Interview with William Barclay Allen

Published: May 16, 2024, 5:15 a.m.

An Interview with William Barclay Allen

America\u2019s founders are revered for creating a structure of governance that values individual rights and promotes human flourishing. Nearly 250 years after they took the first steps toward creating a more perfect union by drafting and adopting the US Constitution, the nation continues to be a beacon of hope and opportunity around the world.

That the Framers could so eloquently articulate the principles of ordered liberty that guide us today results in part from their own careful examination of the great thinkers of the 17th and 18th century. \xa0

Our guest on this episode of\xa0Voices of Freedom\xa0is Dr. William Barclay Allen. A 2024 Bradley Prize winner, he has dedicated his life\u2019s work to studying the Founders and the philosophers who influenced the Western tradition. He is also committed to instilling an understanding and appreciation of that tradition among the next generation.\xa0

Allen is the Emeritus Dean of James Madison College and Professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. He is a former member and chairman of the US Commission on Civil Rights and has been a Kellogg National Fellow, Fulbright Fellow, and a member of the National Council on the Humanities.

Topics discussed on this episode:\xa0

  • How Allen\u2019s experience growing up in the segregated south influenced his life\u2019s path
  • The story of his intellectual journey
  • Why Allen translated Montesquieu\u2019s\xa0The\xa0Spirit of the Laws
  • His decision to focus on America\u2019s founders and the US Constitution
  • Why Allen believes Washington is the most important founder and America\u2019s first progressive
  • Teaching history in a way that reflects the words and experiences of those who lived it
  • Advice to young scholars who are just starting out
  • What it means to Allen to win a Bradley Prize\xa0