Founding Fathers

“19% say founders would be pleased, compared with 54% in 2001… In measures since 2013, fewer in all parties say founders would be pleased… 69% say the U.S. has succeeded at least a fair amount in achieving founding ideals” - Gallup

“liberalism in the tradition of Locke, Kant, and the Founders…. Its central philosophy is that all persons are born free and equal. Its operational principles include the rule of law, pluralism, toleration, minority rights, distributed authority, limited government, and (subject to the other requirements) democratic decision-making.” - Persuasion

“The main lesson [of Rasmussen’s new book Fears of a Setting Sun: The Disillusionment of America’s Founders] is to not place much hope in the amount of happiness, amity, and social progress that politics alone can produce. And the great teacher of that lesson, the lone Founder who retained a great deal of optimism about the American future, is James Madison.” - The Dispatch

“Mark Hall’s new book adduces solid evidence to dispel many contemporary myths concerning religion and the American founding. Let us finally be done with false claims that the founders were deists, or that they were hostile to religion and wanted to exclude it from public life.” - Public Discourse

“These inspirational and linguistically beautiful words of the Declaration of Independence justified the American colonies’ break from England. But they did more than that. They explained to the world and to history that natural rights formed the basis of civil law and government. This was the truly revolutionary aspect of that document signed on July 4, 1776.” - Acton

“4. They Thought Opposition Would Grow Organically, Not Coercively …. The Founders thought that the policies they implemented would suffocate slavery’s spread, and coupled with the younger generation’s voracious absorbance of ‘the principles of liberty,’ would create an environment in which slavery’s extinction would be inevitable.” - Intellectual Takeout

“As we celebrate the birthday of our nation, many reflect on the founding fathers of our nation. What did they believe? How did faith impact their decision-making process? Were they regular members of churches? Were some of them deists?” - Church Leaders

“Historians have spilled much ink since America’s founding over one single question: Is the U.S. a Christian nation?” - Christianity Today