The American Founding was an argument about liberty and power. Two hundred and fifty years later, that argument continues.
Explore essays, primary sources, podcasts, videos, and new content on the American Revolution, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the ideas that still shape America’s experiment in freedom.
Inspired especially by moral philosophers of the eighteenth century, the Just Sentiments collection explores central ideas in classical liberalism including political economy, history, psychology, theology, the arts, and more, with a view to enlarging and improving our appreciation of traditions of liberty and virtue.
Free speech is tested most in times of crisis. The assassination of Charlie Kirk and the FCC’s overhanded response remind us that silencing voices breeds only fear and division. From Milton to Mill to the digital age, the libertarian case is clear: defend speech for all, trust liberty over fear.
Free trade is often discussed as a matter of economics, but at its core it is a story about human cooperation. Open exchange allows millions of people—across borders, cultures, and industries—to coordinate their efforts without central direction or coercion. Through spontaneous order and dispersed knowledge, free trade transforms individual decisions into shared prosperity, proving that complex social cooperation does not require control to succeed.
Presidents are often remembered as founders, reformers, wartime leaders, and national heroes. Their records reveal a more complicated history.
Everything Wrong with the Presidents examines how presidents across parties and political traditions used—and expanded—the powers of their office. From war and economic intervention to violations of civil liberties and constitutional limits, these essays consider not only the failures of individual administrations, but also the institutions and precedents that have allowed executive power to grow.
Constitutionalism is the enduring principle that power must be bound by rules to safeguard liberty, from the democratic experiments of ancient Athens to the modern frameworks that secure rights and limit government today.