Episode
Defending The Glorious Cause: The Foreign Policy of the Founding Fathers with Mike Watson
- Published
- Jul 9, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 3768
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Summary
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, this lecture examines the international forces that shaped the nation's rise from thirteen Atlantic colonies to a global power. Mike Watson, Executive Director of the Alexander Hamilton Society, explores how foreign policy and geopolitics influenced America's founding and how the strategic choices of the Founding Fathers continue to offer valuable lessons for today's statesmen and national security professionals. Drawing on key moments in the early republic, Watson examines how international affairs shaped the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress's Model Treaty, the drafting and ratification of the Constitution, and America's response to the French Revolution. He also discusses the emergence of U.S. policy toward the Latin American revolutions and the challenge of great-power competition in the Western Hemisphere, illustrating how foreign policy has been central to the American project since its inception. Mike Watson previously served as a fellow and deputy director of the Center for Strategy and American Statecraft at Hudson Institute and was Charles Krauthammer's research assistant. He is also a columnist at the Washington Free Beacon. Watson earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and a master's degree from George Washington University. This event was made possible by the Jack Miller Center. **Learn more about IWP graduate programs: https://www.iwp.edu/academics/graduate-degree-programs/ ***Make a gift to IWP: https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E231090&id=3