Aristotle Whispers: Morris, Wilson, and Classical Virtue at the Founding

• In Event: Empire, Republic, and Virtue in American Political Thought

Abstract

Of the great classical thinkers of Greece and Rome, perhaps none was more overlooked during the American Founding than Aristotle. By and large, the American Founders preferred the Romans to the Greeks, spoke disparagingly of Plato and rarely, if ever, of Plato’s most famous student. However, two important Founders (in fact, the two most frequent contributors to the dialogue of the Constitutional Convention), Gouverneur Morris and James Wilson, might rightly be considered Aristotelians. This project brings to light evidence of Aristotle’s influence on the political ideas of both Morris and Wilson. Further, it makes the case that the presidency, which Morris and Wilson led the way in creating, rests on implicit Aristotelian ideas of politics and ethics.

Author

• Kirstin Anderson Birkhaug, Hope College