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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news
What Trump Said to Families of 9/11 Victims
At a 9/11 anniversary ceremony at the Pentagon, President Donald Trump paid tribute those who died 25 years ago. “We will honor their lives. We will cherish their beautiful memories, and we will protect this country and its freedoms for every future generation,” he said. “We will protect it like never before. For anyone who… -
opinion
Reflections on 9/11 After 25 Years
Twenty-five years later, the images remain seared into our national memory: A brilliant September sky blackened by smoke; office papers drifting through the canyons of lower Manhattan; strangers running toward danger while thousands fled from it; and, by evening, an America stunned, grieving, and suddenly united. Sept. 11, 2001, was not merely a date on… -
opinion
Saddles and Satellite Radios: The Heroism of 9/11’s Immediate Response
Only three times in American history has the United States been attacked on its home soil: during the War of 1812, on Dec. 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor, and on Sept. 11, 2001. In every case, America fought back. With roughly a third of the American population under 25 years old and living in a… -
opinion
We’ve Forgotten What the Days After 9/11 Were Like
Twenty-five years ago this month, the country we love did something it rarely does: It stopped arguing with itself. For a few weeks after the Twin Towers fell on Sept. 11, 2001, there was no red America or blue America. There was just America, standing in line to give blood, enlisting in numbers recruiters hadn’t seen since Vietnam, hanging flags off overpasses in towns that had… -
opinion
Victor Davis Hanson: The Generation That Built America Was the Last of Its Kind
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words” from Daily Signal senior contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to Victor Davis Hanson’s own YouTube channel to watch past episodes. Jack Fowler: Our friend, your friend, and I’m a great admirer of David Mamet, the playwright and screenwriter and author. He… -
opinion
The Jokes of 9/11
As someone paid to deal with the news each day, it is perhaps not in my best interest to admit that almost everything that comes across your X news feed is disposable. Whatever news has you hot and bothered today, whatever juicy entertainment gossip has you licking your chops, whatever fills the late-night comic’s monologue… -
news
Woke on Display: Inside the ‘American Democracy’ Exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of American History
The Daily Signal takes you on an eye-opening tour of the Smithsonian Institution‘s National Museum of American History and its “American Democracy: A Great Leap of Faith” exhibit, fact-checking claims from the White House and congressional investigations that Smithsonian leadership is on a taxpayer-funded mission to radicalize the once-venerable museum. -
opinion
On 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks, Many Will Excise the Most Relevant Truth From National Memory: Islamist Ideology Still Motivates Mass Murder
As America prepares to memorialize the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, expect a bright, glaring omission in the upcoming speeches, editorials, and televised survivor retrospectives about this history, important to tell for its warning that national vigilance remains necessary even now. Left on the cutting room floors will be the all-important, basic “why,”… -
opinion
Resistance Becomes Revolution: North Carolina, 1776
By 1774, North Carolina had spent years learning to resist authority. The Regulation had exposed resentment toward corrupt colonial officials, the Stamp Act crisis had produced organized resistance to Parliament, and the women of Edenton had demonstrated that the Patriot cause was no longer confined to male politicians. Events beyond North Carolina were forcing its… -
opinion
Victor Davis Hanson: The Atomic Bombs Dropped in Japan Were Not Satanic
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of today’s video from Daily Signal senior contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see more of his videos. Hello, this is Victor Davis Hanson for the Daily Signal. It’s August, so we have the annual debate over the dropping of two atomic bombs, one on… -
news
The Constitution Can Unify America, Levin Says at SPN Annual Meeting
ORLANDO, Fla.—In his keynote address at State Policy Network’s Annual Meeting this week, Israeli American journalist and constitutional studies expert Yuval Levin said that the U.S. Constitution once united our nation—and perhaps, surprisingly, might do so again. Hot topics at this year’s gathering ranged from data centers and artificial intelligence in health care to school… -
news
Alan Dershowitz Speaks to Fascinating Similarities Between Founding of America, Israel
Tuesday’s edition of “The Tony Kinnett Cast” featured a special guest, Alan Dershowitz. The attorney was there to discuss his book “Founding Fathers and One Jewish Mother: The Documents and People Who Established the US and Israel.” Dershowitz shared with host Tony Kinnett that the book is based on his personal archive of documents he’s… -
opinion
Victor Davis Hanson: Nixon Was the ‘Most Naturally Bright President’ We’ve Ever Had
Editor’s note: This is a lightly edited transcript of the latest edition of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words” from Daily Signal senior contributor Victor Davis Hanson. Subscribe to Victor Davis Hanson’s own YouTube channel to watch past episodes. Sami Winc: So, Victor, I’m anxious to hear about our John Tyler, but also Richard Nixon, who is probably… -
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:…