The American republic was the Enlightenment’s greatest experiment, a bold attempt to institutionalize virtuous character as never done before.

Call to Virtue explains the role of character as the driving force behind the rise and fall of empires, the well-being of citizens’ lives, and the structure of governments and their constitutions. It draws a direct line between the definitions of virtue from ancient times to the motivating force behind our nation’s founding. The book surveys 3,000 years of Western civilization and uses the voices of history’s greatest participants to create a narrative describing character’s pivotal role. After all, until the nineteenth century, character was studied with the same degree of rigor and discipline as mathematics and science. Indeed, definitions of character were an integral part of philosophy, government, and religion from ancient Greece and Rome to the European Enlightenment—and underpin the colonial spirit of 1776.

It is my hope that such a perspective influences contemporary conversations about politics, culture, and a life well lived. If there is one takeaway for the reader, it is to appreciate the importance of viewing life’s big questions through the prism of character and using classical virtue as a divining tool of enduring value.

Call to Virtue is a historiographical work that explains the role of character as the driving force behind the rise and fall of nations, the well-being of citizens’ lives, and the structure of governments and their constitutions. It draws a direct line between the definitions of virtue from ancient times to the motivating force behind America’s founding.

The book surveys 3,000 years of Western civilization and uses the voices of history’s greatest participants to create a narrative describing character’s pivotal role. It shows how definitions of character were an integral part of philosophy, government, and religion from Ancient Greece to the European Enlightenment, culminating with the founding of America as the Enlightenment’s greatest experiment.