News
The enduring importance of NC’s ‘Mecklenburg Declaration’
Debate continues about whether residents of one North Carolina county declared independence from Great Britain more than a year before the rest of the country.
Opinion
Wood reminded us why America is special, different
The late historian of America's revolutionary era documented the founders' commitment to liberty, equality, and constitutionalism.
News
Remembering Gordon Wood, 1933-2026
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author and American historian Gordon Wood (1933-2026) delivered a 2007 speech for the John Locke Foundation on key lessons from the American Revolution.
Opinion
Sen. Kaine smears the Founders’ idea of rights
What truly threatens freedom is not Jefferson’s declaration that rights are endowed by our Creator. The danger lies in the opposite belief — that rights come from government.
Opinion
When Carolina ladies made history
Americans insisted the power to tax lay with their own legislatures. Allowing faraway politicians to fund royal governors would make them vassals, not citizens.
Opinion
Push for liberty began in Rowan
Neither the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence nor the Halifax Resolves constitutes the first formal act by North Carolinians against British tyranny.
Opinion
On becoming a political advertiser
Upset by ideas you consider objectionable? The proper remedy is neither government restrictions on political speech nor heavy-handed policies by social-media platforms.
Opinion
Dismantling Thomas Jefferson and other outrageous stories
Below are a few of the stories that caught my attention this week. The left’s fascination with canceling American figures — including the author of our Declaration of Independence — continues. The inability to contextualize history is a scary ideology and reminds me a little of the Khmer Rouge and their utopian quest for year...
Opinion
Jefferson neighbors seek liberty
The travails of Albemarle County Baptists and other religious dissenters during the 1760s and 1770s had a strong impression on Thomas Jefferson.
Opinion
What the N.C. social studies curriculum should look like
Like much of the nation, North Carolina has a civics and history crisis. Yet, it may be even worse than thought in North Carolina after a Fordham Institute study gave the state a “D-” grade for civics and an “F” for history. Even more troubling for many educators and curriculum designers across the state is...
Opinion
John Hancock’s giant middle finger against tyranny
John Hancock is known for his sizeable signature etched on the Declaration of Independence. Nearly 250 years removed from his signing, almost everybody has been asked to offer their “John Hancock” on a document at some point in their life. It might be a myth that Hancock said, “There, King George will be able to...
Opinion
State blows it on history
North Carolina has the worst history and civics standards in the Southeast. Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, South Carolina, and Mississippi all got “exemplary” or “good” ratings.
