Intellectual History Commons^™

Modern Misconceptions On The Wall Of Separation: An Analysis On The Influence And Misinterpretation Of Jefferson’S Separation Of Church And State, Marissa Swope

Senior Honors Theses

The symbolic concept of separation between church and state defines the relationship between government and religion. While Jefferson did not author the phrase, the third President of the United States promoted the philosophy of a wall of separation between church and state in his letter to the Danbury Baptists in 1802. Jefferson’s support for a wall of separation stemmed from a strong belief in liberty of conscience and relied heavily upon the conviction to protect religious liberty. Through an analysis on the contextual history of the phrase, the original intent and application of separation of church and state becomes evident. …

“Historically As Certain As Our Revolution Itself”: The Nullifiers And History, William E. Hopchak

Senior Honors Theses

Despite the common defamation of the states’ rights theories acted upon in the Nullification Crisis of 1832, there exists a great deal of historical support for the nullifiers’ positions. Nullifiers believed in a decentralized constitutional system, while nationalists believed in a centralized constitutional system. This tension between central and decentralized positions had been at issue in the American struggle for independence though the exact manner in which these problems manifested themselves was different in the two events. The states’ rights ideas championed primarily by John C. Calhoun were consistent with American political tradition. At the most basic level, the Nullification …

Religious Ideas In The Declaration Of Independence: Thomas Jefferson, John Locke, And The American Mind, Kristina Benham

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis is an analysis of the religious statements of the Declaration of Independence. It examines contemporary uses of Locke’s ideas on natural rights and created equality in newspapers, town meetings, colonial governments, speeches, and sermons. It also identifies uses of Locke’s works in religious sources in the decades before the Revolution. Locke’s ideas became especially important to arguments in favor of religious liberty for dissenters during and after the First Great Awakening. These analyses connect to both his Two Treatises of Government and his A Letter Concerning Toleration. These works parallel to the writings and protests of colonial …

Federalists Vs. Republicans: The Nature Of Man In A Republic 1787-1800, Benjamin J. Barlowe

Senior Honors Theses

During the early years of the American Republic known as the Federalist Era (1787-1800), a conflict arose which led to America’s first formal political parties and the formation of the two-party system. The parties’ disagreements, characterized most succinctly by the exchanges between the two party leaders, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, involved some of the most basic ideology of the American experiment. The conflicts of the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Hamiltonian Federalists set the precedent of the nature of the political atmosphere of the United States to this day.

This thesis examines the basic viewpoint of the two parties in …