At the heart of the American founding lies a single, daring question: Can a free people govern themselves? In 1776, this was not a rhetorical exercise—it was a real and risky proposition. History offered few encouraging examples. Most nations were ruled by kings, emperors, or entrenched elites. The idea that ordinary citizens could sustain liberty…
One of the most enduring lessons of the American founding is that rights and responsibilities are inseparable. From the very beginning, the architects of the American experiment understood that liberty could not survive on rights alone. Freedom, they believed, required citizens who were willing to accept responsibility for themselves, their communities, and the system of…
Self-government was one of the most radical ideas to emerge from the American Revolution. In 1776, the founders declared that legitimate government derives its authority from the consent of the governed. That principle placed extraordinary trust in ordinary people. But it also carried an implicit warning: self-government can only endure if citizens are willing to…
