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There has been a considerable amount of literature in the last 70 years claiming that the American founders were steeped in modern thought. This study runs counter to that tradition, arguing that the founders of America were deeply indebted to the classical Christian natural-law tradition for their fundamental theological, moral, and political outlook. Evidence for this thesis is found in case studies of such leading American founders as Thomas Jefferson and James Wilson, the pamphlet debates, the founders' invocation of providence during the revolution, and their understanding of popular sovereignty. The authors go on to reflect on how the founders' political thought contained within it the resources that undermined, in principle, the institution of slavery, and explores the relevance of the founders' political theology for contemporary politics. This timely, important book makes a significant contribution to the scholarly debate over whether the American founding is compatible with traditional Christianity.
List of contents
Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: Classical and Christian origins; 2. God and nature's law in the pamphlet debates; 3. Thomas Jefferson, nature's God, and the theological foundations of natural-rights republicanism; 4. Reason, revelation, and revolution; 5. Providence and natural law in the war for independence; 6. Reason, will, and popular sovereignty; 7. The law of nature in James Wilson's Lectures on Law; 8. Conclusion: Immanence, transcendence, and the American political order.
About the author
Kody W. Cooper is UC Foundation Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Service at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga.Justin Buckley Dyer is Professor of Government and Executive Director of the Civitas Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.
Summary
Specialists and non-specialists alike continue to debate the key themes and importance of founding political thought. This book makes the case that the American founders were deeply indebted to the classical Christian natural-law tradition in their fundamental theological, moral, and political outlook.
Foreword
Shows how the American founding was deeply influenced by the classical Christian natural-law tradition.
