While the Declaration of Independence may be linked in the popular imagination with notions of unfettered freedom and autonomy, in reality, the Declaration is greatly concerned with relationships, interrelationships, mutuality, and obligations. These relationships are governed by preexisting, inalienable natural rights and justice. In the beginning, the title was not the Declaration of Independence. Though [...]
Europeans introduced the “Five Civilized Tribes” of the southeast to the institution of racial slavery. And during the Civil War, the Five Civilized Tribes fought on both the Union and Confederate sides. This often-overlooked part of American history takes on new significance in light of today’s debates over slavery reparations and monuments to those who [...]
Drawing from American musical sources and texts, Michael Dougherty's composition for chorus and orchestra echoes the resonance and dissonance of Mount Rushmore as a complex icon of American history. Like Mount Rushmore, the libretto is carved out of the words of each President. Mount Rushmore (2010) for chorus and orchestra is inspired by the monumental [...]
Much can be learned from the life of Fisher Ames. He displayed more promise than perhaps any of our other great statesmen, and he personified two of conservatism’s most indelible tenets: Life is fragile, and all is vanity. But he was also quick to see how American citizens embraced their “liberty,” and he did not [...]
On that summer-hot afternoon at Gettysburg, after two days of fighting in the summer-lush Pennsylvania countryside, the fate of two nations still hung in the balance. General Robert E. Lee intended to tip the scales. Just before 3 o’clock on the morning of July 3, 1863, Robert E. Lee rose by starlight, ate a spartan [...]
History’s tyrants and thieves remain with us, and if things get very dark sometimes, then my best hope is to do the right thing in the light of His Grace. That’s all I can hope to do, passing on that Grace whenever I can. It’s strange how I can’t remember this guy’s whole name but [...]
Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner." "Ich bin ein Berliner" is a speech by United States President John F. Kennedy given [...]
The revolutionaries of 1776 could be just as violent as those of today, but they were truly a lot more intelligent and interesting. Eighteenth-century Americans fought with several generations worth of finely-honed arguments—from law, from experience, and from scripture, whereas the protestors of today, while armed with anger, seem armed with little else. In every [...]
Winston Churchill’s education deserves close study because it shaped his evolution from unsteady boyhood to rational statesmanship. It was this education that enabled him to exercise discernment and discover what was advantageous and disadvantageous, just and unjust, so that—whether in peacetime or in war—he could demonstrate remarkable qualities and serve the country he loved. Churchill [...]
On June 18, 1940, two days after France had sought an armistice with Germany, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addressed the House of Commons about the calamitous turn of events in Europe. Britain now stood alone against Adolf Hitler’s military machine, and in this speech, Churchill bolsters his countrymen’s courage to fight for freedom and [...]
As Samuel W. Mitcham, Jr. rightly points out in his new book, there is no denying that there were other questions besides the issue of slavery energizing the air prior to the War Between the States, questions which cannot be entirely trivialized. It Wasn’t About Slavery: Exposing the Great Lie of the Civil War, by [...]
Given how vital a role history placed in the English-speaking world of the 18th century, Thomas Jefferson’s own love of history should not be too shocking. Further, it should not be surprising that Jefferson embraced a rather Whiggish view of history, one that pervaded much of American political, social, cultural, and religious thought. It would [...]
Unlike the Democrats, the Whigs never fully coalesced as a party, at least in terms of their ideas. But if the members of the party agreed on anything other than their hatred of Andrew Jackson and the abuse of executive power, it was their relentless opposition to imperial expansion and Manifest Destiny. When Andrew Jackson [...]
President Warren G. Harding “died twice, for there was his physical death, and then the death of his reputation.” But in reality, he was a man of achievement, and his two-and-a-half years in office boasted more accomplishments than other presidents have achieved in four. The revisionist scholarship of the past several decades has slowly seeped [...]