Founding Fathers & American History
Essays and features on the Founding Fathers, constitutional principles, and how America’s heritage informs today’s political and cultural debates.
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opinion
‘Fire and Be Damned!’ North Carolina and the Sparks That Lit the American Revolution
By the late 1760s, North Carolina was a smoldering tinderbox of conflict. Elected officials Cornelius Harnett and John Ashe had led the Sons of Liberty in resisting the Stamp Act, making its enforcement impossible and contributing to Parliament’s repeal of the tax, but deeper grievances remained. Drought brought crop failures, hunger, economic depression, and a… -
exclusive
The Wait Is Over: Sean Duffy’s ‘Great American Road Trip’ Debuts
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is taking his family on “The Great American Road Trip” and bringing America along, too. The long-awaited reality TV series is here, and the Daily Signal got a first look at the family’s first two trips: Philadelphia and Texas. In the six-episode series, Duffy; his… -
opinion
Calvin Coolidge on the Christian Roots of American Liberty
Welcome to the seventh in our series, Landmark Speeches in American History. We are celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with articles by prominent authors about how some of the greatest speeches in our history—by celebrated orators like Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr.—honored the vision of our founding document, the Declaration of Independence…. -
opinion
North Carolina Before the Revolution Was a Tinderbox Ready to Ignite
Understanding North Carolina before 1776 helps explain the crucial but often overlooked role it played in America’s break with Britain. By the time of the Revolution, the colony had accumulated a volatile mix of political resentment, economic hardship, frontier independence, religious dissent, and frustration with government abuse and inadequate representation in its own colonial assembly…. -
opinion
When Virtue Signaling Replaces Character
It has never been easier to feel virtuous without making much of an effort. Put pronouns in an email signature, repost the slogan of the day, or join the online denunciation of someone who used the wrong word. In many circles, such gestures are expected. A person can take part with little at stake and… -
opinion
A Win in Philadelphia for America’s Founders
RealClearWire—On July 15, the National Park Service hung new interpretive signs at the President’s House Site in Independence Park, where George Washington lived as president while Philadelphia was the nation’s capital. This is a major development in the battle between those who want to portray America’s history in a traditional manner and woke activists who depict… -
opinion
What Should the Smithsonian Do?
A recent White House report put the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History under fire. The report details historical distortions and egregious omissions in how the museum depicts the national narrative. There are no exhibits on George Washington or the Declaration of Independence, even as America marks its 250th birthday. Concerns over the museum raise a real question:… -
opinion
Time for a Renaissance of American Public Service
America has no shortage of critics. What it increasingly lacks are American citizens willing to step forward and serve. A republic cannot survive indefinitely as a spectator sport, with millions of people shouting from the sidelines while expecting someone else to defend the country, administer justice, strengthen the community, and preserve the institutions on which freedom depends. Self-government requires… -
news
PragerU Created Exhibit for White House With the Help of Production AI
They wanted to capture moments of American history without boring viewers. So they used production AI to bring history to life in an exhibit. PragerU, an educational media organization, partnered with the White House last year to create the Road to Liberty exhibit in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building to teach the values that formed… -
opinion
Was America Built on Slavery and Racism? The Confederacy’s ‘Cornerstone’ Gives the Answer
Welcome to the sixth in our series, Landmark Speeches in American History. We are celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with articles by prominent authors about how some of the greatest speeches in our history—by celebrated orators like Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King Jr.—honored the vision of our founding document, the Declaration of Independence…. -
opinion
4 History Books to Read for America 250
As a companion to the “Top Six Classic Books to Read for America 250,” consider these four history books recommended by evaluators from the “Heritage Guide to Historic Sites.” Some focus on a particular individual, like Forrest McDonald’s biography of Alexander Hamilton, or an understudied era of history, like “The Political Culture of the American Whigs” by Daniel Walker Howe. Others illuminate the American culture and creed, “the… -
opinion
America’s Children Need Heroes Again
Every child is looking for someone to become. The only question is where he will find that person. For generations, American schools helped with that quest by introducing students to heroes—men and women whose courage, perseverance, and devotion to principle shaped the nation. George Washington’s voluntary resignation of his military commission after the Revolutionary War was… -
opinion
Rest Well, Young Patriot: Archeological Discoveries From the Battle of Camden
War is cruel. The Battle of Camden illustrates this, and recent discoveries on that battlefield shed light on the events of Aug. 16, 1780. Fought in the summer heat of South Carolina’s Midlands, Camden stands as one of the most consequential battles of the American Revolution. Though a disastrous loss for the Patriots, it became a turning point in… -
opinion
John Adams Already Refuted the Democratic Socialists of America’s Ideas
The Democratic Socialists of America don’t like being called communists, though many members might echo the sentiment of leftist influencer Hasan Piker when he says, “I don’t have an issue with an end goal of communism.” Yet, however the group self-identifies, its agenda is openly revolutionary. Its plans call for, among other things, abolishing the United States Senate and… -
opinion
Fauci’s Downfall Reveals the Danger of Rule by ‘Experts’
The rise and fall of Fauci is one of the great political lessons of our time about the folly and destructiveness of rule by so-called expertise. On Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in his appearance before… -
opinion
Matthew Spalding Tutors Congress on How the Smithsonian Has Attacked Our History
“When in the course of human events …” With those words, Thomas Jefferson began the Declaration of Independence and gave voice to a proposition that would change the world. The phrase is not ornamental. It is the architecture of political history. Nations are born, tested, defended, and sometimes squandered by human events: decisions made by… -
opinion
The Filibuster: An Accident Turned Into Tradition
The filibuster is unconstitutional. Our Founding Fathers spoke against requiring a supermajority threshold to pass regular measures in Congress, yet the erroneous practice continues today via the filibuster. Current Senate practice reaches beyond our Founders’ original plan that a supermajority vote was only to be used for the five instances listed in the Constitution and… -
opinion
Trump’s America Involves ‘the Same Arguments’ as the Historical Period That Gave Birth to the Klan, Barack Obama Says
Former President Barack Obama recently gave America another reminder of how his presidency—once expected to bring the country together—left us more divided on race. Obama compared America under President Donald Trump to the tumultuous period after the Civil War that gave birth to the Ku Klux Klan. He said the U.S. is “having the same… -
opinion
Great Seal of Virginia Turns 250
Virginians were busy 250 years ago this month. In Philadelphia, of course, Virginians were leading the 13 Colonies into the war that would free them from the British Empire. But others remained in Williamsburg, where the Virginia Convention was hard at work shaping what an independent state would look like. It ratified the Virginia Declaration… -
news
From Viral Hearings to Key Bills, Brandon Gill’s Doing What It Takes to ‘Save the Country’
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, is a freshman congressman known for his viral moments at Capitol Hill hearings. He had another such moment Tuesday as he sweetly, but devastatingly, dissected the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History over her woke stewardship of the taxpayer-funded entity. Shortly after the exchange, Gill spoke with…