Political Theory and the American Founding: The Tension Between Logic and History

Abstract

Although various scholars of American political thought have produced different schemes to categorize the thought of the Founding period, a simple but inclusive account would explain how the pre-modern vision of civic humanism, or classical republicanism, was challenged by the emerging ideology of liberalism, which itself became split into a rights-based version, and an interest-group variant of liberalism. As clear and logically distinct as these political ideologies may appear, their actual expression in American history was much more confused. Within the articulation of America’s three leading Founders can be found elements of these political and economic theories and the environmental perspectives upon which they rest.