IX.3: American and European Republican Traditions

The word “republic” refers to a society that operates for the good of the public. Philip Petit describes the origins of the American and European republican traditions. He says America’s republic is based on what he calls the “Italian-Atlantic” republican tradition. Based on the writings of Aristotle and Polybius, Machiavelli developed the “Italian” part of … Read more

IX.2: John Adams, the Almost Forgotten Founder

Most Americans know very little about John Adams, the second U.S. President. Mount Rushmore contains colossal carvings of America’s first and third presidents, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. And our fourth president, James Madison, holds the honorable title of “the father of the Constitution”. But our second president, John Adams, is the almost forgotten founder. … Read more

VII.4: The Separation of Powers

One of America’s founding principles was that liberty cannot survive unless power is divided into multiple hands. The doctrine of separation of powers has a long history. The ancients (Greek and Roman) divided power according to a plan called mixed government. That is, they mixed or divided power between a monarchy, an aristocracy, and a … Read more

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