“The Crisis of American Constitutionalism”

From Hillsdale College:

First Principles on First Fridays

“The Crisis of American Constitutionalism”

Larry Arnn

December 5, 2008

The Declaration of Independence was a revolutionary document, but also a humble one. American government, it proclaimed, would be at all times subservient to "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God." Today, in higher education and in politics, those laws are held not to exist. As a direct result, our government rules according to its unchecked will, and we are seeing the reduction of politics to force. The key to reversing this trend—thus to reviving liberty—is a return to our ancient faith.

Larry P. Arnn is the twelfth president of Hillsdale College. He received his B.A. from Arkansas State University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in government from the Claremont Graduate School. He also studied at the London School of Economics and at Worcester College, Oxford University, where he was director of research for Sir Martin Gilbert, the official biographer of Winston Churchill. From 1985-2000, Dr. Arnn was president of the Claremont Institute. He is the author of Liberty and Learning: The Evolution of American Education.