Northfield, Massachusetts | October 9“11, 2026
œBy the Dawn™s Early Light: America™s First Principles and Their Enduring Legacy
Every year 91¿ì»îÁÖ Aquinas College hosts weekend seminars to give friends from around the country a taste of its unique program of Catholic liberal education. With the guidance of faculty members, participants discuss selections from the Great Books on a given theme. They work together to unfold the authors™ meaning and discern what truths it contains.
Our Fall Seminar Weekend takes place on the College™s century-old New England campus, about 100 miles northwest of Boston in Northfield, Massachusetts. It features three discussions about the selected texts, nightly on-campus receptions, fine dining, and delightful company. Our chaplains offer Masses and Adoration daily in Our Mother of Perpetual Help Chapel and are available for confession and spiritual direction throughout the weekend. There is also ample opporÂtunity to visit with members of the student body and ” at Sunday morning™s Mass ” to take in the beautiful music of the 91¿ì»îÁÖ Aquinas College Choir.
Your Seminar Weekend will be a time of intellectual stimulation, deepening faith, and enduring friendships.
œI felt warmly received here. Found everyone to be gracious and caring. The discussions were fruitful and interesting. The cuisine was excellent and memorable.
Theme
œWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
These stirring words from the Declaration of Independence seem clear, but can they be reconciled with the U.S. Constitution? Does the existence of slavery render suspect the claim that these truths are self-evident? Is it evident that our inalienable rights come from God? Despite the rhetoric of the Declaration, would it be better to understand, as Sen. Tim Kaine has asserted, that our rights come from government?
In the Dred Scott decision the U.S. Supreme Court interpreted these words one way, but Abraham Lincoln offered a different interpretation. How should we judge which account is true?
Perhaps more than ever, we need to wrestle with the intention of the Founders when they made these bold claims.
Registration
All-inclusive price includes lodging, meals, seminars, and readings.
Discounts are available for President™s Council members at the Teresa of Calcutta level and above
