nikoloslvy1041While I admire your outside reading of obscure history professors, I’m not sure Prof. Gutzman fully understands Prof. Friedman’s argument. The Supreme Court is a representative institution in that it attempts to do what is right for the nation as a whole. No member of Congress has a national constituency, only the President does, but deferring to him all the time would give him tyrannical power. The Court is able to take a long-run, national view of the Constitution in a way that no elected official can since he must pander to the masses who elect him and the contributors who fund his candidacy. The Constitution was designed to establish a republic, not a democracy, and its savior is the fact that the Court can do what is best for the nation as opposed to what is best for its electoral interest. The Federalists disdained rule by the mob and attempted to establish a republic led by wise men who could rise above politics. Sadly, the last vestige of their vision is the Supreme Court.
My preference is that you do the assigned reading first and then do outside reading if you wish. I will expect you to be well versed on Gibbons v. Ogden next Wednesday.