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Unwritten Constitutionalist


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Unwritten Constitutionalist

 

To understand American conservatism, read Orestes Brownson.

By ROBERT EMMET MOFFIT AND RICHARD M. REINSCH IIApril 4, 2016

 

In The Conservative Mind, Russell Kirk identified Orestes Augustus Brownson (1803–76) as a foundational figure of American conservatism. Brownson emerged from the poverty and obscurity of backcountry Vermont. With less than a year of formal education, not only did he become a master of English prose, he also taught himself Latin, French, Italian, and German. His wide scope of learning enabled him to critique the latest trends in politics, philosophy, and theology with a gravity few American contemporaries could match. A prominent journalist, he was engaged in virtually all of the major political and religious controversies of his time. Lord Acton declared Brownson the most intellectually formidable figure he encountered during his visit to the United States.

 

Brownson’s voluminous writing, particularly on political theory, provides a clear and coherent set of philosophical principles that transcend his own times and have direct relevance to our predicament. He believed in applying the genius of the federal Constitution to revitalize America’s political life; restoring republican self-government while fending off rapacious private interests intent on plundering the public purse; and rebalancing state authority and individual liberty under the principle of man’s relational personhood, as revealed in his multi-dimensional social, familial, religious and economic life. Scissors-32x32.png

http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/unwritten-constitutionalist/

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