"The Idea of America and the Constitutional Debates": In-Person Badger Talk in Viroqua, WI

This is a free, in-person talk hosted on July 21, 2026 at 6:00 PM by Vernon County Historical Society in Viroqua, WI. No registration necessary for this event. This talk will not be held virtually.
What is America? This question is one of the central issues in the debates over the ratification of the Constitution. Federalists and Anti-Federalists argued not just about whether to adopt the new Constitution, but what America was and what it might be. This presentation traces some of the broad issues in the ratification debates, focusing especially on the different ways that participants imagined the idea of America – past, present, and future.
Daniel Kapust is a Professor of Political Science. He has published widely on ancient, early modern, and modern political thought as well on figures including Cicero, Machiaveli, Hobbes, Rousseau, Adam Smith, and late 18th century American thought. He is interested in rhetoric, theories of liberty, American exceptionalism, imperialism, the Federalist/Anti-Federalist debates, and related topics.