No one acquainted with the scholarship and pedagogy of David Nichols would expect anything other than excellence from the students and colleagues who have benefited from his friendship, guidance, and instruction. Even with those high expectations, however, the essays in this volume are enormously impressive in their insight, their fluency, and their unrivaled command of political philosophy, American political thought, and American constitutional studies. They form a worthy tribute to an inspiring figure and steadfast friend.

David Clinton, Baylor University

This collection of essays in honor of David Nichols, assembled by distinguished scholars from many different institutions, is a fitting tribute to Professor Nichols’s legacy, and an excellent volume in its own right. Just as Professor Nichols’s work spanned many different subjects and informed our thinking on all of them, these essays cover diverse topics with care and precision. Scholars of political theory, American political institutions, constitutional law, and politics and literature will find interesting and novel insights in these pages.

Joseph Postell, Hillsdale College

In the breadth of their coverage and the richness of their insights, these excellent essays are a fitting tribute to the teaching and scholarly career of David Nichols. Like the lifelong contribution of the authors’ teacher, colleague, and friend, they enrich our understanding of the foundations and development of, what Lincoln called, ‘the last best hope of earth.’

Joseph M. Bessette, Alice Tweed Tuohy Professor of Government and Ethics Emeritus, Claremont McKenna College

This artfully arranged collection of erudite and penetrating essays is a fitting tribute to the work of the great scholar and teacher to whom it is dedicated: David K. Nichols. More than that, it is essential reading for anyone seriously interested in the institutional, cultural, moral, and philosophical conditions necessary for the perpetuation of the American experiment in the politics of ordered liberty.

Carson Holloway