Harry V. Jaffa is an author, and director of the Claremont Institute, a California-based Conservative think tank. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Yale and a Ph.D. from the New School. Jaffa's most noted book, Crisis of the House Divided examines the Lincoln-Douglas Debates. During the 1964 presidential campaign Jaffa served as a speechwriter to Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, and is credited with suggesting that Goldwater quote in his nomination acceptance address Cicero's famous expression, "Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in the pursuit of justice is not a virtue." The Claremont Institute is a conservative think tank based in Claremont, California. ... State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Senators Dianne Feinstein (D) Barbara Boxer (D) Official language(s) English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... This article is about the institution. ... Yale can refer to: Yale University, one of the United States oldest and most famous universities. ... The New School at West Heath is a registered charity (West Heath 2000 Ltd) and independant school for children for whoem mainstream schooling has broken down, for varying reasons. ... The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas for an Illinois seat in the United States Senate. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ... The Republican Party, often called the GOP (for Grand Old Party), is a political party and is one of the two major political parties in the United States (the other being the Democratic Party). ... Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 1, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was a United States politician and a founding figure in the modern conservative movement in the USA. Goldwater personified the shift in balance in American culture from the Northeast to the West. ...

He is a student of Leo Strauss and is the leader of what are often called the "West Coast Straussians," a branch of the Straussian movement. The Claremont Institute, a conservative think-tank associated with the Claremont Colleges, is founded to promulgate Jaffa's vision of statesmanship and his understanding of the American project. Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973), was a Jewish German-American political philosopher who has been greatly influential in America. ... Leo Strauss Leo Strauss (September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973), was a Jewish German-American political philosopher who has been greatly influential in America. ... The Claremont Institute is a conservative think tank based in Claremont, California. ... Claremont College opened in 1990 as a senior secondary Government school for students in Years 11 and 12. ...

Jaffa is no stranger to controversy and is roundly considered to be respected but extremely polarizing figure in conservative academia. He is a leading proponent of casting Abraham Lincoln as a conservative hero. Some of his works have been criticized for being overly flattering toward Lincoln to the detriment of historically documented fact. In the mid 1960s Jaffa debated Lincoln's meaning to conservatives in National Review with Frank Meyer, who took a critical role of the 16th president's abuses of civil liberties and expansion of government power. The debate occurred over the course of several articles and the controversy it raised persists to this day. Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865), sometimes called Abe Lincoln and nicknamed Honest Abe, the Rail Splitter, and the Great Emancipator, was the 16th President of the United States (1861 to 1865), and the first president from the Republican Party. ... Conservatism or political conservatism is any of several historically related political philosophies or political ideologies. ... The 1960s in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... National Review (NR) is a conservative political magazine founded by author William F. Buckley, Jr. ... Frank Meyer (born 1909, died 1972) was a conservative political philosopher and co-founding editor of National Review. ... Civil liberties are protections from the power of governments. ...

In the mid 1990s Jaffa again became embroiled in a heated controversy with several prominent legal thinkers in the conservative movement. Though he has no scholarly legal training of his own, Jaffa formulated what he called a theory of constitutional law incorporating the Declaration of Independence, sometimes referred to as Declarationism, in his book "Storm over the Constitution." The theory was critiqued and criticized for being overly philosophical and theological, rather than legal, despite being presented as a legal argument. His approach was critical of conservative legal figures including Robert Bork and William Rehnquist in a way that could be described as bitter and petty. During the debate, Jaffa exchanged heated words on the pages of National Review with Bork, who noted Jaffa's almost single-minded obsession with one single case, the Dred Scott decision. The debate effectively ended when Jaffa's theory was harshly critiqued by law professor Lino Graglia. The Jaffa-Bork incident was marked by what many, including Graglia, described ad hominem attacks by Jaffa upon his critics such as Bork. // Events and trends The 1990s in its most obvious sense refers to the years 1990 to 1999, but has held a strong influence into the 2000s. ... A declaration of independence is a proclamation of the independence of a newly formed or reformed independent state, usually from a part or the whole of the territory of another nation, or a document containing such a declaration. ... Declarationism is a legal philosophy that attempts to incorporate the United States Declaration of Independence into the body of case law on level with the United States Constitution. ... Robert Bork Robert Heron Bork (born March 1, 1927 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a conservative American legal scholar who advocates the judicial philosophy of originalism. ... William Hubbs Rehnquist William Hubbs Rehnquist (October 1, 1924 – September 3, 2005) was an American lawyer, jurist and political figure, who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1972 until 1986, and as the 16th Chief Justice of the United States from 1986... Dred Scott Dred Scott (ca. ... Lino Graglia is the Dalton Cross Professor of Law at the University of Texas specializing in antitrust litigation. ... An ad hominem argument, also known as argumentum ad hominem (Latin, literally argument to the man), is a logical fallacy that involves replying to an argument or assertion by addressing the person presenting the argument or assertion rather than the argument itself. ...

External links

• Claremont Institute
• Writings of Harry Jaffa
• God and Man in the Court by Lino Graglia
• The Real Abraham Lincoln - a debate between Jaffa and Thomas DiLorenzo