Dr. Ryan MacPherson holds a PhD in history and philosophy of science from the University of Notre Dame. After serving for twenty years as a professor at Bethany Lutheran College, he was appointed academic dean of Luther Classical College in 2023. He is author of Rediscovering the American Republic, a two-volume anthology of primary sources in American history, as well as several other books on topics ranging from theology to politics to bioethics. Dr. MacPherson has testified in court in defense of a homeschool father and for the protection of traditional American civics curricula, contributed to legal briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in defense of marriage and the rule of law, appeared regularly on a variety of radio shows, and taught seminars for pastors and educators in Canada, Denmark, and Ecuador.
Objective:
To understand America’s colonial heritage, republican principles, and democratic asperations, while recognizing that attempted compromises over slavery failed to hold the nation together.
Recommended: Ages 16-18 Duration: 15 Weekly 60-min. Discussions
Schedule: Fall 2026
Price: $400
Outline:
Part 1: From Pre-Columbian to British North America, 1492–1763
Colonial Roots
England’s Glorious Revolution
Slavery in Colonial America
Part 2: The Creation of the American Republic, 1763–1789
From the Stamp Act to the Boston Tea Party
Declaring Independence and Fighting for Freedom
The Constitution and the Bill of Rights
Part 3: The Power of Political Parties, 1789–1836
Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists
Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans
Andrew Jackson and the Democrats
Part 4: Liberty, Slavery, and American Destiny, 1836–1860
American Individualism
Manifest Destiny
The Sectional Crisis
Part 5: The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1860–1877
The Civil War
Reconstruction
The Continuing Quest for Ordered Liberty
SCHEDULED: TBA
Contact: m.macpherson.rr@gmail.com
Restful Rigor Preceptorials 