The ideologies of Marxism, socialism, and communism have been the cause of immense human misery throughout history. Yet they remain popular and are among the forces destroying America today. This course will consider the nature, history, and legacy of these ideologies.

The Constitution established a limited government, but a government with sufficient powers to protect Americans’ God-given rights to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This course examines the design and purpose of the Constitution, the challenges it faced during the Civil War, how it has been undermined for over a century by progressivism and post-1960s liberalism, and how limited government under the Constitution might be revived.

The Roman Republic, which lasted for nearly 500 years, was one of the most successful systems of government in history and deeply influential on the American Founding. This course explores the founding, character, and constitution of ancient Rome; considers the rapid expansion of Rome and its control of the Mediterranean world; and examines the social and political turmoil of the late Republic, which culminated in the assassination of Julius Caesar. A study of Rome’s history provides abiding lessons about the virtues needed to secure a republic and the dangers that can lead to its collapse.

This course explores the history of America as a land of hope founded on high principles. In presenting the great triumphs and achievements of our nation’s past, as well as the shortcomings and failures, it offers a broad and unbiased study of the kind essential to the cultivation of intelligent patriotism.

This course focuses on the foundational principles of the free market. Topics include the relationship of supply and demand, the “information problem” behind the failure of central planning, the rise of macroeconomics under the influence of John Maynard Keynes, and the 2008 financial crisis.