In this fourth installment of our series highlighting the thoughts of conservative and libertarian leaders on American Independence and the Founding, we asked: What Founder is either your favorite or one who you think deserves more credit for his or her contributions to America? (This series will conclude with one more post tomorrow morning.) John J. Miller, National Political Reporter for National Review: John Adams. He was colorful and cantankerous, had the best wife, and lived through the entire arc of America’s founding period. He started out as an anti-tax …
With Independence Day approaching it is easy to get caught up in celebration and neglect the true meanings of American ideas. Significant concepts have the tendency to be reduced to political rhetoric. Regrettably, the word patriot is among these great ideas whose meaning has been obscured and stripped of its American distinction. The general term patriot signifies a person having an attachment to their respective country or regime. It is based on a feeling, sentiment, or passion toward national loyalty. It is not surprising that the classic writer Ambrose Bierce …
In this third installment of our series highlighting the thoughts of conservative and libertarian leaders on American Independence and the Founding, we asked: What do you think was the most important idea of the Founders? (This series will continue until July 4.) Jamie Radtke, Chairman of the Virginia Tea Party Patriot Federation: In my opinion, one of their most significant achievements was the idea of a written constitution. Our U.S. Constitution was designed to serve as a limitation on federal powers, which is what makes it unique and powerful. It …
We’ve solicited some thoughts on the American Independence and Founding from a variety of conservative and libertarian leaders. Between now and July 4, we’ll post some of the most interesting answers. Here is the first installment. What is the single best book or article you have read about the American Founding? Matt Mayer, President of the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions: Outside of the fairly obvious The Federalist Papers, the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence, I’d have to settle on Russell Shorto’s The Island at the Center of …
Last week we wrote about an item that appeared in USA Today wanting to know your opinion about the meaning and significance of Independence Day: Americans celebrate the values that unite us on the Fourth of July, but today the country seems sharply divided. As the country copes with unemployment, immigration and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, what do you think the nation needs to remember this Independence Day? What are the messages you would like to share with other Americans? Write to letters@usatoday.com by June 21. …
For 233 years, Independence Day has been the celebration of the day we declared our independence from the tyrannical reign of King George III. Since Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence it has been a symbol of freedom known worldwide. Thomas Jefferson noted, in a letter to John Adams in 1821 that: [T]he flames kindled on the 4 of July 1776, have spread over too much of the globe to be extinguished by the feeble engines of despotism; on the contrary, they will consume these engines and all who …
Amid the political noise out of Washington, June’s opinion polls picked up a growing public disquiet over ever-greater government spending and intrusion. These expressions of concern reflect the resiliency of the spirit of 1776, which we celebrate on Independence Day. The just powers of government, the Declaration of Independence proclaimed on July 4, 1776, flow from the consent of the governed. Government’s purpose, the Founders agreed, is to secure the fundamental rights and sovereignty of the people. Heritage constitutional scholar Matthew Spalding writes: “The Declaration of Independence announced to the …
