Publication Date
Fall 11-25-2025
School
College of Arts and Sciences; School of Education
Major
Education: Secondary; History
Keywords
Reformation, American Founding, Political Theology, Calvinist
Disciplines
Curriculum and Instruction | European History | History of Religion | Political History | Political Theory | Secondary Education | United States History
Recommended Citation
Stisser, Gabriel, "The Seed that Begot America: How Political Principles of the Reformation Contributed to the American Founding" (2025). Senior Honors Theses. 1539.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/1539
Abstract
When teaching the American founding, the contemporary public-school curriculum tends to emphasize the influence of the thinkers from the antiquity and Enlightenment periods. However, the curriculum tends to neglect the impact that the Reformation had upon America's formation. Through a qualitative historical review, this study will analyze both primary and secondary sources to examine how Reformed ideals of the political covenant, limited government, and resistance to tyranny influenced the American founding. This analysis finds that the Reformed (sometimes called Calvinist) political ideals from the Reformation had a significant influence upon the formation of the New England colonies, the enlightenment figures that are usually credited for the American founding, and the rhetoric of the patriot leaders during the American Revolution.
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, European History Commons, History of Religion Commons, Political History Commons, Political Theory Commons, Secondary Education Commons, United States History Commons
