The Old Puritan and a New Nation: Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American Republic

FAIN: FT-55046-07

Mark David Hall
George Fox University (Newberg, OR 97132-2697)

I propose to write a short, critical account of the political and legal philosophy of Roger Sherman. The book will contribute to the literature on the founding era by shedding light on an underappreciated and yet tremendously significant founder. Notably, it will cover elements of Sherman that have heretofore been largely ignored—his political theory, his constitutional and jurisprudential ideas, and the relationship between his religious views and his political actions. Central to my argument is that Sherman’s political/legal ideas and actions are best understood in light of his deeply held theological convictions

Associated Products

Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American Republic (Book)
Title: Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American Republic
Author: Mark David Hall
Abstract: Roger Sherman was the only founder to sign the Declaration and Resolves (1774), Articles of Association (1774), Declaration of Independence (1776), Articles of Confederation (1777, 1778), and Constitution (1787). He served on the five-man committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence, and he was among the most influential delegates at the Constitutional Convention. As a Representative and Senator in the new republic, he played important roles in determining the proper scope of the national government’s power and in drafting the Bill of Rights. Even as he was helping to build a new nation, Sherman was a member of the Connecticut General Assembly and a Superior Court judge. In 1783, he and a colleague revised all of the state’s laws.
Year: 2012
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Type: Single author monograph

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