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
A ‘Love Letter’ to America Opens Today in Theaters
A new documentary is set to showcase America’s landscapes as a “love letter” to the country in its 250th anniversary year. The 40-minute film “America the Beautiful” premieres Nov. 11 across more than 70 theaters nationwide. Narrated by award-winning actor Kelsey Grammer, it shows America “from sea to shining sea” and traces the history… -
opinion
American Immigration and Our National Spirit
Summary The election of America’s first Muslim senator, Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed, a second-generation immigrant from Egypt, is a watershed moment in the triumph of multiculturalism. This moment was made possible by the enduring legacy of the Johnson administration and the Hart-Celler Act, which opened the United States to large-scale immigration from the Third World in… -
opinion
To All Who Served, Thank You
A few weeks ago, in anticipation of Veterans Day, I had the privilege of visiting the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir. The museum, which is free of charge, has put together a special exhibition and program in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence… -
news
Myrtle Saves Children’s Literature
Patriotic children’s literature is making a comeback with the upcoming book “Myrtle Saves the Boston Tea Party.” The new children’s book is set to release Nov. 10. Author Amelia Hamilton told the Daily Signal she hopes to educate children about America’s founding through the exciting tale. “I really feel like America’s founding was an adventure,” she said…. -
opinion
How the Parthenon Became a Temple to Democracy
Summary For 30 years after the Persians burned Athens in 480 B.C., the rubble sat untouched atop the city’s great stone Acropolis. The Greeks had sworn to leave it there as a reminder of what they had lost and what might come again. The great statesman Pericles, however, finally persuaded his fellow citizens that the… -
opinion
When the Revolution Came to Church: Loyalist Clergy and Patriot Pews
Summary On Aug. 14, 1774, the Rev. John Bullman climbed into the towering pulpit of Charleston’s St. Michael’s Church and told his South Carolina congregation that they needed to know their place. As tensions with Great Britain mounted, Bullman, St. Michael’s assistant rector, preached “The Christian Duty of Peaceableness.” He ridiculed the “silly Clown” and… -
opinion
The Gettysburg Address: The Crown Jewel of American Political Rhetoric
Welcome to the 11th and final essay 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… -
opinion
Why George Washington Would Deport Mahmoud Khalil
Summary Mahmoud Khalil wants to take the case against his deportation all the way to the Supreme Court—and if the justices accept it, they will be deciding one of the oldest and most controversial questions in American politics, a dispute more than 200 years old. Khalil is not an American: He’s a Syrian-born Palestinian, but… -
opinion
People, Place, Principles: What It Means to Be an American
The West is in a crucial cultural moment. Protesters burned a 140-year-old town hall in France, a disquieting testament of denigration. Many argue that America has no unique culture, or if it does, it is not one worth preserving. Even as America celebrates its 250th birthday, it seems we no longer know—and so don’t understand—what… -
opinion
No Kings: An American Tradition or Bad History?
“No kings!” has become one of the prominent rallying cries of our time. The slogan evokes the longstanding American aversion to monarchy—an aversion its supporters trace to our nation’s founding. But a closer reading of the historical record tells a different and far more interesting story. In the run-up to the American Revolution, most colonial… -
opinion
Martin Luther King’s American Dream
Welcome to the tenth 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
The War on Columbus Was Never Really About Columbus
Christopher Columbus is having a revival thanks to President Donald Trump and the good sense of the American people. This is a remarkable change from just a few years ago, when it seemed likely that the country was ready to purge Columbus, the Founding Fathers, and pretty much any notable figure from our past. It… -
opinion
Victor Davis Hanson: Tucker Carlson Is Wrong About World War II
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: The interview Tucker Carlson had with Jacob Rees-Mogg, who’s a member of Parliament. I don’t know if he’s still… -
opinion
Revolutionary-Era South Carolina’s Mantra: ‘Be Cool and Do Mischief’
On Feb. 9, 1776, Christopher Gadsden stood before South Carolina’s Provincial Congress in Charleston with what the congressional record called an “elegant standard,” a yellow flag bearing a rattlesnake poised to strike and four words beneath it: “DON’T TREAD ON ME” The story of that flag takes us into a fascinating stage of South Carolina’s… -
opinion
James Madison’s Warning for the Administrative State
James Madison never heard of the EPA, the SEC, or the FTC. But as one of the Founding Fathers, he understood the danger of allowing the same institution to make rules, enforce them, and then sit in judgment over the people accused of breaking them. In Federalist No. 47, Madison wrote that “the accumulation of… -
news
Human Rights Campaign Chief Compares ICE Patrols to Lynch Mobs
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson Saturday compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement patrols to lynch mobs and likened current political battles over LGBTQ+ issues to the civil rights movement. Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ activist group, has sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s policies on transgender issues, including restrictions on military service for people… -
opinion
Why Solzhenitsyn’s 1978 Speech About America Still Demands Attention
Welcome to the ninth 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
Victor Davis Hanson Challenges Tucker Carlson: Show Me Where I Called Hiroshima ‘Glorious’
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. About a month ago, I talked about the anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bombs on… -
opinion
Victor Davis Hanson: What Tucker Carlson Gets Wrong About Hiroshima
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: Well, Victor, you wrote and talked about Hiroshima, and I don’t want to say the virtues of it because… -
opinion
On the Constitution’s Birthday, Honor Her Virtues
For my birthday, my neighbors hold events listing my faults and describing how I should do better. Who am I? I’m the United States Constitution on Constitution Day at some colleges. Constitution Day is Sept. 17. Federal law requires that every college hold an educational program for students about the Constitution each year. The law doesn’t say…