Constitution 101: The Theory of the Declaration and the Constitution
The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast
Hillsdale College
4.6 • 621 Ratings
🗓️ 14 January 2026
⏱️ 41 minutes
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Summary
On this episode of The Hillsdale College Online Courses Podcast, Jeremiah and Juan introduce the course "Constitution 101".
The United States Constitution was designed to secure the natural rights proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence. Signed by Constitutional Convention delegates on September 17, 1787—Constitution Day—it was ratified by the American people and remains the most enduring and successful constitution in history.
In this twelve-lecture course, students will examine the political theory of the American Founding and subsequent challenges to that theory throughout American history. Topics covered in this course include: the natural rights theory of the Founding, the meaning of the Declaration and the Constitution, the crisis of the Civil War, the Progressive rejection of the Founding, and the nature and form of modern liberalism.
The form of government prescribed by the Constitution is based on the timeless principles of the Declaration of Independence. These two documents establish the formal and final causes of the United States and make possible the freedom that is the birthright of all Americans.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Hillsdale College Online Courses podcast. |
| 0:11.7 | I'm Jeremiah Regan, and I'm Juan Davalos. |
| 0:14.4 | We're here in the new year with a new course, Constitution 101, the meaning and history of the Constitution. |
| 0:20.7 | And this new year is the 250th anniversary of America's birth. So this is a fitting class |
| 0:26.8 | to start off the podcast you're with. And one of the things that I love about this course, |
| 0:34.1 | this is a course that I think all Americans should take. I think it should be a duty for |
| 0:39.1 | all Americans to be familiar and have a good understanding with some of our founding documents, |
| 0:44.7 | like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, because they are beautiful works of political |
| 0:52.3 | philosophy, certainly probably the most beautiful works of political |
| 0:56.1 | thought, of American political thought, but I think in general, in politics in general. |
| 1:01.4 | At Hillsdale, we take the Declaration and Constitution so seriously that every undergraduate |
| 1:05.6 | student is required to take Politics 101, U.S. Constitution, and learn about the Declaration, the Constitution, |
| 1:11.8 | and other founding documents. In this online course and the podcast you're about to listen to |
| 1:16.5 | are our representation of what all Hillsdale College students learn and we're pleased that |
| 1:21.4 | you're joining us on this journey. Now, in this first lecture, the theory of the Declaration |
| 1:26.4 | and the Constitution, Dr. Larry Arne, the theory of the declaration and the Constitution, |
| 1:28.1 | Dr. Larry Arne, the president of Hillsdale College, is going to walk you through what is the |
| 1:33.5 | Declaration of Independence and how is it different from the Constitution, but also what's |
| 1:39.3 | the connection between them? |
| 1:40.5 | I think that's something that's very misunderstood in our culture, the connection |
| 1:46.4 | between the two, what are the two documents doing because they serve different purposes? |
| 1:52.5 | And I think this lecture is going to make it clear for you what are each doing and why are |
... |
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