EPISODE · Jun 23, 2026 · 29 MIN
The U.S. Constitution: How the Founders Actually Built It | Bill Norton
from The Jenny Beth Show · host Jenny Beth Martin, Bill Norton
Guest: Bill Norton is a constitutional scholar, author, and educator with more than three decades studying the American Founders. He is a co-author of "Behind the Bill of Rights" (with Jeremy Nelson of the National Center for Constitutional Studies) and of "Speaking the Language of Liberty" (with Mark Herr of the Center for Self Governance), with "Behind the Declaration of Independence" and "Behind the Constitution of the United States" forthcoming. He owns a construction company, is a lifelong artist and curriculum designer, and serves as the education director of Liberty Village in Hurricane, Utah. This episode is a preview of the show's upcoming founding-principles training series — four lessons across eight episodes on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights — which begins airing Monday, July 6. Key topics: How the Founders actually built the Constitution as a "mixed form of government" Using founding principles as a lens on today's fights — the SAVE America Act, the border, and more Fixing what's broken, facing what's new, and not becoming what we hate "Speaking the Language of Liberty" and the patriot who called herself a tyrant Frédéric Bastiat's "The Law" as a starting point Liberty Village: a 30-acre founding-era America in the Utah desert How Jenny Beth and Bill Norton first met, and the night that turned protest into strategy Timestamps: 00:00 — Welcome, and why the daily show paused for constitution training 01:03 — Meet Bill Norton: four lessons, eight episodes 02:45 — Applying founding principles to today's biggest fights 04:13 — Beyond Band-Aids: fix what's broken, face what's new, don't become what we hate 05:50 — Jenny Beth's "equal and opposite reaction" test 06:54 — The Declaration, the Constitution, and how it was actually built 08:46 — The Bill of Rights and "Behind the Bill of Rights" 09:58 — "Speaking the Language of Liberty" and the patriot who called herself a tyrant 12:25 — Why Bastiat's "The Law" is the place to start 12:59 — When the training airs, America's 250th, and the July 4 plan 13:58 — Liberty Village: a 30-acre founding-era village in Utah 19:15 — Benjamin Franklin's home as a kids' discovery center 20:37 — How Jenny Beth and Bill Norton first met in 2011 22:44 — Sleeping in a car to stop Obamacare 24:46 — From anger to productive action 26:48 — Rallies are the first step, not the last 27:55 — Founding-level Americans are still here Links: jennybethshow.com · teapartypatriots.org
What this episode covers
The U.S. Constitution is treated in most classrooms as a tidy list of checks and balances — but constitutional scholar Bill Norton says that framing misses how the Founders actually built it. In this preview of The Jenny Beth Show's upcoming founding-principles training series, Jenny Beth Martin sits down with Norton to walk through what's coming: a four-lesson, eight-episode study of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, recorded to help everyday Americans read the founding documents the way the Founders intended. Norton, an author, longtime constitutional educator, and the education director of the Liberty Village project in southern Utah, explains why the training starts with principles and natural law rather than memorized clauses — and how that lens helps citizens tell the difference between something that is broken, something genuinely new (like artificial intelligence), and the temptation to "become what we hate." Jenny Beth connects each idea to the fights of the week, from the SAVE America Act to securing the border in law. Along the way: the "mixed form of government" the Founders engineered, the book "Speaking the Language of Liberty," and the unforgettable moment a lifelong patriot stood up in class and called herself a tyrant. Norton also previews Liberty Village — a 30-acre founding-era America rising in the Utah desert — and the night Jenny Beth first met the activists who would later help build this movement. The full training begins airing Monday, July 6. Learn more at jennybethshow.com and teapartypatriots.org.
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The U.S. Constitution: How the Founders Actually Built It | Bill Norton
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