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Leadership for America

First Principles

Rediscovering our principles in order to reclaim our future.

Read more about First Principles

Statement of Purpose

The future of liberty depends on reclaiming America's first principles. "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization," as Thomas Jefferson warned, "it expects what never was and never will be." Widespread ignorance of American history is but the most recognized symptom of the troubling decline in popular knowledge of fundamental principles. We face an education system that upholds mediocrity in the name of relativism; an ever-expanding and centralized government, unmoored from constitutional limits; judges openly making laws and shaping society based on pop-philosophy rather than serious jurisprudence; and growing confusion over America's legitimate role in the world, made all the more apparent by the fundamental threat posed by radical Islamists. At the root of all these problems is a pervasive doubt about the core principles that define America and ought to inform our politics and policy.

Objectives

  1. 1.To reorient American politics toward the First Principles of the American Founding.

  2. 2.To reshape public policy to reflect our constitutional framework of limited government.

  3. 3.To unify and revive a robust conservatism around, and in defense of, these core principles.

  4. 4.To provide the next generation with a strong foundation for learning and promoting our nation's founding principles.

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Weekly newsletter applying First Principles to today's policy battles.

Must-reads and basic answers on core themes

  • The American Founding

    The foundational principles that still define who we are and what we stand for.

  • Constitutional Government

    Why the Constitution's framework of limited government remains central to American life.

  • Lincoln and the Civil War

    How this great conflict re-affirmed the principles of the Founding and upheld the Constitution.

  • Progressivism and Liberalism

    How the Progressive assault on America's principles set the stage for modern liberalism and the rise of unlimited government.

  • Conservatism

    The argument to conserve America's principles and practices, and the movement that grows out of it.

  • Foreign Policy

    What America's dedication to the universal principles of liberty means for freedom in the world.

  • Economic Thought

    Why enterprise and opportunity are central to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

  • Applications

    What these principles mean for the policies and politics of today.

Experts From This Initiative

  • Matthew Spalding, Ph.D. Matthew Spalding, Ph.D.

    Matthew Spalding connects the principles of the nation’s founding with today’s thorniest issues as vice president for American Studies a...

  • David Azerrad David Azerrad

    David Azerrad devotes his time and research to increasing public understanding of America’s founding principles. As Associate Direc...

  • Marion Smith Marion Smith

    Marion Smith, through his research and writing at The Heritage Foundation, relates the enduring principles of America’s founding to current ...

  • Edwin Meese III Edwin Meese III

    Edwin Meese III, the prominent conservative leader, thinker and elder statesman, continues a quarter-century formal association with The Her...

  • Julia Shaw Julia Shaw

    Julia D. Shaw writes about American political thought as research associate and program manager for The Heritage Foundation’s B. Kenneth Sim...

  • Lee Edwards, Ph.D. Lee Edwards, Ph.D.

    As Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought, Lee Edwards, Ph.D., is Heritage's in-house authority on the U.S. conservative movem...

  • Joseph Postell, Ph.D. Joseph Postell, Ph.D.

    Joe Postell, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, writes and speaks about the ...

  • Rich Tucker Rich Tucker

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ABOUT The HERITAGE FOUNDATION

The Heritage Foundation is the nation’s most broadly supported public policy research institute, with hundreds of thousands of individual, foundation and corporate donors. Heritage, founded in February 1973, has a staff of 275 and an annual expense budget of $82.4 million.

Our mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Read More

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