Giving Compass' Take:

• Brent Glass argues that science has been and should continue to be a fundamental component of American democracy. 

• How can funders best support high-quality scientific research? How can donors ensure that the best available science is directing policy decisions?

• Get guidance on funding research projects. 

The American Philosophical Society was established in 1743 in Philadelphia; a century later, in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution was founded in Washington, D.C. The story of these two institutions centers on two men: Benjamin Franklin and James Smithson with a cameo appearance by Joseph Priestley. It is the story of the link between science and democracy in the founding of America and the essential role of science in the formative decades of the new nation.

There are two other narratives that define this century. First, the line between science and humanities was not as distinct as it is today. We talk about STEM education, sometimes STEAM to include the arts. I propose we expand that effort to include the humanities, something like SHTEAM would be appropriate. The second narrative is that America was admired in its formative years for its political freedom and scientific accomplishments, not for its military power or its great wealth.

Science and democracy were linked in the founder’s minds.

Jefferson said that liberty was “the great parent of science and of virtue; and that a nation will be great in both, always in proportion as it is free.”

The connection between the promotion of liberty and freedom and the development of scientific inquiry and its applications made a deep impression on intellectuals and scholars in England and other European countries.

Read the full article about science and democracy by Brent Glass at Media Impact Funders.