The American Founding as a Blended Scotch: A Reply to Thomas West

Abstract

One of the disputed questions about the American founding is whether its principles were derived from multiple sources (like a blended scotch) or from a single predominating tradition (like a single malt). In The Political Theory of the American Founding, Thomas West makes a strong case for the dominant influence of modern natural rights, yet he gives only a brief consideration of the “blended” or “amalgam” thesis that traces the founding to multiple traditions. I would like to challenge West and to reformulate the amalgam thesis by analyzing eight traditions that shaped the founding: English common law, Protestant Christianity, Roman republicanism, Enlightenment liberalism, aristocratic statesmanship, Madisonian republicanism, self-government in colonial assemblies, and Freemasonry. I argue that West’s approach is deficient because it cannot explain the complex characters of the American founders or their ideal of “ordered liberty.” Hence, equal weight should be given to the multiple sources of the American founding.