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Show 284 Michael Taney THE WELL-SPRING OF AMERICAN REPUBLICAN-ISM: THE CLASSICAL ROOTS OF THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Michael Taney (Winthrop Lindsay Adams) Department of History University of Utah honors college spring 2012 The purpose of this paper is to examine the notes of both James Madison, "Father of the Consti-tution", and John Dickinson, "Penman of the Revolution", to make the argument that the political theory of the ancients gave these men a practical guide and a political philosophy during the framing of the government of the United States of America. The notes and works of these men during the critical periods of the creation of the United States government (the mid-1770s and mid-1780s) makes this clear by providing an indisputable link to ancient sources and even sug-gesting a deeper connection and inheritance. There is no doubt about the inheritance of constitutional ideas from the English political system, and from the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers like John Locke, Rousseau, and Montes-quieu have dominated the discourse about the ideological roots of the American government. Even Machiavelli has received his due. But an important figure that is often overlooked is the Greek historian Polybius. His history provides the most thorough look at the Roman constitution and was a major source for many of the Enlightenment thinkers. Special attention will be paid to the ideas of Polybius and their impact on the creation of the United States of America. Winthrop Lindsay Adams |