About this episode

Larry P. Arnn interviews Matthew Spalding about the Declaration of Independence and its intellectual foundations.

In this episode of  The Larry Arnn Show , Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn interviews Matthew Spalding, vice president of Washington Operations and dean of the Van Andel Graduate School of Government at Hillsdale College in Washington, D.C. The two discuss the intellectual foundations of the Declaration of Independence, the exceptional character of the Founding Fathers, and his recent book The Making of the American Mind: The Story of our Declaration of Independence . This interview was conducted on March 2nd, 2026. Discover more at podcast.hillsdale.edu. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

People in this episode

Host: Larry P. Arnn

Guest: Matthew Spalding

Topics covered

• Declaration of Independence
• Founding Fathers
• American history
• intellectual foundations
• government

Keywords

• Declaration of Independence
• Founding Fathers
• Hillsdale College
• Matthew Spalding
• American history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hillsdale College

Books & works: The Making of the American Mind: The Story of our Declaration of Independence

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