CitizenLink - Features - Dobson: Jefferson's Predictions of Oligarchy Have Come True
One of the benefits of my job is that I work across both grade and ability levels, so I am exposed to a lot of subject matter. Much of it I know; some of it bears a refresher. One of the areas in which I am being refreshed currently is history, specifically the development of our country.
As my fifth grade student and I read about the writing of the Constitution and the difficulties of its ratification, I learned. I suppose I had learned about the central government versus state government issue before, but it was nice to review it and to remember that my ancestors, on both sides, were concerned with being their own country. They wanted that country to be distinct from England and better too, I suppose. If Great Britain was good enough, why would they have gone to the trouble of a revolution?
As I have written previously in this blog, one of the quotes in my student's book is from Ben Franklin, who said that he thought maybe our Constitution was the best government to be had even though it is not perfect. Certainly, at least in its idealistic form, it provides for the citizens of the United States to be represented. I know there have been problems with that over the years as we struggled to include people of color, people who didn't own land and of course women as worthy of representation, but it seems to me that we have been making progress, at least until recently.
Thomas Jefferson is one of the people quoted in my student's book as having doubts about a central government. He was afraid that there was little difference between the president and a king, or at least that could be the case if the wrong man were elected.
I looked online for Marbury v. Madison online since I had heard somewhere that this was the case that Jefferson reacted to most strongly when discussing the judiciary, and I found a bunch of good information at http://www.landmarkcases.org/marbury/jefferson.html. One of the quotes was the one Dr. Dobson cites about making the judges ultimate arbitrators. The rest of the quote is also relevant as it states that "Our judges are as honest as other men and not more so....Their maxim is bonijudicis est ampliare jurisdictionem [good justice is broad jurisdiction] and their power the more dangerous as they are in office for life and not responsible as the other functionaries are , to the elective control. The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing that to whatever hands confided, with the corruptions of time and party, its members would become despots." Jefferson is quoted as having written this to William C. Jarvis.
It seems to me that our courts are becoming despotic. I am particularly disturbed that they are quoting European law as a basis for their opinions since I thought the ideas was that our nation was different from those in Europe. It still must be different, at least for now, since people immigrate all the time and even nations who despise our politics come here for our freedoms.
I also read about the Federalist Papers with my student. I had forgotten that they were written to educate the people, the commoners, (you know, you and me) about the Constitution so that it could be ratified. In writing to Spencer Roane, Jefferson said this:"...if I understand rightly [this] quotation from the FEDERALIST of an opinion that 'the judiciary is the last resort in relation to the other departments of the government....then indeed is our Constitution a complete felo de se [act of suicide]. For intending to establish three departments, coordinate and independent, that they might check and balance one another, it has given, according to this opinion, to one of them alone the right to prescribe rules for the government of the others...The Constitution on this hypothesis is a mere thing of was in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they please."
Seems to me that this is what IS happening with the judiciary in our country. The judiciary certainly thumbed its nose at Congress during the Terri Schiavo case. Jefferson, who was in favor of states' rights, would not have been pleased that Jeb Bush had no power over Terri's situation. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy cited "international public opinion" in a recent court decision. Since when have Americans let the world decide for them? Since when have we become a country that did not decide for itself?
When Americans were faced with despotic rule more than two hundred years ago, they revolted. Will we revolt again? Do enough of us care?
One of the benefits of my job is that I work across both grade and ability levels, so I am exposed to a lot of subject matter. Much of it I know; some of it bears a refresher. One of the areas in which I am being refreshed currently is history, specifically the development of our country.
As my fifth grade student and I read about the writing of the Constitution and the difficulties of its ratification, I learned. I suppose I had learned about the central government versus state government issue before, but it was nice to review it and to remember that my ancestors, on both sides, were concerned with being their own country. They wanted that country to be distinct from England and better too, I suppose. If Great Britain was good enough, why would they have gone to the trouble of a revolution?
As I have written previously in this blog, one of the quotes in my student's book is from Ben Franklin, who said that he thought maybe our Constitution was the best government to be had even though it is not perfect. Certainly, at least in its idealistic form, it provides for the citizens of the United States to be represented. I know there have been problems with that over the years as we struggled to include people of color, people who didn't own land and of course women as worthy of representation, but it seems to me that we have been making progress, at least until recently.
Thomas Jefferson is one of the people quoted in my student's book as having doubts about a central government. He was afraid that there was little difference between the president and a king, or at least that could be the case if the wrong man were elected.
I looked online for Marbury v. Madison online since I had heard somewhere that this was the case that Jefferson reacted to most strongly when discussing the judiciary, and I found a bunch of good information at http://www.landmarkcases.org/marbury/jefferson.html. One of the quotes was the one Dr. Dobson cites about making the judges ultimate arbitrators. The rest of the quote is also relevant as it states that "Our judges are as honest as other men and not more so....Their maxim is bonijudicis est ampliare jurisdictionem [good justice is broad jurisdiction] and their power the more dangerous as they are in office for life and not responsible as the other functionaries are , to the elective control. The Constitution has erected no such single tribunal, knowing that to whatever hands confided, with the corruptions of time and party, its members would become despots." Jefferson is quoted as having written this to William C. Jarvis.
It seems to me that our courts are becoming despotic. I am particularly disturbed that they are quoting European law as a basis for their opinions since I thought the ideas was that our nation was different from those in Europe. It still must be different, at least for now, since people immigrate all the time and even nations who despise our politics come here for our freedoms.
I also read about the Federalist Papers with my student. I had forgotten that they were written to educate the people, the commoners, (you know, you and me) about the Constitution so that it could be ratified. In writing to Spencer Roane, Jefferson said this:"...if I understand rightly [this] quotation from the FEDERALIST of an opinion that 'the judiciary is the last resort in relation to the other departments of the government....then indeed is our Constitution a complete felo de se [act of suicide]. For intending to establish three departments, coordinate and independent, that they might check and balance one another, it has given, according to this opinion, to one of them alone the right to prescribe rules for the government of the others...The Constitution on this hypothesis is a mere thing of was in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they please."
Seems to me that this is what IS happening with the judiciary in our country. The judiciary certainly thumbed its nose at Congress during the Terri Schiavo case. Jefferson, who was in favor of states' rights, would not have been pleased that Jeb Bush had no power over Terri's situation. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy cited "international public opinion" in a recent court decision. Since when have Americans let the world decide for them? Since when have we become a country that did not decide for itself?
When Americans were faced with despotic rule more than two hundred years ago, they revolted. Will we revolt again? Do enough of us care?
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