Free Republic

Union and Confederate veterans shake hands during the 50th anniversary reunion at Gettysburg, 1913. Fifty years after the Battle of Gettysburg, thousands of aging Civil War veterans returned to the Pennsylvania battlefield where they had once fought as young soldiers. The 1913 Gettysburg Reunion commemorated the battle’s semicentennial and became one of the largest gatherings of Civil War veterans ever held. Men who had once faced one another across stone walls, ridges, and open fields reunited as survivors of the conflict that had transformed the United States. Veterans were housed in a sprawling temporary camp near the battlefield, and many...

As Americans prepare to celebrate Flag Day and the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, historian William Federer says the nation's founding ideals cannot be separated from its longstanding belief that rights come from God, not government.In an interview with The Christian Post ahead of Flag Day on June 14 — commemorating June 14, 1777, when the Continental Congress passed a resolution adopting the first official United States flag — Federer reflected on the religious themes woven throughout American history, including the addition of "one nation under God" to the Pledge of Allegiance and "In God We Trust" to...

Two direct descendants of prominent abolitionists reflected on the legacy of slavery and the challenges facing Black Americans during a visit to WHYY on Juneteenth. Kevin Douglass Greene, a descendant of Frederick Douglass, said he has little sympathy for people who believe they have lost rights or privileges, noting that African Americans spent generations fighting for basic rights and opportunities. “I can’t feel sorry for … certain populations in the United States [who] felt that they lost their rights and privileges. Just think about the amount of time that it took for African Americans in this country to achieve those...

It’s abundantly clear that religion stood at the center of the Civil War for both sides. Both North and South looked to God for meaning, and each side believed—that God was on its side... The new Confederate Constitution, adopted on February 8, 1861, officially declared its Christian identity, “invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God.” Southern leaders chose as their national motto Deo Vindice (“God will avenge”.) Confederate President Jefferson Davis proclaimed that the time had come “to recognize our dependence upon God … and supplicate his merciful protection.” This national acknowledgment of religious dependence, as the South frequently...

Most people think a civil war starts with a gunshot. It doesn't. It starts the moment half the country concludes the rules of the game have been permanently rigged against them — and that there is no legitimate way to change that. We may be closer to that moment than most people realize. And I can show you exactly how we get there — step by step.

Record-low trust in institutions, deepening regional and cultural divides, political violence, and a populace increasingly viewing opponents as existential enemies is a warning of worse to come. Rudyard Lynch, the sharp-eyed analyst behind the YouTube channel WhatifAltHist, has issued sobering warnings about America’s trajectory. Drawing on historical patterns of civilizational stress, elite overproduction, cultural fragmentation, demographic pressures, and fading social trust, Lynch argues that the United States faces a high risk of internal conflict or civil war. His theory resonates because the data is hard to dismiss: record-low trust in institutions, deepening regional and cultural divides, sporadic political violence, and...

This video from Black Conservative Perspective discusses a segment from CNN in which host Michael Smerconish interviewed Purple Heart recipient Teddy Daniels regarding Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner. Key takeaways from the video include: Controversial Candidate: The video highlights that Graham Platner has faced intense scrutiny for a past Nazi-symbol chest tattoo (which he kept for 18 years), controversial online comments regarding rape, and disparaging remarks made about combat veterans, including the claim that an army veteran did not "deserve to live" (0:00-1:10, 5:43-6:48). Democratic Party Criticism: The creator argues that the Democratic Party is facing a "Civil War" and...

The Left has been calling for violence relentlessly since Donald Trump re-assumed his presidency — and once again, they’ve got it. It’s a horrific story, and we warn readers that there’s disturbing content ahead. The facts: The wife of the elderly San Diego man brutally beaten outside his MAGA-inspired “Trump House” said there’s “no hope” for her husband after the vicious attack left him fighting for his life. Kerry Sheron, 69, was in critical condition following the violent assault outside his Escondido property on Wednesday afternoon. His wife, Maria, revealed to The California Post through tears that her husband isn’t...

I’ve been convinced for quite some time that the political polarization of America has passed the point of no return. At this stage there seems to be no political solution to the problem. To be blunt about it: there is no voting our way out of this. Where political matters are concerned, the hard Left — which seems to occupy a larger and larger portion of the Democrat Party — has all but cornered the market on violent, incendiary rhetoric. If you disagree with them, you should be beaten up and imprisoned. If you oppose the Narrative, you need...

One of the great strengths of Abraham Lincoln was his ability to take complicated concepts and boil them down into an easily digestible argument that even his most basic audience could understand. This was an invaluable resource for Lincoln whether addressing a jury or a gathering of potential voters and he used it frequently throughout his life. One of the best examples of this unique talent in his own handwriting comes to us from a document entitled “Pro-slavery Theology” here in the collections of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Undated, though likely written in October of 1858 during...

This week marks the 161st anniversaries of Surrender and Freedom Day at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, marking the beginning of the end of the Civil War. The park will host many events throughout the week to celebrate the anniversary and America’s 250th birthday. The grounds of the Appomattox Court House village have a deep history, especially surrounding America’s bloodiest war. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was surrounded by General Ulysses S. Grant’s army near the village. The two met on the ground at around 1 p.m., and by 3 p.m., the...

The submarine, launched by the Confederate Army in the last full year of the Civil War, made history when it became the first combat submarine to ever sink a warship. But on the same night when the H.L. Hunley’s torpedo sent the USS Housatonic, along with two of its officers and three of its enlisted crew, to a watery grave in the depths of Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, the Hunley itself—along with its eight-man crew—was also claimed by the waves. snip In a study published in PLOS One in 2017, a team of researchers affiliated with Duke University announced...

The Democrats have made it very clear that their plan, if they regain power in November, is to go on a massive retribution tour against President Trump and anyone who didn't adequately "resist" his administration. Susan Rice said Democrats will attack businesses, colleges, and others who "bent the knee" to Trump, saying on a podcast that, "Companies already are starting to hear they better preserve their documents, they better be ready for subpoenas. If they've done something wrong, they will be held accountable. And if they haven't broken the law, good for them; if they've done the right things, good...

GRAPHIC WARING: Two students BEAT a girl senseless at Lucille Umbarger Middle School in Burlington, WA, after demanding to know whether she supports Trump and ICE. She told them it was none of their business. Police are involved.

Several prominent Democrats have been open and vocal about their plans to punish members of the Trump administration, including civilian ICE agents, if they regain power. Eric Swalwell has vowed to make ICE agents' lives a living hell if he's elected governor of California, Rep. Shri Thanedar said Dems will prosecute ICE and Border Patrol agents, as has Philly DA Larry Krasner, and Mehdi Hasan wants the next Democratic president to run on a platform of prosecuting conservatives. Now Suan Rice, the former Obama National Security Advisor and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, as promised that Democrats will...

Rep Ted Lieu has ignited a fresh political storm after alleging that Donald Trump is repeatedly named in the unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act in January 2026. Lieu claimed that members of Congress who reviewed the fuller set of documents encountered disturbing allegations tied to the former president. His remarks, delivered during a forceful exchange on Capitol Hill, have triggered sharp partisan reactions and renewed scrutiny of the Epstein records. According to Lieu, the unredacted files viewed by a select group of lawmakers mention Trump “thousands and thousands of times”. He further asserted that...

Georgia Prosecutor Not Only Lost Her Case Against Pres. Trump, But She May Have to Cut Him a YUGE Check Too. Imagine torching millions in taxpayer dollars chasing a political opponent, only to end up footing their legal bill. That’s the mess Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis now finds herself in—burned by her own ambition, and possibly with a $6.2 million invoice coming her way courtesy of Donald Trump. This all started when Willis tried to play queen of the Resistance, launching a high-profile prosecution against Trump over so-called “election interference” in Georgia. But instead of scoring a win...

The country’s most famous “Maryland Man” is allowed to stay free in Maryland for the foreseeable future, thanks to a federal judge’s ruling. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, appointed in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama, declared Tuesday that the government had presented no viable plan for deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia, according to the Associated Press. Unless a higher court intervenes, the Salvadoran national can’t be held while he faces an indictment charging him with human smuggling.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement cannot re-detain Kilmar Abrego Garcia because a 90-day detention period has expired and the government has no viable plan for deporting him, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. The Salvadoran national’s case has become a focal point in the immigration debate after he was mistakenly deported to his home country last year. Since his return, he has been fighting a second deportation to a series of African countries proposed by Department of Homeland Security officials. The government “made one empty threat after another to remove him to countries in Africa with no real chance of...

Rep. Seth Moulton, who invited the teen to the Capitol, said his story “captures what’s broken in our immigration system.”Marcelo Gomes da Silva, a Milford teen who was detained by federal agents last year, has been invited to attend this year’s State of the Union in Washington, D.C. as a guest. Rep. Seth Moulton announced via a statement Thursday that Gomes would accompany him to the U.S. Capitol to see President Trump’s address Feb. 24. Trump is expected to address his administration’s increased immigration enforcement action and mass deportation agenda during his speech. “As an immigrant, being invited to the...