Mr. Smith Goes To Washington-the Original Whistleblower?

 In week 6, we discussed in class, the role of the President and his interaction with Congress. We first examined the eleaborate system of "checks and balances" that the Founding Fathers used to divide the sources of political power into three separate and distinct branches of the government: Executive Branch, Legislative Branch and Judicial Branch. We also determined how that same system exists within the State and Local governments. Next we looked at Congress which is the legislative branch of our government and includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. We discovered how members are elected and identified the names and functions of the key officers of the House and Senate. A number of terms were explained such as caucus, the party whip, cloture, filibuster and other related terms. We studied the United States Legislative Process and how a bill becomes law. To illustrate this we viewed certain parts of the film "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington"  a 1939 film directed by Frank Capra whose Catholic faith was an integral part of his work. The movie starred Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur. The last section of the film often referred to as the Filibuster part was viewed during Class 7. This movie has been called "one of the quintessential whistleblower films in American history".                                                                     

However, due to problems with our computer, the evening class last week was unable to view the climax of the movie. Thus, you will find posted the  three part Filibuster ending of the movie. 

Part 1 can be found  at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqr5umxoer4&ab_channel=MarkStrand. 

Part 2 can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUbqMDpZMZs&t=59s&ab_channel=MarkStrand and 

Part 3 can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9MOv0_TIrA&t=96s&ab_channel=MarkStrand.

A final note, this "Filibuster ending" has been largely edited and you may note that the  ongoing back stories during Senator Smith's filibuster have been cut due to time restraints. This is recommended as a good family movie with many themes reflecting the director's Catholic faith that parallel the ills in our society today, 85 years later. There is a color enhanced version available and the movie runs 2 hr 9 min long. Available on Amazon Prime and other venues.