Declaration of Independence
The Runup to the Declaration of Independence
In the years before 1763, the British Empire—although in theory a unified entity—was really a federation. The central government in London controlled foreign affairs and the imperial post office. It also regulated trade with foreign countries and among units of the...
It’s Not Just a Right. It’s a Duty.
Alter or abolish. Despite those words in the Declaration of Independence, the establishment would have you believe that any effort to resist their power is anti-American. But they have it backwards. Under the founders’ framework, the right to “provide new guards” is a...
Free and Independent: The Foreign Policy of Washington and Jefferson
Anxious to preserve their hard-won independence, Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson championed a foreign policy centered on avoiding “entangling alliances.” They envisioned America pursuing peace, trade, and “friendship with all...
Pursuit of Happiness: “We Cannot be Happy without Being Free”
The “pursuit of happiness” is a foundational principle enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. In the Founders’ view, this was inextricably linked to individual liberty and property rights. John Dickinson explained it this way in the last of his 12 Letters from...