The James Wilson Foundation on Natural Rights and the American Founding

In a letter to The Wall Street Journal, JWI’s Gunnar Gundersen and Garrett Snedeker respond to an ongoing debate between David French and Marci Hamilton on the meaning of religious liberty. Gundersen and Snedeker offer a fresh perspective on the discussion, together responding to objections from both the Left and the Right.  They dispel the […]

In a piece for The Catholic Thing titled “When Politics Reshapes the Culture,” Professor Hadley Arkes claims that it is in fact politics that reshapes culture, as seen in numerous Supreme Court decisions on abortion, same-sex marriage, and sexual orientation, rather than culture reshaping politics. It is not the culture we must aim to change, but rather politics itself, given the […]

In an essay for Public Discourse titled “The Pursuit of Happiness Rightly Understood”, JWI-affiliated scholar Justin Dyer reintroduces the classical understanding of liberty that inspired the Declaration of Independence.  He challenges the deeply entrenched fallacy that American liberalism is a philosophy of license: hardly a synonym for property, Jefferson’s careful wording reflects the Aristotelian and […]

In an article for First Things titled “Reordering the Public Square”, Gunnar Gundersen defends the government’s role in promoting the common good.  Responding to both liberal and conservative advocates of government neutrality, Gundersen reaches into history to shed light on America’s deep Christian roots.  He finds no legal footing for rigid constitutional interpretations which retool […]

In an essay for The American Mind titled “In Defense of Political Reason”, Professor Daniel J. Mahoney reaffirms reason’s place within the conservative legal and political tradition. Responding to Yoram Hazony’s scathing denunciation of modern reason in The American Mind, Professor Mahoney acknowledges the destructive effects of rationalism while attempting to rescue premodern reason as […]

In an article for Public Discourse titled “Judaism, Natural Law, and the Achievement of David Novak”, JWI affiliated scholar Daniel Mark praises professor David Novak for popularizing natural law theory within the Jewish faith tradition.  Mark identifies the competing strands of today’s Jewish thought, criticizing Reform Judaism for embracing too much of the modern world […]

In an essay for The Catholic Thing titled “Civic Religion and the Peace Cross”, JWI-affiliated scholar Gunnar Gundersen defends the inherent value of religion amid a conservative push toward moral relativism.  After sketching the Court’s history of secularizing public religious symbols, Gundersen observes the early formation of a sort of Roman civic religion in the […]

In a recent piece, David French proclaimed: “Here is the absolute, blunt truth: America will always be a nation of competing worldviews and competing, deeply held values.” JWI Affiliated Scholar Gunnar Gundersen in his essay “American Law is Not “Neutral on Religion” for The American Mind challenges French’s claim, arguing that the United States “and […]

In an essay for First Things titled “The Unaccountable Silences of Bret Baier”, Professor Hadley Arkes criticizes the media for its silence on the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act.  After sketching the history of Born-Alive legislation in the United States, Professor Arkes skewers the media establishment for allowing the bills’ opponents to evade responsibility.   […]

 Richard Brookhiser In May 2019, JWI’s Deputy Director Garrett Snedeker and Intern Josh Hiero shared a discussion with Richard Brookhiser, author of the book John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court (Basic Books, 2018). Brookhiser is an author and a senior editor of National Review. Below you may find: A link to Brookhiser’s book, […]