The Importance of the Constitution for the Student of Statesmanship

Written by Trinity Duggan

After long and arduous discussions, the Constitutional Convention drew to a close on September 17, 1787. Although the Constitution had been finalized, there was still uneasiness about the new form of government enshrined within it. Amid these concerns, Benjamin Franklin gave the Convention’s final address: “I hope therefore that for our own Sakes, as a Part of the People, and for the Sake of our Posterity, we shall act heartily & unanimously in recommending this Constitution, wherever our Influence may extend, and turn our future Thoughts and Endeavors to the Means of having it well administered.” 

Although Franklin knew the Constitution was not perfect, he understood that it was the best document the Founders could construct. The American people, through their character, would need to make sure that its principles were carried out—a duty that continues to this day. The Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship intends to remind American citizens to revere and to adhere to the Constitution, first by educating its graduate students. School of Statesmanship students learn that there is a true understanding of the Constitution, based on first principles. Current Ph.D. candidate Paul Clewell, ’25, realized the importance of this education. “This approach to constitutional study leads to a deep education in the truth surrounding the founding of our nation,” Clewell explained. 

Graduate School Dean Dr. Ronald J. (RJ) Pestritto explains the importance of educating Americans about the truth of the Constitution. While he believes that there is still a love for the Constitution among the general citizenry, he adds that the Constitution itself remains a mystery to many: “I do think there is an instinctive reverence for the Constitution, though not as much understanding of what it actually says and means.” 

Dr. Pestritto explains that Clewell’s experience is the intended effect of the graduate school. Dr. Pestritto aims for all graduate students to understand the true nature of the nation’s founding document. “I want [the graduate students] to be able to rely on their own, educated understanding of the Constitution and its principles, which is often very different from how it is represented in the media, the universities, and—unfortunately—often in the courts themselves,” he adds. 

One different representation of the Constitution originates in modern academia. In many institutions of higher education, academics do not study the Constitution as a document that deserves respect and devotion. Rather, they directly challenge any adoration or respect for the Constitution. Dr. Joseph Postell, an associate professor of politics, warns of those who attempt to attack this reverence. “One of the sad things about academia these days is that instead of being the group of people leading the charge for cultivating love for the Constitution, they actually are the places that are involved in subverting that feeling,” says Dr. Postell. This approach, he explains, is dangerous; even the Founders warned against it: “The Federalist Papers are a good reminder that you should be careful about challenging reverence for the Constitution because you don’t know what it will lead to.” 

In addition to the questionable ways in which academia challenges rather than supports the Constitution, law schools also have a unique way of studying the Constitution. Before attending graduate school at Hillsdale, Clewell received his J.D. from Columbia Law School. Clewell experienced a radically different approach to the Constitution in his law school training. He explains, “In our training to become practicing lawyers, what was most relevant to our study was understanding where the law of the Constitution stood at the present time—not so much in understanding how the law got to where it is, or whether its present doctrines were departures from the original meaning of the Constitution and the Framers’ intent.” Rather than studying the first principles of the Constitution, Clewell was taught that “there is no fixed meaning to the Constitution, but only competing interpretations of it.” 

This approach to the Constitution as a malleable tool was radically different compared to the holistic approach to the Constitution he has learned while at Hillsdale. “By happy contrast, we study constitutional law with a view toward understanding what the text originally meant and what the Framers’ intent was, and toward ascertaining the political principles that informed the framing of the Constitution and its early application to cases and controversies,” says Clewell. “We also study the historical development of constitutional law doctrines in order to understand the ways in which courts have departed from original meaning and the Framers’ intent. That is not our only focus in the graduate program’s approach to the Constitution, of course, but it marks a signal difference from a typical law school’s approach. In sum, you learn the truth about the Constitution.” 

“Returning to a proper understanding of the Constitution is really important,” explains Dr. Postell. “We need statesmen—leaders, teachers, lawyers, and citizens—to do the work. And it happens over decades, and maybe it never happens. But the only conditions that would allow for it to happen is if you have people who know this stuff and care enough about the country to try to act on it. And that’s one of the aims of the Graduate School.” 

As Dr. Pestritto intended, the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship instills an intelligent understanding and preserves a reverence for the Constitution in its students. This study of the Constitution is vital to the duty of a statesman, whether that statesman is a politician, a teacher, a lawyer, or an everyday citizen. Through the education provided at the Van Andel Graduate School, true American statesmen can arise and answer Franklin’s exhortation at the closing of the Constitutional Convention.  

Trinity Duggan, M.A. ’25, graduated from Thomas Aquinas College with a BA in liberal arts. Her initial interest in American politics led her to Hillsdale, where she currently studies political philosophy. When not writing for the blog or finishing her class assignments, Trinity enjoys discovering cities and towns, hunting for the best coffee shops, reading corners, footpaths, or future outings to attend with friends.

Published in March 2025