Publick Religion: Adams v. Jefferson

by John Witte Jr.

The civic catechisms of our day still celebrate Thomas Jefferson’s experiment in religious liberty. To end a millennium of repressive religious establishments, we are taught, Jefferson sought liberty in the twin formulas of privatizing religion and secularizing politics. Religion must be “a . . . . Continue Reading »

1 Mar 2004

Jefferson, Adams, and the Natural Aristocracy

by Philip J. Costopoulos

Starting from a common premise and a shared commitment to republicanism, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams arrived at widely divergent conclusions about the problem of aristocracy. As good republicans, both men despised hereditary nobility. But both also affirmed that there exist always and . . . . Continue Reading »

1 May 1990