The Declaration and the Constitution

Dr. Larry Arnn, Hillsdale College President, argues that the American republic’s meaning and proper method of operation is found in two documents, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. He introduces the two main principles of the Declaration–Nature and Equality–and explains how they are key to understanding the arrangements of government found in the Constitution.


Question: What was the idea in the Declaration of Independence that was controversial
during the Civil War?
Answer: All men are created equal.

Question: What was the main concern of the Anti-Federalists about the Constitution?
Answer: That the Constitution would make the federal government too powerful and
centralized.

Question: What are the four references to God in the Declaration?
Answer: “Nature’s God,” “Creator,” “Supreme Judge of the World,” and “divine
Providence.”

Question: What are the two main principles of the Declaration?
Answer: Nature and Equality.

Question: What are the three key arrangements of government underlying the Constitution?
Answer: Representation, Separation of Powers and Limited Government.