Free Republic

The personal relationship between Jefferson and Adams had soured under the weight of political rivalry—exacerbated by the brutal campaign of 1800. For years after the election, the two men remained estranged. The physician and mutual friend Benjamin Rush played a pivotal role in bringing the two former friends back together. Encouraged by Rush, Jefferson and Adams began corresponding in 1812, initiating a remarkable exchange of letters that spanned 14 years and addressed topics ranging from politics and philosophy to their reflections on aging and legacy. Through this correspondence, Jefferson and Adams confronted their differences—both political and personal—with candor and a...

IntroductionThe Coercive Acts not only sparked outrage among the common people whom Gouverneur Morris (1752–1816) derided as members of the mob; they also inflamed the indignation of Americans who occupied positions of power and influence. One such person was Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), a member of Virginia's House of Burgesses who helped write a May 1774 resolution designating a day of fasting and prayer to show solidarity with the people of Massachusetts. Soon after, Lord Dunmore (1730–1809), the royal governor, showed his solidarity with Parliament by dissolving the House of Burgesses. As the elected members of that body prepared to regroup...

From Roman freedom to Viking happiness, the iconic words in the Declaration of Independence reveal thousands of years of humans wrestling with how to live well together – and the power of language to put those ideas into action. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." When Thomas Jefferson drafted these words in the Declaration of Independence, two things were on his mind. One: he needed to find "terms so plain and...

Two hundred and fifty years after the Declaration of Independence, we speak of the founders with a reverence that can flatten them into marble—preordained, wise, and magnificent. But George Washington is a far more interesting figure than the monument allows. He was, by most accounts, a mediocre battlefield general. He lost more engagements than he won. He was outmaneuvered at Long Island and badly beaten at Brandywine, and lost Philadelphia in the aftermath. As president, of course, he was transformative, setting precedents for executive restraint and the peaceful transfer of power that still define the office.But neither the flawed general...

TALEA Beer Co used molasses-based recipe from Washington's Seven Years' War notebook to craft historic brew VIDEO AT LINK....... The New York Public Library (NYPL) is giving visitors a chance to "taste history" by recreating George Washington's beer recipe from the first president's 1757 military journal, which is housed in the library's research collections. The library collaborated with New York City-based TALEA Beer Co. to recreate the brew, along with a Liberty Lager to appeal to modern palates. "The initial response to [the library] reaching out was obviously awe," LeAnn Darland, TALEA co-founder and co-CEO, told Fox News Digital. "Just...

During his life, Franklin had many careers... In his later years he became vocal as an abolitionist and in 1787 began to serve as President of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. The Society was originally formed in Philadelphia, as The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage... As a young man he owned slaves, and he carried advertisements for the sale of slaves in his newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette. At the same time, however, he published numerous Quaker pamphlets against slavery and condemned the practice of slavery in his private correspondence. It...

This is a chapter of a book I wrote a few years ago. During our 250th anniversary celebration I will post more of these uplifting stories. The Battle of Brooklyn One of the first large scale battles of our revolution was fought on grounds that would eventually become part of Prospect Park in Brooklyn, now a part of New York City. It happened on August 27 - 28th 1776. Here is how it unfolded and why we should have lost; but won anyway. When General George Washington’s troops were fighting the best army in the world, there was no way...

‘Revolutionary America’ Coming to Theaters from Fathom Entertainment May 31 – June 2 HILLSDALE, Mich. and DENVER, Colo. — April 17, 2026 — “Revolutionary America,” produced by Hillsdale Studios and distributed by Fathom Entertainment, the leading specialty distributor of content to theatrical partners worldwide, is Hillsdale College’s first feature-length documentary. Narrated by Tom Selleck, the film explores the Revolution through the experience of Americans between 1763-1791, bringing into focus the political principles that animated their fight for independence and self-government, as the Founding Fathers risked their “lives, fortunes, and sacred honor” in a fight for liberty that would shape a...

The remains of 44 people, many of them believed to be male teenagers of the Continental Army, unearthed during a construction dig in 2019, will soon be laid to rest on the shores of Lake George. On Wednesday, May 20, the remains will be escorted via motorcade from the New York State Museum in Albany up state Route 9 to the Lake George Battlefield Park. The majority of the remains will be interred at a new memorial on the east side of Fort George Road called “Repose of the Fallen” that day.

This is Robert Morris, the richest man in America in 1776. He literally bankrupted himself using his vast personal fortunate, shipping fleet, and fiscal acumen to pay for the American Revolution. AOC is stupid. Extract from AOC quote: Quote End Wokeness @EndWokeness · May 8 "The American Revolution was against the billionaires of their time" - AOC Readers added context Robert Morris, considered the richest man in America at the time, used his own personal wealth to finance much of the American Revolution. The American Revolution was not against the billionaires as AOC claims when the richest man was funding...

During and after the American Revolution, there was no registration of firearms in the colonies that were to become the United States. There is good evidence that handguns were commonly owned during this period.One of the primary sources comes from records of the occupation of Boston by General Gage, both before and after the battles of Lexington and Concord. The history of these engagements was meticulously recorded by Richard Frothingham in the History of the Siege of Boston, published in 1873. Frothingham used original sources, particularly the Boston Town Meeting Minutes of 22-28 April, 1775, for the numbers of weapons.After...

In this year of America’s 250th anniversary, archaeologists and college students recently discovered artifacts dating back to the American Revolution — including one infamous 18th-century robbery. The dig took place in Newtown, Pennsylvania, some 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia, as local outlet WFMZ reported. Students from Bucks County Community College worked alongside employees from the Mercer Museum during the excavation. **SNIP** The gang, many of whom were part of the Doan family, robbed the Bucks County treasury of a large sum — 1,200 silver Spanish dollars and 400 silver French crowns, as well as other cash. “The robbery began at...

On April 19, 1775, the opening shots of the American Revolutionary War at Lexington and Concord—later immortalized as “the shot heard around the world”—gave way, almost immediately, to something more consequential than a single day’s fighting. As British regulars retreated into Boston under constant fire from colonial militia, the countryside did not simply quiet. Instead, it closed in. What began as a running battle hardened into a siege—an improvised but determined effort by New England militias to isolate British forces inside the city and challenge imperial authority in a sustained way.Boston, already a focal point of imperial tension, now became...

Archaeologists have uncovered a previously unknown remnant of Thomas Jefferson’s era at Monticello: a brick kiln used to build his home. The kiln was recently found on the east side of the Founding Father’s home amid an excavation that began in March, officials said. Monticello historians believe it dates back to the early 1770s, sometime before Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776. It was part of the construction of Monticello I, the first version of Jefferson’s home. The current structure reflects a later rebuild and expansion completed after his time in France, after 1789. Photos from the site...

Philadelphia, April 1781. A boy of about eight is shifting in his seat. His voice, clear and steady, rises inside the quiet room. Mah nishtanah halailah hazeh mikol haleilot? “Why is this night different from all other nights?” For those participating in the Passover seder, all crowding a small rented room just blocks from where Congregation Mikveh Israel holds its services, this is a loaded question. In a land with barely 2,500 Jews from one end of the 13 colonies to the other,1 fewer than one in every 10,000 souls,2 and almost everyone around the table is a refugee displaced...

There are things that I am definitely aware of even though I don't often or ever bring them up. One of those things is the de-humanization campaign that progressives have engaged in (in varying degrees) ever since our first progressive President, Theodore Roosevelt, and it puts us in the position to ask the question. How can we re-humanize our Founding Fathers? What tools can we rely on or use or else, what tools can we build to have an effect against the problem? First, let's recognize something. There is a lot of power in the spoken word. It is very,...

Two secret battlefield letters written by George Washington during one of the toughest winters of the Revolutionary War have recently surfaced and are now up for sale — just in time for America’s 250th birthday celebration this July 4. Four years into the American colonist’s bloody struggle to break free from British rule, Gen. Washington, from his headquarters in Morristown, NJ penned the letters revealing how the Continental Army tried to monitor loyalist activity and British troop movements across the Hudson River during the winter of 1779 to 1780. Those messages, carefully preserved by descendants of Revolutionary War soldiers, are...

Today I am happy to announce the release of the very short audio for Thomas Jefferson's interesting letter "A Dialog between the Head and Heart", which reaches just past 30 minutes long. Yes, it is a very short recording, but this one is a little different than most others I work on. This recording is a compilation; that is, there are three voices present that are seemingly talking to each other in a way. One of the recordings in this I recorded. This does not signal my triumphant return to the microphone though. I wish. I still have a very...

Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a statue of Alexander Hamilton in White Springs near the Suwannee River as part of America’s upcoming 250th birthday during a press conference in Hamilton County this week. Hamilton was a founding father and the first Secretary of the Treasury under President George Washington from 1789 to 1795. Hamilton also founded the Federalist Party, America's first political party, in 1791. He is also on the $10 bill. While attending King's College (now Columbia University) around 1774, Hamilton became a vocal writer for the American cause against the British crown. Hamilton would later join the Revolutionary War...

"If you want to understand the real Declaration, do not repeat the preface." - Woodrow Wilson There is so much in that little line. The obvious question is regarding the preface - what's in the preface of the Declaration of Independence that scared Wilson so much? In short, fundamental truths. Timeless, tested, proven to work fundamentals. Our reliance on our creator, and not upon government, for our rights. In 1911, Woodrow Wilson gave his now infamous speech regarding the Declaration to - of all places, I love this - the Jefferson Club. "An Address to the Jefferson Club of Los...