This Independent Republic, a study of American themes of freedom, is an excellent example of Rushdoony’s conservative approach to history. The book arose from messages he delivered at a 1962 summer conference of the Intercollegiate Society of Individualists; it was there that Gary North became a Rushdoony convert.
Rushdoony’s thesis is clear: the United States had Christian, Augustinian, feudal, and Protestant roots. The American Revolution was conservative in nature, “to preserve American liberties from the usurpation and invasion of Parliament.” The revival of American government, Rushdoony believed, would depend upon “the Christian renewal of the citizenry,” the revitalization of “local units of government,” and the strengthening of Christian schools. The Nature of the American System was a complementary work, calling attention to the neglected themes of America’s Christian past—in opposition to “present Gnostic and messianic movements.”
