James Wilson, a Man for All Seasons (Chapter 7 of The Political and Legal Philosophy of James Wilson 1742-1798)

Excerpt: This work began with the claim that James Wilson was one of the most important, yet one of the most frequently overlooked, founders. It has attempted to demonstrate that he merits examination because of his significant role in the founding period. Wilson\u27s contributions as a member of Congress, constitution maker, law professor, and Supreme Court justice should not be overlooked. But his political significance does not necessarily mean that his political theory is worthy of attention

Were Any of the Founders Deists? (Chapter 5 of The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Religion and Politics in the U.S.)

Excerpt: Scholars and popular authors regularly assert that the founders were deists. For instance, historian Frank Lambert asserts that the “significance of the Enlightenment and Deism for the birth of the American republic, and especially the relationship between church and state within it, can hardly be overstated.” Law professor Geoffrey R. Stone similarly contends that “deistic beliefs played a central role in the framing of the American republic … [and the] founding generation viewed religion, and particularly religion’s relation to government, through an Enlightenment lens that was deeply skeptical of orthodox Christianity.” For a final example, the dean of American historians, Gordon S. Wood, opines that “The Founding Fathers were at most deists – they believed God created the world, then left it alone to run …

Roger Sherman, Oliver Ellsworth, and the Formation of America\u27s Constitutional Order (Chapter Five of Great Christian Jurists in American History)

In 1822, former President John Adams wrote to the biographer John Sanderson that Roger Sherman was one of the most cordial friends which I ever had in my life. Destitute of all literary and scientific education, but such as he acquired by his own exertions, he was one of the most sensible men in the world. The clearest head and steadiest heart. It is praise enough to say that the late Chief Justice Ellsworth told me that he had made Mr. Sherman his model in his youth .... [He] was one of the soundest and strongest pillars of the revolution. Among the important participant~ in the War for Independence, the Constitutional Convention, and the First Federal Congress, few had as much influence on the creation of America\u27s constitutional order as Sherman and Ellsworth. And none of the more famous founders regularly referenced by students of the era represent as well the 50-75 percent of Americans in this era who were Calvinists

Whose Rebellion? Reformed Resistance Theory in America: Part II

Students of the American Founding routinely assert that America\u27s civic leaders were influenced by secular Lockean political ideas, especially on the question of resistance to tyrannical authority. In the first part of this series, we showed that virtually all Reformed writers, from Calvin to the end of the Glorious Revolution, agreed that tyrants could be actively resisted. The only debated question was who could resist them. In this essay, we contend that the Reformed approach to active resistance had an important influence on how America\u27s Founders responded to perceived tyrannical actions by Parliament and the Crown

Whose Rebellion? Reformed Resistance Theory in America: Part II

Students of the American Founding routinely assert that America\u27s civic leaders were influenced by secular Lockean political ideas, especially on the question of resistance to tyrannical authority. In the first part of this series, we showed that virtually all Reformed writers, from Calvin to the end of the Glorious Revolution, agreed that tyrants could be actively resisted. The only debated question was who could resist them. In this essay, we contend that the Reformed approach to active resistance had an important influence on how America\u27s Founders responded to perceived tyrannical actions by Parliament and the Crown

Did America Have a Christian Founding?

Did America have a Christian Founding? This disputed question, far from being only of historical interest, has important implications for how we conceive of the role of religion in the American republic. Mark David Hall begins by considering two popular answers to the query— “Of course not!” and “Absolutely!”—both of which distort the Founders’ views. After showing that Christian ideas were one of the important intellectual influences on the Founders, he discusses three major areas of agreement with respect to religious liberty and church–state relations at the time of the Founding: Religious liberty is a right and must be protected; the national government should not create an established church, and states should have them only if they encourage and assist Christianity; and religion belongs in the public square. In short, while America did not have a Christian Founding in the sense of creating a theocracy, its Founding was deeply shaped by Christian moral truths. More important, it created a regime that was hospitable to Christians, but also to practitioners of other religions

Religious Accommodations and the Common Good

Citizens, civic leaders, and jurists interested in good public policy should look to history as a guide to the impact of laws and constitutional provisions aimed at protecting religious actors. American civic leaders and jurists, at both the national and state levels, have long created significant protections for religious Americans who object to neutral, generally applicable laws. At their best, Americans have agreed that government should not force individuals to violate their sincerely held religious convictions unless it has compelling reasons for doing so. Moreover, the nation and the states have still been able to achieve important policy objectives in spite of these accommodations. America’s laudable history of protecting religious citizens from otherwise valid laws makes it clear not only that it is possible to protect “the sacred rights of conscience” and promote the common good, but also that religious accommodations themselves promote the common good

Vindiciae, Contra Tyrannos: The Influence of the Reformed Tradition in the American Founding (Chapter 2 of Faith and the Founders of the American Republic)

In his magisterial history of religion in America, Yale historian Sydney Ahlstrom estimated that the Reformed tradition was “the religious heritage of three-fourths of the American people in 1776.” This chapter traces the development of Reformed or Calvinist political thought from John Calvin to the American founding. It highlights ways in which Reformed ideas and concerns exacerbated tensions between the American colonies and Great Britain, provided a theological rationale for resisting British rule, and proposed a political framework for republican self-government

James Wilson\u27s Law Lectures

Excerpt: A major problem faced by students of political theory, philosophy, or law in the founding era is that many of America\u27s intellectual leaders did not write systematic essays or books. Accordingly, scholars often have to reconstruct their subjects\u27 thoughts based on their actions, contributions to public debates (e.g., speeches in conventions and newspaper articles), and private correspondence. Works like Jefferson\u27s Notes on Virginia, Adams\u27s Thoughts on Government, and The Federalist Papers are partial exceptions to this rule, and scholars have made good use of them. Perhaps the clearest exception to the rule, however, is James Wilson\u27s series of law lectures presented at the College of Philadelphia in 1790-1792. Given their importance, it is remarkable that little attention has been paid to the integrity of the text of his lectures