Name: Plenary Address (Open to Public) | "The Founders and the Future of American Democracy"
Start: 2026-06-13T19:00:00-0400
End: 2026-06-13T20:15:00-0400

Welcome, Democracy Scholars! We are delighted to invite you to American Independence and Identity at 250: Examining Democracy in the United States and Globally. This conference will be hosted at Gordon College on Thursday, June 11-Saturday, June 13, with events in Ken Olsen Science Center, Chase Hall, and Lane Student Center. Join for an optional tour of revolutionary sites in Boston, MA on Sunday, June 14.

Check out the schedule below and get excited for a phenomenal lineup of panel discussions, keynote addresses, and more!

Plenary Address (Open to Public) | "The Founders and the Future of American Democracy"

Saturday June 13, 2026 7:00pm - 8:15pm EDT

Chairs' Room (Ken Olsen Science Center)

Tracy McKenzie (Wheaton College)
"The Founders and the Future of American Democracy”

C. S. Lewis once observed that there are only two main reasons to believe in democracy. One is because you have confidence in human nature. The other is because you don’t. Listening carefully to the Framers of the Constitution and drawing substantively from Christian theology, I suggest that Americans have long embraced democracy for the wrong reason, and that this false foundation contributes significantly to the polarization and dysfunction of U.S. democracy today.
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Response: Michael Hammond (Gordon College)

Speakers

Tracy McKenzie

Arthur Holmes Chair of Faith and Learning & Professor of History, Wheaton College

Arthur Holmes Chair of Faith and Learning & Professor of History, Wheaton College. Author, We the Fallen People: The Founders and the Future of American Democracy, and former Chair of Am History, U of Washington

Michael Hammond

President, Gordon College

President of Gordon College; former Provost and Executive VP, and former history professor, Taylor University; widely published scholar in American Christianity, including the evangelical movement, the Civil Rights movement, and the intersection of race and religion in 20th century... Read More →

Saturday June 13, 2026 7:00pm - 8:15pm EDT
Chairs' Room (Ken Olsen Science Center)

Plenary Events

Democracy Conference Schedule

Tracy McKenzie

Michael Hammond

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Democracy Conference Schedule

Tracy McKenzie

Michael Hammond

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