NC 250
Thomas Paine’s “The American Crisis” rallies weary Patriots
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands…
Thomas Paine
American Founding Father, philosopher, and political activist (1737–1809)
NC 250
Ken Burns’ “The American Revolution” premieres Sunday on PBS
Like ours, many organizations have been ramping up for July 2026, which marks the 250th anniversary celebration of the signing of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. The event we celebrate…
Budget, Taxation & Economy
Common Sense Constitutional Amendment: Lower the Cap
It should never be forgotten that the purpose of any constitution is to restrict the power of government, not to embolden its coercive power.
Liberty
Recalling Thomas Paine’s Important Free Speech
Carl Cannon writes at RealClearPolitics about an important historical lesson for people concerned about today’s toxic politics. We live in a time when U.S. politics is not only hyper-partisan, but…
Liberty
Lincoln’s reliance on the American Founders
Richard Brookhiser has spent much of his time in recent years documenting the exploits of the American Founders. So it should be no great surprise that those towering figures still…
Elections & Public Integrity
Kristol on GOP candidates: The more the merrier
Bill Kristol explains for Weekly Standard readers why he’s not concerned that Republicans have yet to anoint a single presidential candidate. The Republican presidential nominee is likely to win the…
Liberty
Paine, Burke, and an ideological battle that persists more than 200 years later
If you know that today’s conservatives often draw inspiration from Edmund Burke and that today’s progressives trace many of their ideas to Thomas Paine, you might expect a book about…
Liberty
Stop worshipping government
That’s the message in this sharp letter by Don Boudreaux, responding to the clueless E. J. Dionne, Elizabeth Warren, and other statists. The quotation from Thomas Paine is one to…
Elections & Public Integrity
Want more freedom and prosperity? Stossel recommends electing libertarians
John Stossel‘s latest column features his forecast for a country run by libertarians. Freedom frightens some people. They say if no one is in charge there would be chaos. That…
Law & Public Safety
It’s nice to agree with Walter Williams
It seems I’m not alone in panning Richard Stengel’s recent TIME cover story about the Constitution’s continuing importance. Here’s what Walter Williams has to say in his latest column: There’s…
Liberty
Hayward rescues the Reagan legacy
Regular attendees of the John Locke Foundation?s Shaftesbury Society meetings might remember Steven Hayward?s October 2009 presentation on the second volume of his Age of Reagan political history. The two-volume…
Liberty
Bill of Rights Institute Survey
The survey is based on the top 3,000 essays in the 2009-2010 Being an American Essay Contest sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute. The top “civic values” cited by…