First Principles Essays

First Principles Essays

Foundational thinking on American political thought.

REPORT

Congress in Limbo: A Brief Survey of the History of the U.S. Congress

Joseph Postell

Jul 14, 2023 44 min read

REPORT

Restoring the Rule of Law in Finance

Todd Zywicki

Jun 1, 2023 About an hour read

REPORT

Stakeholder Capitalism: Theft, Path to Central Planning, or Both?

May 12, 2023 24 min read

REPORT

Free Enterprise and the Common Good

Alexander Salter

Apr 11, 2023 38 min read

REPORT

Gender Ideology and the Future of the Human Person

Carl R. Trueman, PhD

Mar 20, 2023 23 min read

REPORT

America Needs an Education in Leisure

Rachel Alexander Cambre

Mar 15, 2023 37 min read

REPORT

Restoring Civil Society

Luke C. Sheahan

Mar 8, 2023 About an hour read

REPORT

Reason, Revelation, and Identity Politics

Richard M. Reinsch II

Feb 15, 2023 18 min read

REPORT

American Individualism, Rightly Understood

Samuel Gregg, Ph.D.

Nov 21, 2022 37 min read

REPORT

Judicial Supremacy and Our Two Constitutions: Reflections on the Historical R...

Robert Lowry Clinton

Jun 19, 2020 Over an hour read

REPORT

“Hate Speech” and the New Tyranny over the Mind

Arthur Milikh

May 19, 2020 About an hour read

REPORT

The Case for Color-Blindness

Peter C. Myers

Sep 6, 2019 About an hour read

REPORT

The Meaning of American Citizenship

Carson Holloway

Jun 28, 2019 43 min read

REPORT

The Contested Removal Power

J. David Alvis, PhD

Jun 17, 2019 About an hour read

REPORT

The Promises and Perils of Identity Politics

David Azerrad

Jan 23, 2019 Over an hour read

REPORT

Against Judicial Supremacy: The Founders and the Limits on the Courts

Carson Holloway

Jan 25, 2019 About an hour read

REPORT

The Rise and Fall of Political Parties in America

Joseph Postell

Sep 30, 2018 43 min read

REPORT

The Progressive Critique of Free Markets: A Response

Luigi Bradizza

Aug 1, 2018 44 min read

REPORT

The Foreign Commerce Power and America’s National Interest

Carson Holloway

May 29, 2018 About an hour read

REPORT

Public-Sector Unions and the Founders’ Political Science

Daniel DiSalvo

Apr 23, 2018 About an hour read

REPORT

Is the System Rigged? Adam Smith on Crony Capitalism, Its Causes—and Cures

Lauren Brubaker, PhD

Mar 31, 2018 About an hour read

REPORT

Can the State be Neutral on Marriage?

Scott Yenor

Oct 5, 2017 About an hour read

REPORT

The Limits and Dangers of Civil Disobedience: The Case of Martin Luther King, Jr

Peter C. Myers

Dec 29, 2017 Over an hour read

REPORT

Sex, Gender, and the Origin of the Culture Wars: An Intellectual History

Scott Yenor

Jun 30, 2017 About an hour read

REPORT

The Right to Arms and the American Philosophy of Freedom

Nelson Lund

Oct 17, 2016 38 min read

REPORT

The Hidden Influence of John Rawls on the American Mind

Jerome Foss

Sep 22, 2016 35 min read

REPORT

The Modern Feminist Rejection of Constitutional Government

Christina Villegas

Aug 8, 2016 38 min read

REPORT

The Obligations of Family Life: A Response to Modern Liberalism

Scott Yenor

Jun 2, 2016 33 min read

REPORT

Tocqueville on Christianity and American Democracy

Carson Holloway

Mar 7, 2016 42 min read

REPORT

Alexander Hamilton and American Foreign Policy

Carson Holloway

Sep 15, 2015 42 min read

REPORT

The Defense of an Energetic and Limited Government

Carson Holloway

Aug 7, 2015 About an hour read

REPORT

Understanding Tyranny and Terror: From the French Revolution to Modern Islamism

Waller Newell

Jun 30, 2015 37 min read

REPORT

Champion of Liberty: Winston Churchill and His Message to America

Justin D. Lyons

Jun 2, 2015 23 min read

REPORT

Poverty and Welfare in the American Founding

Thomas G. West

May 19, 2015 25 min read

REPORT

Alexander Hamilton and American Progressivism

Carson Holloway

Apr 20, 2015 39 min read

REPORT

Federalism and Freedom: Orestes Brownson’s Case for the Federal Constitution

Robert E. Moffit, PhD

Feb 25, 2015 37 min read

REPORT

Martin Luther King, Jr., and the American Dream

Peter C. Myers

Mar 28, 2014 About an hour read

REPORT

The Birth of Direct Democracy: What Progressivism Did to the States

Feb 25, 2014 41 min read

REPORT

The True Origin of Society: The Founders on the Family

Scott Yenor

Oct 16, 2013 39 min read

REPORT

Remaking the World: Progressivism and American Foreign Policy

Christopher C. Burkett

Sep 24, 2013 43 min read

REPORT

Liberalism Radicalized: The Sexual Revolution, Multiculturalism, and the Rise...

Kevin Slack

Aug 27, 2013 43 min read

REPORT

Barack Obama and the Crisis of Liberalism

Charles Kesler

Oct 15, 2012 38 min read

REPORT

The Origins and Revival of Constitutional Conservatism: 1912 and 2012

William A. Schambra

Aug 20, 2012 27 min read

REPORT

The Transformation of American Democracy: Teddy Roosevelt, the 1912 Election,...

Sidney M. Milkis

Jun 11, 2012 28 min read

REPORT

A Federal Republic: Lincoln’s First Inaugural and the Nature of the Union

Herman Belz

Apr 19, 2012 About an hour read

REPORT

Interposition and the Heresy of Nullification: James Madison and the Exercise...

Christian G. Fritz, Ph.D.

Feb 21, 2012 41 min read

REPORT

The First Principles of Ronald Reagan’s Foreign Policy

Robert Kaufman

Nov 1, 2011 38 min read

REPORT

The First Conservatives: The Constitutional Challenge to Progressivism

Johnathan O'Neill

Jul 5, 2011 41 min read

REPORT

Still Witnessing: The Enduring Relevance of Whittaker Chambers

Richard Reinsch

Apr 1, 2011 35 min read

REPORT

America the Delusional? Overcoming Our European Temptation

Bruce Thornton

Mar 7, 2011 26 min read

REPORT

Ten (Mostly) Hayekian Insights for Trying Economic Times

Bruce Caldwell

Feb 1, 2011 40 min read

REPORT

Frederick Douglass’s America: Race, Justice, and the Promise of the Founding

Peter C. Myers

Jan 11, 2011 39 min read

REPORT

The Myth of Isolationism, Part 1: American Leadership and the Cause of Liberty

Marion Smith

Dec 6, 2010 40 min read

REPORT

America’s Founders and the Principles of Foreign Policy: Sovereign Independen...

Matthew Spalding

Oct 15, 2010 40 min read

REPORT

The Economic Principles of America’s Founders: Property Rights, Free Markets,...

Thomas G. West

Aug 30, 2010 34 min read

REPORT

Bureaucratic Tyranny or the Renewal of Self-Government: The Beginning of Cent...

John Adams Wettergreen

Aug 3, 2010 43 min read

REPORT

The Moral Basis for Economic Liberty

The Reverend Robert Sirico

Jul 13, 2010 41 min read

REPORT

Standing Athwart History: The Political Thought of William F. Buckley Jr.

Lee Edwards

May 5, 2010 About an hour read

REPORT

Soft Despotism, Democracy's Drift: What Tocqueville Teaches Today

Sep 2, 2009 About an hour read

REPORT

Extended Republic or Centralized Nation-State? Herbert Croly, Progressivism, ...

Brian Brown

Aug 20, 2009 38 min read

REPORT

Justice, Law, and the Creation of the American Republic: The Forgotten Legacy...

Mark David Hall

Jun 1, 2009 32 min read

REPORT

Winston Churchill's Constitutionalism: A Critique of Socialism in America

Justin D. Lyons

May 18, 2009 35 min read

REPORT

Progressivism and the New Science of Jurisprudence

Bradley Watson

Feb 24, 2009 36 min read

REPORT

Limited Government, Unlimited Administration: Is it Possible to Restore Const...

Gary Lawson

Jan 27, 2009 36 min read

REPORT

How to Think About the Foundations of American Conservatism

How to Think About the Foundations of American Conservatism

Dec 10, 2008 28 min read

REPORT

The Idea of Change in American Politics: Meaningful Concept or Empty Promise?

The Idea of Change in American Politics: Meaningful Concept or Empty Promise?

Oct 30, 2008 35 min read

REPORT

The Nature of Rights in American Politics: A Comparison of Three Revolutions

Charles Kesler

Sep 30, 2008 20 min read

REPORT

The Perils of Judicial Policymaking: The Practical Case for Separation of Powers

Joshua Dunn

Sep 23, 2008 36 min read

REPORT

The Roots of Modern Conservative Thought from Burke to Kirk

Edwin J. Feulner

Jul 9, 2008 28 min read

REPORT

What Separation of Powers Means for Constitutional Government

Charles Kesler

Dec 17, 2007 30 min read

REPORT

The Birth of the Administrative State: Where It Came From and What It Means f...

Ronald Pestritto

Nov 20, 2007 About an hour read

REPORT

The Decline and Fall of the Right to Property: Government as Universal Landlord

Edward Erler

Oct 19, 2007 About an hour read

REPORT

Prudence, Politics, and the Proclamation

Allen C. Guelzo, PhD

Aug 17, 2007 21 min read

REPORT

Born American: Reflections of an Immigrant Patriot

Peter Schramm

Aug 3, 2007 24 min read

REPORT

The Progressive Movement and the Transformation of American Politics

Jul 18, 2007 30 min read

REPORT

Independence Forever: Why America Celebrates the Fourth of July

Matthew Spalding

Jun 28, 2007 13 min read

REPORT

The Meaning of Sovereignty: What Our Founding Fathers Could Tell Us About Cur...

Jeremy Rabkin

May 25, 2007 29 min read

REPORT

A Moral Case Against Big Government: How Government Shapes the Character, Vis...

Ryan Messmore

Feb 27, 2007 28 min read

REPORT

The Conservative Consensus: Frank Meyer, Barry Goldwater, and the Politics of...

Lee Edwards

Jan 22, 2007 24 min read

REPORT

Faith and the American Founding: Illustrating Religion's Influence

Michael Novak

Nov 6, 2006 19 min read

REPORT

The Mythical "Wall of Separation": How a Misused Metaphor Changed Church–Stat...

Daniel Dreisbach

Jun 23, 2006 18 min read

REPORT

How to Read the Constitution: Self-Government and the Jurisprudence of Origin...

Keith Whittington

May 1, 2006 34 min read

REPORT

Energy in the Executive: Re-examining Presidential Power in the Midst of the ...

John C. Yoo

Apr 24, 2006 24 min read

REPORT

Making Citizens: The Case for Patriotic Assimilation

Matthew Spalding

Mar 16, 2006 40 min read

REPORT

From Constitutional Interpretation to Judicial Activism: The Transformation o...

Christoper Wolfe

Mar 3, 2006 28 min read

REPORT

What's Great About America

Dinesh D'Souza

Feb 23, 2006 42 min read

REPORT

Parental Rights: A Foundational Account

Melissa Moschella, Ph.D.

Dec 9, 2020 35 min read

REPORT

Capitalism in the 1619 Project

Samuel Gregg, Ph.D.

Jan 26, 2021 23 min read