Paul D. Clement is a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of King & Spalding, and head of the firm's national appellate practice. Mr. Clement served as the 43rd Solicitor General of the United States from June 2005 until June 2008. Prior to his confirmation as Solicitor General, he served as Acting Solicitor General for nearly a year and as Principal Deputy Solicitor General for over three years. His more than seven years of service in the Office of Solicitor General is the longest period of continuous service in the Office by a Solicitor General since the Nineteenth Century.
He has argued over 50 cases before the United States Supreme Court, including McConnell v. FEC, Tennessee v. Lane, Rumsfeld v. Padilla, Credit Suisse v. Billing, United States v. Booker and MGM v. Grokster. He also argued many of the government's most important cases in the lower courts, such as Walker v. Cheney and the successful appeal in United States v. Moussaoui.
Walter Dellinger
Walter Dellinger is the Douglas B. Maggs Professor of Law at Duke University. He returned to Duke in August, 1997, after having served as acting Solicitor General for the 1996-97 Term of the Supreme Court. Dellinger argued nine cases before the Court, the most by any Solicitor General in more than twenty years. His arguments included cases dealing with physician assisted suicide, the line item veto, the cable television act, the Brady Act, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the constitutionality of remedial services for parochial school children.
After serving in early 1993 in the White House as an advisor to the President on constitutional issues, Dellinger was nominated by the President to be Assistant Attorney General and head of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) and was confirmed by the Senate for that position in October, 1993. During his three years as Assistant Attorney General he served as the Department's principal legal advisor to the Attorney General and the President.
As head of OLC, Dellinger issued opinions on a wide variety of issues, including the President's authority to deploy United States forces in Haiti and Bosnia; whether the President may decline to enforce statutes he believes are unconstitutional; affirmative action; religious activity in public schools; whether the Uruguay Round GATT Agreements required treaty ratification, and a major review of separation of powers questions.
He provided extensive legal advice on loan guarantees for Mexico, on national debt ceiling issues, and on issues arising out of the shutdown of the federal government.
Fundamental law of the U.S. federal system of government and a landmark document of the Western world. It is the oldest written national constitution in operation, completed in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention of 55 delegates who met in Philadelphia, ostensibly to amend the Articles of Confederation. The Constitution was ratified in June 1788, but because ratification in many states was contingent on the promised addition of a Bill of Rights, Congress proposed 12 amendments in September 1789; 10 were ratified by the states, and their adoption was certified on Dec. 15, 1791. The framers were especially concerned with limiting the power of the government and securing the liberty of citizens. The Constitution's separation of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government, the checks and balances of each branch against the other, and the explicit guarantees of individual liberty were all designed to strike a balance between authority and liberty. Article I vests all legislative powers in the Congress—the House of Representatives and the Senate. Article II vests executive power in the president. Article III places judicial power in the hands of the courts. Article IV deals, in part, with relations among the states and with the privileges of the citizens, Article V with amendment procedure, and Article VI with public debts and the supremacy of the Constitution. Article VII stipulates that the Constitution would become operational after being ratified by nine states. The 10th Amendment limits the national government's powers to those expressly listed in the Constitution; the states, unless otherwise restricted, possess all the remaining (or “residual”) powers of government. Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a convention called by Congress on the application of the legislatures of two-thirds of the states. (All subsequent amendments have been initiated by Congress.) Amendments proposed by Congress must be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures or by conventions in as many states. Twenty-seven amendments have been added to the Constitution since 1789. In addition to the Bill of Rights, these include the 13th (1865), abolishing slavery; the 14th (1868), requiring due process and equal protection under the law; the 15th (1870), guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race; the 17th (1913), providing for the direct election of U.S. senators; the 19th (1920), instituting women's suffrage, and the 22nd (1951), limiting the presidency to two terms. See alsocivil liberty; commerce clause; Equal Rights Amendment; establishment clause; freedom of speech; judiciary; states' rights.
MTGRAY, educate yourself. We are NOT a democracy but a constitutional republic. The Founding Fathers knew that a democracy was not a good type of government, and that's why the Federalists wanted to make the Republicans appear as a bad party by adding the tag, democratic, to that political party, the Democratic-Republican Party. Popular democracy is only good as long as you give the people what they want BUT eventually, you'll run out of someone else's money.
Thank you fora tv, Being an amateur historian, I fail to understand why Masonary is never mentioned, all the Men wore the apron/masons, landowners Masons. 1787/89 Franklin Master Mason of 9 lodges in France, the illuminati formed in 1776 same as American Revolution, Masons instigated French Revolution that Franflin supervised. Why do American Historians leave out The Masonic founding fathers, Washington Adams Jefferson, even today 80 percent of presidents on down are Today Masons, Why no one says the truth.
The parasites of our founding fathers do not have the spirit to know what was the real agenda
of Democracy. the fifth generation use the idea to shape wars and wars.
This happened over 220 years ago and is as relevant as slaves count as 3/5 vote. Corporations didn't even exist for a hundred years.
We now have FOX News which is a 24/7 propaganda mill & UNLIMITED campaign financing by predatory corporations.
FIX News is not news. It's blatant propaganda. They even help organize their own rallies & demonstrations.
"Republicans originally thought that Fox worked for us, and now we are discovering we work for Fox." --David Frum, former Bush speechwriter & American Enterprise Fellow
"Of the people, by the corporations, and for the corporations."
The new Supreme Court decision will allow a corporation to run false attack ads against anyone they wish. That means they can now EXTORT every politician in the U.S. to do whatever they want for profit.
If you think you're getting screwed by health insurance companies, Wall Street, and credit card companies now -- just wait. All consumer protection will be the first to go.
We haven't seen anything yet.
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