Jefferson and Tocqueville on Christian Nationalism
The United States’ principle of the separation of church and state, first articulated in Thomas Jefferson’s Letter to the Danbury Baptists (1802), has been questioned by proponents of Christian nationalism who seek to make the United States an established Christian state. This paper argues that Thomas Jefferson’s philosophy, which is inimical to the idea of Christian nationalism, was based on sound reasoning, and its benefits to American society were later recognized by French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville. Furthermore, this paper uses Jefferson’s philosophy and Tocqueville’s analysis to elucidate the contemporary relationship between church and state in the United States, and to argue that Christian nationalism is unfeasible; religion should remain a private matter where it provides the most benefit to American citizens.
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A Guide for our Times: Herbert Hoover’s Critique of Supreme Court Expansion
Former President Herbert Hoover’s critiques of FDR’s plan to expand the Supreme Court are useful for defending against contemporary calls to enlarge the composition of the Court, such as the Judiciary Act of 2021.
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Critique of Hayek’s Liberalism and the Rule of Law
In this paper, I raise a few doubts about the adequacy of Hayek’s liberal theory and the rule of law in the twenty-first century. I argue that the theory 1) fails to be morally neutral by not giving proper attention to the harm experienced by the minorities, 2) does not acknowledge a satisfactory account for the exploitation of the working class, and 3) operates with a parochial definition of freedom.
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Liberating the Truth in Augustine’s Confessions and Douglass’ Narrative
In this paper, I explore how Frederick Douglass’ and St. Augustine’s understanding of the corruption of God’s word produced their respective achievement of freedom. In examining Augustine’s Confessions and Douglass’ Narrative, we come to understand the moral imperative of public service both thinkers promoted; the idea that individuals have a distinct social obligation to share their knowledge in a promotion of the greater good.
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Dividing Democracy: Three Arguments for States’ Rights
States’ rights is often perceived as a single and unchanging doctrine, but American political thought reveals three version of states’ rights with distinct purposes. This essay examines these competing thoughts and ultimately argues that Alexis de Tocqueville’s localism, with its emphasis on the substantive social benefits of local government over institutional or constitutional forms, offers a version of states’ rights best suited to the modern American regime.
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Summoning Laplace’s Demon: The Erosion of Meaningful Voter Choice in an Era of Algorithms?
Precise individual microtargeting threatens to remake the political landscape as thoroughly as it has remade marketing. This paper explores the observed uses to date of political microtargeting as well as the many difficulties, some inherent to politics, of measuring its effects. Considering the philosophical difficulties of predictively removing human choice, it then assesses the observed risks of and some potential remedies to the current trajectory and finds that free electoral choice is not doomed to be written out of the system.
Compass is an online journal that provides a space for the work of talented undergraduates who have original and well-articulated insights on important ideas and issues relating to American democracy understood in the broad contexts of political philosophy, history, literature, economics, and culture.