New audiobook release: An Examination into the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution (Noah Webster)

LibriVox ^ | 2025-08-30

[ProgressingAmerica]

I noticed some time ago that LV didn't have any works by Noah Webster, creator of that dictionary.

Well, now they have one.

https://librivox.org/examination-of-the-federal-constitution-by-noah-webster/

[ProgressingAmerica]

Webster's Examination was published the very same year that the Convention was concluded, 1787.

[ProgressingAmerica]

Friendly ping

[Liz]

The U.S. Constitution is guided by fundamental principles including
<><>Popular Sovereignty (rule by the people),
<><>Limited Government (government’s power is restricted),
<><>Separation of Powers (dividing government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches),
<><>Checks and Balances (each branch can limit the others),
<><>Federalism (power divided between federal and state governments),
<><>Republicanism (a system of government where citizens elect representatives),
<><> Individual Rights (guaranteed freedoms, often in the Bill of Rights).

The principles:

Popular Sovereignty: This principle states that the government’s authority comes from the people. Citizens grant power to the government, and it is accountable to them.

Limited Government: The government’s powers are not absolute but are restricted to what is outlined in the Constitution. No one, including government officials, is above the law.
Separation of Powers:
.
Power is divided among three distinct branches of government: the Legislative Branch (Congress, which makes laws), the Executive Branch (the President, who enforces laws), and the Judicial Branch (the Courts, which interpret laws).

Checks and Balances: This system allows each branch of government to have some control or influence over the actions of the other branches, preventing any single branch from becoming too powerful.

Federalism: Power is shared and divided between the national (federal) government and the individual state governments.

Republicanism: People exercise their power by electing representatives to make and enforce laws.

Individual Rights: The Constitution, particularly the Bill of Rights, guarantees certain individual freedoms and liberties that the government cannot take away, such as the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

[sopo]

thanks

[Loud Mime]

Wonderful!

[mjp]

Here are a few other key ones often discussed in constitutional scholarship.

These include:

Rule of Law: The idea that everyone, including government officials, is subject to the law, which overlaps with Limited Government and is implied in Article VI (oath to support the Constitution) and the Bill of Rights.

Supremacy of the Constitution: As per Article VI, federal law and the Constitution are the "supreme Law of the Land," supporting Federalism.

Judicial Review: Not explicitly stated but inferred from Article III, allowing courts to strike down unconstitutional laws, which bolsters Checks and Balances.

Protection Against Tyranny: A broader principle derived from the framers' intent, seen in the overall structure to prevent majority or minority oppression.

[rlmorel]

Thank you, PA! Downloading...:)

[Liz]

thx

[fella]

Marked for later listening.

[ProgressingAmerica]

Friendly ping for FYI, no further replies needed........

I saw your comment about culture being upstream and wanted to instead highlight what we are doing personally to make small improvements to culture. History is an important aspect of culture.

We have dozens of these revivals we have created, see key word ‘freeperbookclub’ if you happen to have any curiosity about it.

https://freerepublic.com/tag/freeperbookclub/index?tab=articles

Example authors or subjects of biography: Friedrich Hayek, John Hancock, Benjamin Franklin, our Founding Mothers, Patrick Henry, Frederic Bastiat, the signers of the Declaration, President Calvin Coolidge, the journals of Lewis and Clark, the Pilgrims.

[ProgressingAmerica]

Thank you all for your comments. Notably, in the 3 months since this was finalized and released it has had over 11,000 downloads, pretty good for a book that (probably) a year ago wouldn’t have been read by more than maybe a hundred people.

I doubt too many people knew the book even ever existed prior. Now that we have revived this work, it lives on YouTube arguably one of the top five websites on the planet while surely more people will have read its pages now than they did before.

From obscurity to a spotlight, not a bad upgrade at all.

[Loud Mime]

Bump