There has been a considerable amount of literature in the last 70 years claiming that the American founders were steeped in modern thought. This study runs counter to that tradition, arguing that the founders of America were deeply indebted to the classical Christian natural law tradition for their fundamental theological, moral. political outlook. Evidence for this thesis is found in case studies of such leading American founders as Thomas Jefferson and James Wilson, the pamphlet debates, the founders' invocation of providence during the revolution. their understanding of popular sovereignty. The authors go on to reflect on how the founders' political thought contained within it the resources that undermined, in principle, the institution of slavery. explores the relevance of the founders' political theology for contemporary politics. This timely, important book makes a significant contribution to the scholarly debate over whether the American founding is compatible with traditional Christianity. "The authors, like sleuths, uncover compelling clues about the theological assumptions underlying colonial, revolutionary, and constitutional ferment in America. Literate, informed, and profound, this book bristles with felicitous passages, at times rising to the sublime." -Allen Hertzke, University of Oklahoma "Cooper and Dyer carefully and persuasively refute a host of pernicious errors while deftly tutoring the reader in the grand tradition on which the Founders relied. Their book should be a starting point for scholars and general readers seeking to understand the varied sources of wisdom enabling our constitutional republic." -Glenn Moots, Northwood University "It is time to retire for good the hoary conventional wisdom about America's origins being mainly secular in character, as Kody Cooper and Justin Dyer demonstrate in this supple and lucidly argued book." -Wilfred M. McClay, Hillsdale College "This crisp and lively text provides a refreshing tour of the American founders' complex teachings on the fundamentals of rights and liberties, revolution and constitution, slavery and abolition, democracy, and rule of law. Specialists and novices alike will find much to ponder and savor in these learned pages." -John Witte, Jr., Emory University " The Classical and Christian Origins of American Politics makes a learned and richly sources argument that a Christian natural-law tradition, drawing on the long engagement of Christian theology with classical political philosophy, informed - even shaped - the American founding." -Daniel L. Dreisbach, American University, Washington, D.C. Shows how the American founding was deeply influenced by the classical Christian natural-law tradition. Kody W. Cooper is UC Foundation Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Service at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. Justin Buckley Dyer is Professor of Government and Executive Director of the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin