Many of the nation's lawmakers are clueless about American history, according to Walter E. Williams, a renowned economist at George Mason University.

"I would say a large percentage of the congressmen, they don't know our history,'' Williams told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

"They do not understand, they do not know the Constitution and as a matter of fact … most congressmen —  and I'm sad to say that most Americans —  have contempt for the American Constitution.''

Williams, a syndicated columnist, believes President Barack Obama can count himself a member of the group by "kind of leading the fray.''

He added that if Founding Fathers Thomas Jefferson and James Madison "came back today and said the kind of things they said — that charity is no legislative duty of government — the American people would run them out of town on the rail.''

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