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.

Sometimes we, in the debates about the Declaration and the broader debate about America, we might conclude that, well, Jefferson wrote it.

Jefferson read Locke, therefore it's Locke.

Well, there's some locking influence there.

There's some important locking influences there, but there are some other influences there as well.

And so I think it's very important to really kind of understand it in this broader context.

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 Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence.

Dr. Spalding, thanks for joining us.

Great to be with you, Scott.

And thanks for hosting me today as I visit in Washington at the Kirby Center,

the Boyle Radio studio here, a magnificent layout.

It's always a pleasure to be here in Washington and to talk.

We've talked previously on the program about the Declaration of Independence.

I wanted to spend some time today speaking specifically about Thomas Jefferson and his

contributions, large as they are, to the Declaration.

When we think of the Declaration of Independence, we know Congress had appointed a committee.

So how did the Declaration chiefly then become the work of one Thomas Jefferson?

That's actually a great question.

The history leading up to this moment, I think, if I can make just one step backwards, is very important.

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