Evaluating the Impact of the Scottish Enlightenment on the Formation of the United States Government

To what extent did the Scottish Enlightenment impact the founding of the United States government? This dissertation begins to answer the question by first acknowledging that the Scottish Enlightenment as an independent branch of the overarching intellectual movement separate from both the British and the French. Scottish Enlightenment theories were not only relegated to the capital, but instead, would spread throughout the cities and towns to encourage a community involvement in the growth of new ideas. Some key theories attributed to the Scottish Enlightenment are the Stadial Theory, Ideal Theory, Common-Sense Philosophy, and most well-known, Moral Philosophy. Tracing the ideological heritage of the Scottish Enlightenment demonstrates that the philosophers, and their ideas, can be categorized in distinct schools of thought. Furthermore, these Scots were part of the next generation of intellectuals that find traces from the Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, and modern Enlightenment developments. Transitioning to the impact on the American thinkers is to find the overlapping of Scottish theories with the educational background of six key Founding Fathers. These men play a crucial role in the Constitutional Convention and Ratification debates to create a new Constitution for the fledgling United States. Thus, this dissertation intends to present an intellectual and historical analysis of interpreting the impact of the Scottish Enlightenment and the place these theories should have alongside the widely recognized Lockean tradition and impact on the United States.