Menard Speaker Series:
Commerce and The Constitution: Economic Ideas at the Founding
Thursday, Sept. 24 • 5 p.m. • WB 144
Dr. Marcus Witcher will examine how economic ideas and debates shaped the creation and meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The talk will explore the founders’ views on commerce, trade, property, markets, taxation, and economic power, and consider how these concerns influenced the Constitution’s design. By placing the founding in its broader economic context, Dr. Witcher will offer insight into how questions of commerce and political economy shaped the new nation’s governing framework.
Marcus Witcher is a Teaching Assistant Professor of Economic History at West Virginia University where he also serves as Manager of Undergraduate Programs for the Knee Regulatory Research Center. He completed his Ph.D. in history from the University of Alabama in 2017. His first book Getting Right with Reagan: The Struggle for True Conservatism, 1980-2016 was published by the University Press of Kansas in 2019. Witcher is also the co-editor of seven edited collections and has been published in a diverse range of publications including: Reason Magazine, National Review, Modern Age, and the Washington Post. His most recent book, Black Liberation Through the Marketplace: Hope, Heartbreak, and the Promise of America was co-authored with Rachel Ferguson and was published by Emancipation Books in 2022.
Presented by the Institute for the Study of Political Economy (ISPE). ISPE approaches the study of political economy as an analysis of governance. We examine what it means to have good public and private governance. We analyze which institutions and institutional rules are likely to lead to good governance, and how governance – good and bad — impacts outcomes. We are particularly interested in wealth and income, economic growth, health, freedom and liberty, and quality of life in the American Midwest. In order to positively impact outcomes, we communicate the lessons learned from rigorous academic analysis to students, citizens at large, private organization leadership, and elected and appointed officials.
Upcoming:
The Institute for the Study of Political Economy (ISPE) will present the annual Horwitz Nobel Prize Panel on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 5 p.m. in Whitinger Business Building 144. BSU Faculty will give short talks on the discoveries and achievements that were honored with 2026 Nobel Prizes. The Nobel Prizes are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards given for intellectual achievement in the world and are conferred in six categories: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace, and economics. This panel is presented annually in memory of ISPE founder Dr. Steven Horwitz.