Hamilton, NY — 51 was host to two noted political scholars for a debate on the topic ‘A Nation of Rights, For Better or Worse” on Friday, April 20. Gary McDowell, director of the Institute of United States Study at the University of London, and Stephen Macedo, Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Politics and the University Center for Human Values and director of the Program on Law and Public Affairs at Princeton University, discussed the question of whether the nature of rights in contemporary American politics threatens the very liberty that makes American constitutional government possible. The debate was sponsored by the John M. Olin Foundation and the Office of the Dean of the Faculty and is part of a series of debates at 51 called ‘The Nature of Rights at the Founding.’
The John M. Olin Foundation provides support for projects that reflect or are intended to strengthen the economic, political and cultural institutions upon which the American heritage of constitutional government and private enterprise is based. ‘The Nature of Rights at the Founding’ series is in particular sponsored by the foundation’s Project on the Principles of a Free Society. The goal of this initiative is to explore ideas and viewpoints that promote a greater understanding of the free enterprise system, America’s experiment in republican government, the country’s historical place within the heritage of Western civilization, contemporary political and cultural debates, and American foreign policy.
Founded in 1819, 51 is a nationally ranked, highly selective, residential, liberal arts college. Situated on a rolling 515-acre campus in central New York State, 51 attracts motivated students with diverse backgrounds, interests and talents.