John C. Pinheiro, Ph.D., is director of research at Acton Institute. He was professor of history and the founding director of Catholic Studies at Aquinas College. His newest book, edited with Dylan Pahman, is The Christian Roots of American Liberty (Acton Institute, 2026). Among his books and articles are the award-winning Missionaries of Republicanism: A Religious History of the Mexican-American War (Oxford, 2014) and The American Experiment in Ordered Liberty (Acton Institute, 2019). He is on X as @DrJohnPinheiro.
Overview
In this lecture, Dr. John Pinhiero speaks on “Virtue and Liberty in the American Founding.” Lord Acton said, “Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought.” Dr. Pinheiro says Lord Acton’s thought is keeping in the tradition of Augustine, who stressed the freedom to incorporate morality in our decisions. He discusses the political philosophy of the American Founders: “In the eighteenth century most every founder believed liberty was a gift from God. They believed we possess liberty simply by being human." He also talks about the American founders' views on the French Revolution and the thinking of George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.
