James Best is the author of The Shopkeeper, Leadville, Tempest at Dawn, The Shut Mouth Society, and The Digital Organization. James has ghost written two books and also written two regular magazine columns and numerous journal articles. As a conference speaker, he has made presentations throughout North America and Europe. He is currently working on Murder at Thumb Butte, a Steve Dancy Western. He belongs to Western Writers of America and is a member of the Scottsdale, Arizona corral of Westerners.

James has been the president of Vista Software, The Scottsdale Center for Business Technology, and the Grand Circle Corporation. Mr. Best was AlliedSignal’s Vice President of Worldwide Computing & Network Operations. He now consults periodically and writes all the time.

James lives with his wife, Diane, in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Dr. Lillback is the author of the national bestseller George Washington’s Sacred Fire, representing the culmination of 20 years of primary-source research and scholarship, for which he has received wide scholarly acclaim and international press. He is most recently the author of the children’s book Lessons on Liberty – A Primer for Young Patriots, which has received a Silver Medal from the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards. Other titles by Dr. Lillback include; Wall of Misconception – Does the Separation of Church and State Mean the Separation of God and Government?, The Binding of God: Calvin’s Role in the Development of Covenant Theology, The Theological Guide to Calvin’s Institutes, The Practical Calvinist: An Introduction to the Presbyterian and Reformed Heritage, Freedom's Holy Light...with a firm reliance on Divine Providence, and Proclaim Liberty… a Broken Bell Rings Freedom to the World. He has published many articles, including as a contributor to the History News Network, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Bulletin. To learn more about Dr. Lillback visit www.providenceforum.org

Related Courses: America's Founding Principles

Burton Folsom, Jr. is Charles Kline professor of history at Hillsdale College.  He is the author of six books, including The Myth of the Robber Barons, now in its sixth edition, and of New Deal or Raw Deal? How FDR's Economic Legacy Has Damaged America, which was published in 2008.  He is working on a sequel titled FDR Goes to War, which will be co-authored with his wife Anita Folsom.

Professor Folsom has published articles in the Wall Street Journal, The American Spectator, the Journal of Southern History, Business History Review, and other publications.  He also writes a regular column for The Freeman.  At Hillsdale College, he teaches "Economic History of the United States," "History of the American Presidency," and U. S. History, 1877-1941."  He blogs at www.BurtFolsom.com.

Related Courses: Presidents You Should Hate

William R. Forstchen is a Faculty Fellow & Professor of History at Montreat College, located near Asheville, North Carolina. He holds a Ph.D. in history from Purdue University with specializations in the American Civil War, Military History and the History of Technology.

He is a New York Times best-selling author of more than forty books with a diversity of topics ranging from his early works in science fiction, to his current focus on history and historical fiction. He has co authored seven best-selling novels with former Speaker Newt Gingrich on the Civil War, Pearl Harbor and most recently with the upcoming release of their novel Valley Forge. Last year Forstchen released One Second After, a novel about the frightful potential of an Electro Magnetic Pulse attack on the United States. The book has been cited on the floor of Congress as a realistic examination of the threat America now faces from rogue states and terrorist groups armed with just a few nuclear weapons. He has made presentations on the subject to NASA, STRATCOM, and the Army War College.

His doctoral dissertation about the 28th United States Colored troops, one of over two hundred such regiments recruited during the Civil War for the Union is now the foundation of his next book with Gingrich.

Related Courses: Destruction & Reconstruction

Dr. Kevin Portteus is assistant professor of politics at Hillsdale College, having previously taught at Belmont Abbey College near Charlotte, NC and Mountain View College in Dallas, TX.  He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude from Ashland University, majoring in political science and mathematics, and took his Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in politics from the Institute of Philosophic Studies at the University of Dallas.  His teaching and research interests are in American political thought and American political institutions.  Dr. Portteus teaches courses on the U.S. Constitution, The Federalist, Congress, the Presidency, the Statesmanship of Lincoln, American Progressivism and Liberalism, and modern political thought.  Dr. Portteus has recently been published online through the Washington Times, Human Events, and BigGovernment.com.  He is currently working on papers on Herbert Croly and on the evolving power structures of Congress.  Dr. Portteus is finishing a book manuscript on administration in the Framers’ constitutionalism.  He has been married to Rebecca since 2003, and they have two sons, Alexander, 3, and Nathaniel, 1.

Related Courses: Presidents You Should Hate

Larry Schweikart, an Arizona native, was a rock drummer for several years, opening for such acts as Steppenwolf and the James Gang. He made an abrupt career change in the mid-1970s, earning a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Santa Barbara and becoming a history professor. He has taught at the University of Dayton since 1985, where he has written more than 30 books, including the New York Times #1 bestseller, A Patriot’s History of the United States. More recently, he has produced documentary films, including “Rockin’ the Wall.”

Related Courses: Destruction & Reconstruction

David Barton is the founder and president of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that presents America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious, and constitutional heritage.

David is the author of numerous best-selling books, with the subjects being drawn largely from his massive library-museum of tens of thousands of original writings, documents, and artifacts from early America.

His exhaustive research has rendered him an expert in historical and constitutional issues. He serves as a consultant to state and federal legislators, has participated in several cases at the Supreme Court, has been involved in the development of social studies standards for numerous states, and has helped produce some popular history textbooks now used in schools across the nation.

Related Courses: Faith 101, Faith 102, Faith 103

David L. Buckner is the President of Bottom Line Training and Consulting Inc., a consulting and training firm specializing in executive management development and business acumen training focusing on cultural integration, change management and strategic efficiencies.

For more than 20 years Mr. Buckner has been a keynote speaker, author, and featured trainer at business conferences and conventions throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Far East. His passionate, practical, engaging and timely approach to complex issues sets him apart from other keynote educators and has established him as a highly regarded and frequently requested keynote speaker.

Mr. Buckner received his Juris Doctorate Degree from J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University, holds an MBA from Durham University, England, and an MA in International Relations from the Kennedy Center for International Studies at BYU.

Related Courses: Hope 101, Hope 102, Hope 103

James R. Stoner, Jr., is Professor of Political Science at Louisiana State University, where he has taught since 1988 and chaired his department since 2007.

He is the author of Common-Law Liberty: Rethinking American Constitutionalism and Common Law and Liberal Theory: Coke, Hobbes, and the Origins of American Constitutionalism, as well as a number of articles and essays. In 2002 and 2003 he was a visiting fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, and he served from 2002 to 2006 on the National Council on the Humanities, to which he was appointed by President Bush. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1987 and his A.B. from Middlebury College in 1977.

Related Courses: Charity 101, Charity 102, Charity 103

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