Professor Explains Why Founding Fathers 'Deliberately Made Congress Weak,' Series Pt. 1

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🗓️ 30 August 2023

⏱️ 25 minutes

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Summary

The Founding Fathers feared the power of the legislative branch from its inception in the late 1700s. They did not want to trade one tyrant for a group of tyrants, one professor tells "The Daily Signal Podcast," so they “deliberately made Congress weak by dividing it up into these two bodies,” the House and the Senate. According to Joseph Postell, Hillsdale College associate professor of politics and Heritage Foundation visiting fellow, the Founders wanted the House and Senate to “fight amongst each other” because this would create a check on power. And fight they did. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) “The early politicians were really committed to their principles and were willing to fight over them,” Postell said, adding that "Duels were very common.” Postell joins "The Daily Signal Podcast" for Part One of a three-part series on how Congress really works. He discusses the history of Congress and what the Founding Fathers would say about what the legislative branch has become today. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the Daily Civil Podcast for Wednesday, August 30th, I'm Virginia Allen.
0:11.4	Today, we are kicking off a three-part series detailing how Congress really works.
0:18.9	You know, the longer that I have lived and worked in the Washington DC area, the more
0:24.0	I realize just how wonky Congress can be.
0:28.3	To help so many of the things that we learn in school about how Congress works, though
0:32.9	accurate, really fall short of pinning the full picture of how our legislative branch
0:39.3	operates on a daily basis.
0:42.1	So we are beginning this three-part podcast series today by sitting down with Hillsdale
0:47.4	College Associate Professor of Politics and Heritage Foundation Visiting Fellow Joseph
0:53.1	Pustel.
0:54.1	To talk about the founders' vision for Congress and what they intended the powers of Congress
1:00.6	to be and not be in the Constitution, stay tuned for my conversation with Joseph Pustel
1:07.3	after this.
1:08.8	The Heritage Foundation is the most effective conservative policy organization in the country.
1:14.6	Every semester, our interns are a vital part of that mission.
1:18.5	We pay competitively, we develop talent, and we give our interns access to some of the
1:23.5	sharpest minds in the country.
1:25.9	We're going on offense.
1:27.4	So join us.
1:28.4	To learn more about the Young Leaders Program here at the Heritage Foundation, please
1:32.8	go to heritage.org slash intern.
1:37.1	It is my pleasure today to be joined by Hillsdale College Associate Professor of Politics
	...

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