From the historic campus of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan, where the good, the true, and the beautiful are taught, nurtured, and honored, this is the Radio Free Hillsdale Hour, bringing the activity and education of the college to listeners across the country.

We don't think this is a partisan issue at all. This is not a agenda item. This is about American history and who we are and how to understand that.

This is your host, Scott Bertram, and that's Dr. Matthew Spalding, our first guest on today's program.

Dr. Spalding is Vice President of Washington Operations and Dean of the Van Andal Graduate School of

Government at Hillsdale in D.C. We talked at length with Dr. Spalding about the 1776 Commission

and the Commission's Report. Dr. Spalding, thanks so much for joining us.

Great to be with you, Scott. Dr. Spalding, of course, part of the 1776 Commission, who helped

put together the report, which you can find still at Hillsdale.edu. We'll talk about all of that

today with Dr. Spalding. First of all, tell us about the 1776 Commission. Who was on

this commission along with you and Dr. Larry Arn, our Hillsdale's president? What was the purpose?

Sure. So the idea of the commission, I'm sure it's been percolating for some time, but

on Constitution Day last year, it was the idea of the commission, I'm sure it's been percolating for some time, but on Constitution

Day last year, it was the idea that came up at a White House conference on American history.

It was created by executive order in November. I took a leave from Hillsdale College, so when I was doing this, I was working for the government, not for the Hillsdale College.

In December, so early December, and in mid-December, the commission was, we had appointed the commissioners, put it together.

It met in mid-December, mid-the-late

December for the first time. A met again later to approve a document, which then was issued

as a report, the 1776 report on January 18th, and then it was abolished on January 20th by the next president, by executive order.

So it's kind of a short history of its life.

The first thing, with the two-year commission, but the first thing it was to do was to issue a report

that would advise the president on the core principles of the American founding

and how those principles have shaped American history.

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