History
Who Called the Constitutional Convention? The Commonwealth of Virginia
A “call” to an interstate convention is an invitation for state representatives to meet at a particular time and place to discuss prescribed issues. During the Founding Era, convention calls were issued by the Continental and Confederation Congresses, by prior...
America Rebuilt the British System the Founders Fought to Escape
“An elective despotism is not the government we fought for.” Thomas Jefferson warned about the dangers of unchecked power even in a system where the people get to choose their leaders. But what if you were told that’s just what we ended up with? Because the...
Resist Them: Samuel Adams and the Forgotten Duty of a Free People
“Resist them.” Nearly five years before the Declaration of Independence, Samuel Adams demanded that the people resist arbitrary power, warning them that the alternative was to tamely submit, sit idly by, and hope for the best – a recipe for total tyranny. For...
Vergil: Poet Laureate of the American Founding
The reverse side of the dollar bill reproduces the Great Seal of the United States. On the left is the back of the seal. It features two Latin phrases. Annuit coeptis means “He [i.e., God] has approved our undertakings.” It is an abbreviation of a line from a prayer...