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Birzer's lecture will examine the confluence of ideas in 1776 between America and Scotland. The two most important Americans influenced by Scottish thought were James Wilson and James Madison (through Princeton). As such, Birzer will explore the intersection of rights and traditions as found in the Declaration of Independence and in the works of Adam Smith. It’s a perfect collision of the two worlds.
This lecture is part of the CCCG and Mendoza College of Business's spring semester course, "1776: The Ideas that Made the Modern World." It is cosponsored by the Business Honors Program.
Bradley J. Birzer is Russell Amos Kirk Chair in American Studies and Professor of History, Hillsdale College. After receiving his B.A. at the University of Notre Dame in 1990, he earned his Ph.D. at Indiana University. Birzer is author of several books including his award-winning Russell Kirk: American Conservative; American Cicero: The Life of Charles Carroll; and J.R.R Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth. He’s also the author of the forthcoming The Declaration of Independence: 1776 and All That as well as Tolkien and the Inklings: Men of the West. Birzer and his wife, Dedra (also a Ph.D.) have seven kids, one dog, and five cats. When a student at ND, he lived in Zahm Hall.