Category: Classical Republicanism
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Our Pre-Stoic Roots in Human Rights Theory in the United States
On the sacred philosophical tradition underlying the foundations of Western Civilization influencing republican theory of human rights in the United States from Heraclitus of the Ioanian tradition, even preceding him. Tracing this history demonstrates how the concept of a divine (primordial) element becomes gradually secularized through the Renaissance Humanists, Enlightenment and Neo-Classical Republican traditions. ORIGINS…
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Introduction to Black Classical Republicanism and its Influence on early Black Intellectuals
EARLY BLACK INTELLECTUALS AND THE INFLUENCE OF CLASSICISM AND REPUBLICANISM In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a small but influential group of Black intellectuals engaged deeply with Greco-Roman classics and the ideals of classical republicanism. This engagement was multifaceted in that they drew on ancient texts to demonstrate Black intellectual capacity in the…
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Third Republic Civic Republicanism, Esoteric Movements and Protestantism in France Belle Epoque Era
INTRODUCTION Historical figures involved in French Third Republic (1870–1940) politics were generally opposed to the monarchy, aligning with the prevailing republican and anti-clerical sentiments of the era, though there are nuances in this time within esoteric currents. The Theosophical Society in France, officially established as a section in 1899, attracted and propelled several notable figures who were…
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Heraclitus of Ephesus: Philosopher of the Ever-Living Fire in the Ionian Tradition
Imagine stepping into a river, only to find that both you and the water have transformed in the blink of an eye. “No man ever steps in the same river twice,” declared Heraclitus. This simple yet profound observation captures the fundamentals of his philosophy; and one that revolutionized how we understand change, unity, and the…
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Abolitionist David Walker turns Fire into Radical Revolution against Slaveholding Republic
David Walker turns ancient philosophy of Fire into radical revolutionary resistance against the slaveholding Republic. DAVID WALKER’S APPEAL AS THE FULLEST AMERICAN EMBODIMENT OF THE ARCHAIC PHILOSOPHY OF FIRE David Walker’s Appeal (1829) is indeed the fullest and single most American embodiment of the ancient tradition of FIRE come down to us through the philosophy…
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Logos and Divine Providence in George Washington’s Faith
An equivalent of the “divine spark” in ancient Stoic philosophy is the logos spermatikos, which was transmitted through Roman Republicanism, Christianity, and Enlightenment thinkers. While George Washington’s writings and speeches do not explicitly use the term, his quiet Christian faith relies heavily on Christian divine providence, natural rights endowed by a Creator, and the moral…
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Aegean Origins and History of the Fasces: Minoan Crete to Revolutionary Republicanism
INTRODUCTION The fasces did not emerge fully formed in Rome and has its roots in prehistoric traditions. Few symbols encapsulate the ideals of unity, authority, and disciplined governance as profoundly as the fasces. In the American psyche, the fasces became tied to Italian Fascism, Adolf Hitler and the hellish drama of World War II. Symbols…
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The Conflicted Albert Pike, and a Wounded Union: Early Years 1830s to 1880s
INTRODUCTION: ECLECTIC MASONIC PHILOSOPHER IN CONFLICT Albert Pike’s editorial career exhibits a philosopher highly in conflict with himself, and I hope his inner conflicts alongside his philosophical legacy may provide us the chance for reflection about similar men of our day. People fixate on Albert Pike’s pro-slavery stance (and often exaggerate or distort it) for…
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George Washington on the Sacred Fire of Liberty and the Republic
The doctrine on the sacred fire (i.e., the divine spark) and noumenal fire came from far antiquity — from Africa, from the Jewish Sodalites, from Aryavarta, from the natives of Persia, the seven Greek sages, and the Hellenistic and Roman Stoicism down to American Republicanism. When first chief, George Washington stated in his first Inaugural…
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Letter on my Political Ideas, History and Critiques of Conservatism
THE SECRET DESTINY OF AMERICA The purpose of The American Minervan began as a side project to question and refute by myself, certain unverified claims made in Manly P. Hall’s The Secret Destiny of America and to lay out what was addressed between William Q. Judge, Dolatram and H.P.B. on the question of Freemason and…
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Noah Webster’s Influence on Early American Identity, Journalism and Education
Noah Webster, Adams and other early Americans emphasis on divergence from Britain demonstrates how Federalists sought to create early American identity through changes to institutions, language, and colonial education to legitimize the new republic. Mayflower descendant Noah Webster (1758-1843) is considered the father of American education and the American dictionary. Webster is accompanied by many…
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Giuseppe Mazzini’s Cosmopolitan Politics and Influence on Woodrow Wilson
MAZZINI’S “DEMOCRATIC WORLD REPUBLIC”: THE COSMOPOLITANISM OF NATIONS It was Mazzini’s conviction that under the historical circumstances of his time, only the nation-state could allow for genuine democratic participation and the civic education of individuals. To him, the nation was a necessary intermediary step in the progressive association of mankind, the means toward a future…
The American Minervan 