The Metropolis of the American Founding
Orienting East to America's Roots
First Principles Needed for Country's Future West
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Philadelphia, Penn. – There is a great case to be made that America’s future is in the West. Prior to the War for Independence Philadelphia’s Benjamin Franklin found British policy toward the colonials to be incredulous because his own statistical study demonstrated that the British Empire’s demographic center would soon shift to North America. George Washington’s Mt. Vernon estate overlooked the Potomac River, what he believed to be the gateway to America’s future in the West. Thomas Jefferson not only purchased the Louisiana Territory, but he later oriented the University to Virginia to face the West in hope of the future. In his many foreign diplomatic roles John Jay labored tirelessly to secure the navigation rights of the Mississippi River for America’s future in the West. More recently President Barak Obama has seen the strategic import of the American West. He accepted his party’s nomination in Denver, Colorado and last year announced his economic “stimulus” plan in the city of “Wall Street – West.”
For nearly five years, the John Jay Institute has operated in Colorado at the foot of a mountain discovered by the Jefferson administration explorer – U.S. Army Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike – and in a beautiful city founded by a Philadelphia Quaker turned Civil War General and railroad engineer – William Jackson Palmer. Colorado has been a wonderful place to incubate the John Jay Institute in the first five years of its organizational life. Yet, at its most recent board meeting, the Institute’s Governors voted to relocate the Institute on the East Coast with priority preference for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The late Russell Kirk, architect of modern American conservatism, argued that America is the historical consequence of the civilizing values of four ancient cities that converged in a fifth city more modern. Jerusalem bequeathed to America the Jewish and Christian religions. Athens seeded democracy. Rome offered republican virtues. London provided a
model of constitutional limited government with corresponding rights and duties. In the 18th Century these ideals and values converged in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and gave birth to the American Order.
There are numerous strategic and operational reasons for the John Jay Institute to relocate to Philadelphia: (1) Geographic centrality in the Northeastern “Megapolis” midway New York and Washington, D.C., (2) Easy access to Ivy League and top-tier universities for student recruitment as well as cultivation of faculty networks, (3) Close proximity to other like-minded organizations in New York, Princeton, Wilmington and Washington, D.C., (4) Easy access to Washington, D.C. to better serve Institute Fellows during their field placements as well as alumni in their career placements, (5) Lower costs of operation relative to the region.
While all of these reasons are sound, perhaps the most compelling reason to relocate the Institute to Philadelphia is the city’s history, symbolism, cultural relevancy and the inspiration that this place provides for those who believe in the permanency of principles. In Philadelphia the Institute can claim America’s first city as its campus. Imagine the curriculum enhancement when Fellows learn about American principles while visiting Carpenters’ Hall where the First Continental Congress convened or Independence Hall where the Second Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention convened, or Congress Hall where the Bill of Rights was adopted, or the First Bank of the United States where Alexander Hamilton’s economic philosophy and vision laid the financial foundation of American enterprise and prosperity, or Christ Church where many of the founders worshiped, or City Tavern where men of principle and prudence brokered the political deals with a port or porter in hand, or the Old Supreme Court where John Jay presided as the first Chief Justice of the United States.
With the founders the Institute believes that America’s future is in the West, but the outcome of that future is very much in question. Today the Western states and states elsewhere are a battleground over competing ideologies, not political first principles. The future that we boldly want to imagine is one in which new leaders are informed and inspired by the enduring principles of the American founding. Kirk was wont to describe conservatism as a temperment, not an ideology. In his view conservatism was not nostalgia for the past, but rather deference to the wisdom of the ages in light of prospects for the future. This is exactly the temperment we want to communicate to Fellows at the John Jay Institute. Philadelphia is arguably the best place to be informed and inspired by American ideals and institutions while gaining wisdom and insight into their relevancy for America’s future.
