Applicants should submit an essay answering the question below, as well as a 750-1,000 word prose description of themselves, their interests, and their plans as well as a letter of recommendation from a professor.

Scholarships for the John Randolph Club cover the conference and meals and events from Friday evening though Saturday evening.  Not covered is lodging, transportation, or the pre-JRC cultural program on Texas History.  A minimum of five full and five partial scholarships will be awarded. Full-scholarship students pay nothing.  Partial-scholarship students pay $50.00.

Here is the 2009 JRC Scholarship Question for currently enrolled graduate and undergraduate students:

“At a ‘Tea Party’ in April, Governor Rick Perry declared to wild cheers that Texas had the right to secede from the United States.  Was this remark imprudent political posturing, a courageous assertion of States’ rights, or something else altogether?  In 750-1,000 words, defend or attack Perry’s remarks.

Those interested in applying should contact Christopher Check, Exec VP, The Rockford Institute, at (815) 964-5811.

For more information on The 20th Annual Meeting of The John Randolph Club, click here.

The 20th Annual Meeting of the John Randolph Club
“The Future of America: Hell or Texas?”
November 13-14, 2009
San Antonio, Texas

[Click here to download and print a registration form.]

THEME

“You may all go to Hell; I will go to Texas,” said David Crockett to the voters before departing for San Antonio and the Alamo, where he, along with Jim Bowie, Buck Travis, and 186 other brave Americans, gave their lives for liberty.  As the entire United States seems bent on following Davy’s instructions, a few brave spirits are going to make their way, once again, to San Antonio to express their love of liberty, though this time the worst risk they will run will be to dine too well and drink too deep.

The JRC is going back to Texas to celebrate our 20th anniversary.  But this is no backward-looking exercise in nostalgia.  Our speakers—Tom Fleming, David Hartman, Peter Brimelow, John Lukacs, Roger McGrath, Bill Murchison, James Patrick, Justin Raimondo, and Aaron Wolf, among many others—will look ahead, beyond the current conservative traps—neocons and theocons and all the rest—to see how best to apply our enduring principles to a rapidly changing national and international scene that looks more and more like socialism without a human face.

Where better to argue for liberty than in Texas, where men and women have always fiercely defended their property, their families, and independence?

The meeting opens with a reception and address on Friday evening, November 13, features panels and discussion all day on Saturday, and concludes with a black-tie-optional dinner banquet and debate on Saturday night.

Plan also to stay for a Sunday afternoon fundraising reception for Chronicles at the magnificent home of one of our Texas supporters.

[Click here to download and print a registration form.]

SPECIAL PRE-JRC PROGRAM: “TEXAS GRIT”

Join us Thursday afternoon, November 12, for an historic San Antonio walking tour followed by a private reception and dinner.  A second sightseeing excursion to the San Antonio Missions on the morning of Friday, November 13, will include lunch.  Both meals will be followed by lectures on the brave Rangers and the bad gunmen—Wes Hardin and Clay Allison—who gave Texas a name for courage: grit!

LOCATION

The Historic Saint Anthony Hotel*, 300 East Travis, San Antonio, TX 78205

*A limited number of rooms are available at the Saint Anthony at the special rate of $139.00 single or double occupancy, breakfast included.  Reservations must be made no later than Monday, October 12, 2009.  Call (210) 227-4392 and mention The Rockford Institute to get the special rate.

**Update: If you are having trouble getting through to the Saint Anthony, please call the Wyndam hotels at (800) 996-3426 and tell them that you would like to book rooms at the Saint Anthony in San Antonio.  (Don’t forget to mention The Rockford Institute.)

PRICES

Pre-JRC Program, “Texas Grit”: $195.00 per person (Includes Thursday afternoon sightseeing, reception and dinner; Friday motor-coach excursion to the San Antonio Missions and luncheon)

John Randolph Club Full Registration: $250.00 per JRC Member; $275.00 per non-member (Includes Friday evening reception and opening address, Saturday panels, Saturday evening banquet and program)

All registration prices increase $50.00 after October 1, 2009.

REGISTRATION

[Click here to download and print a registration form.]

Pay by credit card by calling Cindy Link at (815) 964-5813.

For student rates, panels-only rates, or other information, contact Christopher Check, executive vice president, at (815) 964-5811.

The 19th Annual Meeting of the John Randolph Club
“A Republic, If You Can Keep It”
September 12-13, 2008

Join Thomas Fleming, Srdja Trifkovic, and Aaron D. Wolf along with special guests David Hartman, Taki Theodoracopulos, Peter Brimelow, Claude Polin, Donald W. Livingston, and others at

The Sofitel Philadelphia*
120 South 17th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
*tripadvisor.com’s top-rated Philadelphia Hotel!

for a weekend of camaraderie, lively conversation, and spirited debate, as we explore the prospects of restoring republican government in the city where it all began.

Saturday-night black-tie banquet and debate: “Resolved: The American Republic Can Be Saved”

SPECIAL PRE-JRC PROGRAM: “Philadelphia: An American Capital”

Join us Thursday afternoon, September 11, for a Philadelphia sight­seeing excursion followed by a private reception and dinner featuring historian John Lukacs, whose numerous books include Philadelphia: Patricians and Philistines. A second excursion on the morning of Friday, September 12, will be followed by a lunch and a lecture by Chilton Williamson, Jr., on Western novelist and Philadelphia native Owen Wister.

REGISTRATION DETAILS

Philadelphia: An American Capital: $175.00 per person
(Includes Thursday afternoon sightseeing and dinner with John Lukacs, Friday sightseeing and luncheon with Chilton Williamson, Jr.)

John Randolph Club Full Registration: JRC Member: $270.00; Non-member: $295.00
(Includes Friday evening opening address and reception, Saturday panels, Saturday evening banquet and program)

All registration prices increase $50.00 after July 15, 2008.

A limited number of rooms are available at the Sofitel Philadelphia at $175.00, single or double occupancy. Reservations must be made no later than August 20, 2008. Call (215) 569-8300 and mention The John Randolph Club.

For student rates, panels-only rates, or other information, contact Christopher Check, executive vice president, at (815) 964-5811.

Update: A limited number of rooms are available at the Hotel Washington at $169.00, single or double occupancy.

Call (202) 638-5900 and mention the John Randolph Club to receive the special rate.

Join Thomas Fleming, Srdja Trifkovic, Tom Landess, George McCartney, Peter Brimelow, Leon Hadar, David Hartman, Kirkpatrick Sale, Justin Raimondo, and Taki for candid debate on topics other conservative conferences refuse to touch:

—Stopping the Next Middle East War
—The Politics of Demonization
—The Capitalist Left
—Too Much Freedom

SPECIAL PRE-JRC PROGRAM: “Washington: Heroes and Villains”

On Thursday, September 20, join Ford’s Theatre docent Eric Martin on an off-the-beaten-path tour of Washington, followed by a private reception and dinner with The Hon. Walter Jones (R-NC), whose positions on the Iraq War, trade, and immigration have put him at odds with his party. Friday morning features a second sightseeing excursion followed by a luncheon talk on “Hidden Washington.” Registration for this program is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis.

Prices:

Washington: Heroes and Villains (Thursday afternoon sightseeing, reception and dinner with Congressman Jones, Friday sightseeing and luncheon): $180

John Randolph Club Full Registration (Friday evening opening address and reception, Saturday panels, Saturday evening banquet and program)

JRC Member: $280
Non-Member: $305

(deduct $25.00 per person if attending both events)

For student rates, panels-only rates, or other information, contact Christopher Check, executive vice president, at (815) 964-5811.