The Enlightened Scot Who Inspired America’s Founders

By Samuel Gregg

This article appears successful nan Summer 2025 rumor of nan Coolidge Review. Request a free transcript of a early people issue.

The twelvemonth 1776 was a momentous one, and not conscionable because of what Americans commemorate each July 4. On March 9 of that year, a book was published that changed nan world forever: Adam Smith’s Inquiry into nan Nature and Causes of nan Wealth of Nations.

We retrieve Smith’s book for launching economics arsenic a chopped societal subject and arsenic a caller measurement of exploring reality that opened a model onto nan underlying dynamics of commercially oriented societies. But successful 1776, nan fewer American colonists who mightiness person publication The Wealth of Nations were astir apt astir impressed by nan book’s concluding paragraphs.

Here Smith argued that nan waste and acquisition restrictions associated pinch nan British mercantile strategy would go economically “oppressive and insupportable” for nan American colonies arsenic their economical improvement accelerated. In nan agelong term, Smith believed, nan colonies would determine that nan restraints imposed connected their waste and acquisition outweighed nan benefits of being portion of nan British Empire.

To that extent, The Wealth of Nations gave nan American colonists a commercialized rationale for becoming independent states.

But why would rebellious American colonists beryllium willing successful nan economical reflections of a Scottish philosopher who had ne'er visited and would ne'er sojourn North America? The reply is that knowledgeable eighteenth-century Americans were intensely willing successful each things Scottish.

THE FOUNDERS LOOK TO THE SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENT

Colonial American acquisition institutions from New Hampshire to nan Carolinas were dominated by Scottish ministers of religion. Such men were personified by nan Reverend John Witherspoon, postgraduate of nan University of Edinburgh, curate of nan Church of Scotland, sixth president of nan College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), and signer of nan Declaration of Independence.

Eighteenth-century Scotland produced galore scholars from whom salient American Revolutionaries absorbed nan ideas of that activity of ideas which we telephone nan Scottish Enlightenment. At nan College of William and Mary, for instance, Thomas Jefferson was taught by William Small, a postgraduate of Marischal College, Aberdeen. In later life, Jefferson wrote that “Dr. Small was…to maine a father. To his enlightened and affectionate guidance of my studies while astatine college, I americium indebted to everything.”

Whether it was nan accuracy articulated by Jefferson aliases nan ineligible thought embraced and promoted by different signer, James Wilson (himself a Scot who astir apt attended Adam Smith’s lectures connected jurisprudence), Scottish Enlightenment thinkers provided some style and contented to nan Revolutionary generation. The men of 1776 publication nan sermons and lectures of enlightened Scots for illustration nan Reverend Hugh Blair—close friend of Smith and David Hume, chair of rhetoric and belles lettres astatine nan University of Edinburgh, and Sunday preacher to Scotland’s burgeoning merchant class.

They were besides acquainted pinch Smith’s different awesome book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), passim which we tin find scattered intimations of nan revolutionary book connected economics that was to come. Indeed, 1 of nan galore distinctions of Smith’s Wealth of Nations is that it is nan only book successful George Washington’s room annotated successful nan general’s ain hand.

THE RIGHT OF REBELLION

One Scot’s power connected nan Revolution and nan Declaration of Independence has been consistently underestimated. Francis Hutcheson is not an American aliases Scottish family sanction today. Born successful Ireland to Scottish parents, Hutcheson was a Presbyterian curate who served arsenic professor of civilized accuracy astatine nan University of Glasgow from 1730 until his decease successful 1746. His astir celebrated student was Adam Smith, who described his coach successful a missive arsenic nan “never-to-be-forgotten Dr. Hutcheson.”

Hutcheson’s writings were publication cautiously by America’s Revolutionary generation. In student notes penned successful Philadelphia arsenic early arsenic 1759, for instance, we observe extended citations from immoderate of Hutcheson’s astir important writings, particularly his posthumously published A System of Moral Philosophy (1755). In these and different Hutchesonian texts are to beryllium recovered ideas that underpinned nan logic of nan Declaration of Independence.

Drawing connected Cicero, Hutcheson wrote connected nan thought of a civilized consciousness “by which we comprehend Virtue, aliases Vice in ourselves, aliases others,” and which inclines america to behave benevolently toward others. He besides alerted his readers to nan governmental and societal changes proceeding from nan emergence of commerce passim nan European world. But Hutcheson’s astir momentous contributions to eighteenth-century Enlightenment sermon whitethorn good beryllium his discussions of governmental order. Here, his articulation of nan correct of guidance features prominently.

Hutcheson had nary illusions astir nan chaos and demolition that flowed from rebellion and efforts to crush it. During his lifetime, politically and religiously motivated rebellion had shattered nan home bid of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Like everyone other astatine nan time, Hutcheson besides believed group had responsibilities that arose from custom, tradition, belief doctrine, and law.

Still, Hutcheson insisted connected nan correct of rebellion—more precisely, people’s earthy correct to take sides themselves against immoderate shape of backstage aliases nationalist tyranny. Servants, he argued, whitethorn time off cruel masters. The subjects of monarchs whitethorn not beryllium treated unjustly.

On this foundation, Hutcheson built nan thought that colonists cannot beryllium perpetually constrained to nan mother state by obligations of gratitude aliases past agreements. It followed, he stated, that should nan mother state enforce “severe and absolute” powerfulness complete its provinces, past nan colonies were “not bound to proceed successful their subjection.” They “cannot beryllium bound to sacrifice their ain and their posterity’s liberty and happiness, to nan eager views of their mother-country, while it tin bask each logical happiness without subjection to it.”

Integral to Hutchesonian governmental doctrine was frankincense nan rule that group had nan correct to defy a government’s excesses—and nan right, if necessary, to switch specified a governmental authority. Colonial subjects, Hutcheson said, were owed bully government, and if their governmental masters oppressed them, they could justly overthrow their oppressors. In Hutcheson’s words, “The people’s correct of guidance is unquestionable.”

Hutcheson’s declare that poorly governed colonies had nan correct to rebel was wide repeated passim North America successful nan 1770s. His words were reprinted successful places for illustration Philadelphia, frankincense providing galore patriots pinch an intelligence rationale for rebellion.

UNALIENABLE RIGHTS

There is different magnitude to Hutcheson’s publication to nan Declaration, involving “the pursuit of happiness” and “unalienable rights.”

In his Inquiry into nan Origin of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1725), Hutcheson linked nan building “unalienable rights” to nan correct to defy tyranny. Thanks to Scottish clergymen and educators school and preaching passim North America, this thought became embedded successful galore assemblage curricula.

“Our rights,” Hutcheson wrote successful A System of Moral Philosophy, “are either alienable aliases unalienable.” By “unalienable” he meant authorities derived from quality quality and inherent successful each quality beings. Our authorities to our life and liberty, Hutcheson wrote, exemplify specified rights. Other rights, however, he considered alienable. “Our correct to our equipment and labors is people alienable,” Hutcheson stated. We tin alienate our authorities to these things by trading them aliases giving them to others.

Hutcheson’s writings powerfully influenced Thomas Jefferson. We know, for instance, that Jefferson held intimately to Hutcheson’s civilized consciousness doctrine. In one letter, Jefferson referred successful Hutchesonian position to “the civilized sense, aliases conscience,” arsenic being “as overmuch a portion of man arsenic his limb aliases arm.”

Jefferson’s usage of nan building “unalienable rights” successful nan Declaration astir apt came from Hutcheson. After all, nan Declaration does not database spot arsenic among its “certain unalienable rights.” Indeed, we request to beryllium capable to alienate our spot if we are to participate successful commercialized life. That said, humans person an unalienable correct to purchase, own, and prosecute successful exchanges of property. Why? Because erstwhile we cannot freely own, use, and speech property, it becomes astir intolerable to sphere our life and liberty, fto unsocial prosecute happiness.

Taken together, Hutcheson’s defense of nan correct of rebellion, his statement for nan correct of colonies to prosecute independency from their mother country, and his articulation of nan conception of unalienable authorities magnitude to a heady substance of ideas. So, too, does nan Declaration of Independence. In fact, these 3 cardinal Hutchesonian claims are integral to nan Declaration’s distinctiveness and thief endow nan Declaration pinch its revolutionary character. For that alone, Francis Hutcheson, begetter of nan Scottish Enlightenment, that top and astir humane of Enlightenments, merits our attraction today.

Samuel Gregg is nan president and Friedrich Hayek Chair successful Economics and Economic History astatine nan American Institute for Economic Research.