WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Constitution Corner: Article 3- Treason, SCOTUS, and Olivia Rodrigo?

Episode Date: September 30, 2024

Treason, SCOTUS, and Olivia Rodrigo... how do those even go together? Join Mattingly Watson as she finds the answer exploring Article 1 in a fun and interactive episode of the Constitution Corner!

This is Constitution Corner on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM, where we explore the vivacious history of our Constitution, simplifying a seemingly complex document so we can all understand one of our nation's most impactful pieces of history. I am your host, Madding Lee Watson, and today we will be discussing Article 3 in the United States' Constitution. Last week, we wrapped about some presidents, reminisced on some of the late Robin Williams' work, and learned that term limits haven't always been around. Today, Article 3 is going to wrap up our third and final branch of government. We've talked about the legislative branch in Article 1, the executive branch in Article 2, and now it's time for the judicial.

branch in Article 3. Now, you may not have heard the word judicial before, but you've probably heard of a similar word, a judge, and that's because judges are important parts of the judicial system. Remember how we talked about something called the Articles of Confederation when we discussed Article 1? Well, the Articles of Confederation impacted Article 3, too. Oh, okay, here's a little pop pop quiz for you guys. What were the Articles of Confederation? Who remembers? Okay, so the Articles of Confederation is what the original governing document in the United States was called.

It only took a few years for everyone to realize that it was too weak and didn't have a strong enough central government. That's when they decided to make the Constitution. Now, part of the Articles of Confederation not having a strong enough central government was that they only had state courts and state judges. They didn't have a federal justice system. That didn't work out so well for them because people weren't getting held to the law fairly. You could get away with breaking a national law in one state, but get in a lot of trouble for it in another. What would that mean? So to really understand that, let's talk about.

what the justice system even is. Like I said, you've probably heard of judges before. In America, we have two different systems that the judges are in. First, the federal or national justice system. And second, the state justice systems. Now, if somebody gets accused of breaking a national law, then their court case will go to a federal court. If somebody gets accused of breaking a state law, then their court case will go to the state courts. The good news here is that everyone gets a fair chance to explain their side. And if you think that the judge or the jury messed up the decision, you can appeal to the next highest court. When you appeal a court case, that just means that you ask the next level of the court system if you can argue for why the

first decision was wrong. If the court system, if the court system, still isn't clicking for you, I'll tell you something that really helped me understand it. I went to my search engine on the internet, and I typed in Justice System chart, and then I clicked on the images tab. Now, there are tons of charts that really helped me visualize what all these words meant and how they tie in together. So if you're more of a visual learner, that might be a good thing to do. All right, now, here is something interesting that actually ties in Article 3 with Article 2. So you may not know a lot about the judicial system, but you sure do after today. But the highest court in the federal system, so that national

court level, the very, very highest court is called the Supreme Court of the United States, which sometimes people just shorten to SCOTUS, Supreme Court of the United States. So the Supreme Court has nine different justices. And the way these justices are selected is that the president chooses someone and nominates them. And then Congress must pass them. So a lot of times you'll see whenever a new Supreme Court justice is coming up or the president is nominating one, you will see clips from different things that almost look like a trial or something weird like that. And that can be confusing, but that comes from Senate hearings. So a lot of times, well, every time, the Senate will have the nominee come before them and they have to answer all of the questions of the Senate.

So you might have seen this on the news a couple of years ago, almost 10 years ago now with Justice Brett Kavanaugh. His hearings were on the news a lot. He had a couple of different accusations going on around him. You probably remember some of it because it was all over the news. A lot of people got involved in this process that, you know, typically whenever a Supreme Court justice is coming through, people involved in politics get super involved and it's a big thing there. But if you're not that involved in politics, it's not a really huge thing in your life. But I think with Justice Kavanaugh here, it was pretty big. We saw lots of different protests, both for and against, just involving those accusations. Now, it ended up being determined that

those accusations were baseless and there was no evidence to them, but he still stayed in the news nonetheless. And then maybe you even saw when Justice Amy Coney Barrett got chosen and her different interactions with the Senate. I know there was a classic meme that came about from that one. So I'm sure even if you didn't understand the reference, you probably saw this meme, which is kind of funny. I feel like this is just one example of how sometimes our politicians or different things in politics can turn into memes. And sometimes we don't know where they come from, but we've got those crazy pop culture references for it. The meme that it was is she had been, you know, being asked questions all day, grilled and grilled and grilled. And then she was asked to hold up or show what, you know, notes or what reference she had been using all day to answer her questions.

And the only thing on the desk there with her was a notepad supplied by the Senate and she held it up and it was completely blank. And so just to show, you know, she didn't have notes or anything. But there's just a classic picture of her holding up the notepad like right with. her face after they, you know, asked for it, and it's blank, and she's kind of like smiling, like, this is it. And so I've seen a few different things on there, on that meme. I think people, you know, put words over the paper. It could be a lot of different things. But there, see, guys, that's like an early, we're not even to the pop culture segment yet, and I'm already giving you a pop culture nugget. So you're welcome for that little hint today. So next time

that a Supreme Court Justice gets chosen, then now you'll have a little bit of context for it. And actually, one more fun fact before we move on, guys, our United States Supreme Court justices are actually, they're on there for life or until they choose to retire. So, you know, if you get selected to be a United States Supreme Court justice at the age of 50, you're on there until you die or until you retire. And so they're definitely on there for a while.

a lot of times they'll retire, but we've had a few end up passing away in the past few years. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, that was a really big name, or RBG, saw lots of different things like that. I know she was kind of a figure that a lot of people looked up to. So if you heard that name before, that's what that's referencing. So I think it's kind of cool how even things like the Supreme Court, which is completely, you know, nonpartisan, they are not to affiliate with a specific party or anything like that. And sometimes their stuff in the news is just what people are saying about them because they're not allowed to retaliate.

It's truly honestly one of the most humble positions in our government, whether you agree with their rulings or not. But those nine people, they just go out, do their job, can't say anything too partisan. And they still up in the news, people say things about them. And we get funny things like memes. and I've seen tons of Ruth Bader Ginsburg merch, lots of T-shirts and books and things like that.

So you get all these cool references. But yeah, I don't know, it's just cool seeing how the Supreme Court ties into all these things. But you're welcome for those little pop culture and nuggets to kind of hint at what we've got for the rest of the day. All righty, guys, here's the thing. We could go on and on talking about nitty-gritty details of the details of the day. justice system all day long. But we only have so much time and there's one part of Article 3 that is so interesting, we simply cannot miss it. And that is treason. Now, guys, it's insane that this all comes in together. Treason is probably one of like the most fun things to talk about just because I feel like

we see so many like spy movies and things like that that sometimes it's easy to forget that things like this actually happen in real life. So let's look at the treason clause for a minute. So a clause is just a part of an article or an amendment. And you see clauses in other documents too. But for the sake of the constitution, a clause is just like one small part, maybe a paragraph or two that talks about one topic in a specific article or amendment. So the treason clause is a part of the constitution that discusses treason. And it says one little paragraph in Article 3. So the treason clause says this. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levying war against them or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony

of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture except during the life of the person attained. Now, there are two guys that I want to tell you guys about that come with some crazy stories. The first one, you've probably never heard of them.

before, but his name was Herbert John Bergman. So Herbert John Bergman was a figure involved in a treason case during World War II. He was accused of attempting to aid the enemy by transmitting sensitive information to Japan. Bergman, a naturalized U.S. citizen was alleged to have communicated with Japanese agents and provided them with military information. His trial highlighted issues of loyalty, patriotism, and the complexities of espionage during the war. Now, ultimately, Bergman was convicted of treason and sentenced to prison. The case underscored the tensions and fears of the time, you know, particularly regarding national security and the treatment of people that are perceived as threats.

And I don't know about you guys, but when I hear this, it's crazy to me to see that this was a real person. Like I was saying a second ago, I think it's easy to forget that things like espionage and treason actually happen. Like, these are actually people's lives. And so, yeah, Bergman was convicted of treason and ended up in prison, which what a crazy story. I understand why people make movies about these things.

Now, the second name, you could maybe have heard of, especially if you are a fan of musicals. Now, until a few years ago, I'd say most Americans probably hadn't heard this name. But then, then a musical enlightened us all to some significant historical events. And that is none other than Mr. Aaron Burr. Now, Aaron Burr was the third vice president of the United States,

and he was involved in a treasonous conspiracy in the early 19th century. So after his vice presidency, he became entangled in a plot to establish an independent nation in the Western territories that potentially might have included parts of Mexico and the United States. And then in 1807, Aaron Burr was arrested and tried for treason after being accused of this conspiracy. Other people were involved, including General James Wilkinson. And now the trial, it was presided over by, the legendary Chief Justice John Marshall,

and it ultimately resulted in Byrd's acquittal due to insufficient evidence. So when someone is acquitted, it means that they consider them not, they don't end up being guilty. So like this was saying here, there was not enough evidence to prove he was guilty. So he got what we call acquitted.

So he ended up not having to, you know, suffer any consequences for it or be put down on the record that he had done those things. So this case ended up raising some big questions about what is treason? How are we going to define it? You know, what are the limits of political ambition? And it ended up leaving a lasting impact not only on American history and how we handled treason, but also on Aaron Burr's reputation and legacy. Now, that is wild.

and I think Aaron Burr is a great segue for us into our pop culture segment since like I was telling you guys, he had a pretty prominent role in the hit musical Hamilton. So we won't be talking about Hamilton today in our pop culture segment, but there is a movie that I think has to do

with this topic super well. Like I was telling you guys, I feel like we see so many movies about espionage and treason that I just had to bring one of them up for you. So this movie is called American traitor, the trial of Axis Sally. And according to Rotten Tomatoes, it is based on a true story and follows the life of American

woman Mildred Gillers, played by Meadow Williams, and her lawyer, who struggles to redeem her reputation. She's dubbed Axis Sally for broadcasting Nazi propaganda to American troops during World War II. And Mildred's story exposes the dark underbelly of the third-rights hate-filled propaganda a machine per eventual capture in Berlin and subsequent trial for treason against the United States of America after the war. So if you are into high-paced, maybe treason, espionage type movies, then that is one that I've found, but there are absolutely tons, guys, like I was telling you. Definitely, there are no shortage of movies if this is a topic that interests you.

Now, I'm going to go ahead and apologize for this pop culture reference. It's a little bit of a loose thread. I will admit that there's really not much of a connection except for treason. And that's literally it. But I just couldn't pass up on this opportunity to talk about, you know, treason and traitors and not bring up probably one of the biggest pop culture references. of this generation. So without further ado, here is Olivia Rodrigo.

Talk to her. Okay, guys, so that was Olivia Rodriguez with Trader. And like I said, and Trader, it's a big thing because of things like the Constitution and, you know, a lot of history, which uses terms like treason. But it is a cool reference to the third article. And I thought you guys deserved a fun pop culture reference today, like every week. So there we have it. And now, the moment you guys have all been waiting for, it's time for the pop quiz.

Oat out your thinking caps and get ready for question number one, which is, what are the two systems that a court case could go on in the United States? judicial system. The state justice systems and the federal justice systems, I knew you guys were listening. I'm so proud. Alrighty. So on that one, moving on to the second question, I'm sure you'll get this one too, although it's a little bit harder and you had to be listening pretty closely. So, in what year was eight seven? Did you get that one right? If so, I am so proud. I don't know if I would have been listening that closely to remember one tiny year like that. So if you did it, no worries, I'm sure you will get this last one, which is what is convicted of treason under the

Constitution? And that is a testimony, a confession in open court. Wow. So that's a good little backup to make sure that nobody gets convicted without it being legit. All righty, guys, that brings us to a conclusion today. It has been such a pleasure exploring the quirks of Article 3 with y'all. Hey, make sure to tune back in next time for our highlight of Article 4. And make sure to check us out on Instagram at Constitution Corner. And listen, anywhere, you get your podcasts. I am your host, Maddingly Watson, and this has been Constitution Corner.

on Radio Free Hillsdale, 101.7 FM.