America's Founding Secret: What the Scottish Enlightenment Taught Our Founding Fathers

by Robert W. Galvin

In this important work, the author illuminates how the founding fathers' motives, thoughts, and actions were framed by the Scottish Enlightenment.

101 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2002

About the author

Robert William "Bob" Galvin was an American executive. He was the son of the founder of Motorola, Paul Galvin, and was the CEO of Motorola from 1959 to 1986.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a quick read that needs an editor. I’m not sure it’s a “secret” that the concepts which formed America’s constitution were largely influenced by the Scottish Enlightenment, but there are some interesting points about Scottish history and the social environment in Scotland during the 16th-18th centuries that intentionally and unintentionally influenced America’s founding.

[Motorcycle Tourist · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Scottish Enlightenment (1720-1780) was the greatest collection of leading scholars from virtually all fields of knowledge working together in one location during a very compressed time. These scholars taught each other’s over pints of ale and the collective interdisciplinary wisdom of these men was refined with each passing year.

Scottish scholars were keenly aware that most nations had founded and afforded themselves by force. Scholars were starting to realize that commerce based on freedom would nurture virtue. For the first time in history, a government was conceived and designed with the purposeful intent as to its affordability by promoting economic progress in commerce based on private capital and thus the likely sustaining of a large republic and the freedom it espoused. None of the Scottish Enlightenment masters intended the founding of the US. Yet, individually and collectively their scholarship enabled America’s founding.

[Berty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short reading thus flow was missing. Could have developed ideas fuller into more interesting prose but this was no doubt due to length of book. Very interesting subject, shame it was short on what I was looking for.

[John]

nonfiction,history,enlightenment,political science,United States,Scotland,democracy theory