An image of the Capitol Building Washington DC TL;DR: Constitutional Principles Explained The constitutional principles of the United States are the foundational ideas that shape how the Constitution organizes government, limits political power, and protects individual liberty. While the Constitution does not contain an official list of the "Seven Principles of the Constitution," these concepts are widely used in civics education to explain how America's constitutional system

Next year is the semiquincentennial of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. What shall we do with the unique and special date in our history? Let’s look at the reasons why we declared independence from Great Britain. Next year with be the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Over the next 365 days I expect to see plenty of opportunities to remember the date. I want to start by remembering the reason why we declared independence in

One of the most persistent and misleading assumptions in modern political discourse is that America is a democracy. But this was never the vision of our Founders.

At the Institute on the Constitution, we believe that safeguarding our future begins with understanding and reinforcing our foundations. That’s why we’ve created Throwback Truths — a series that revisits classic video presentations from Michael Anthony Peroutka, founder of IOTC. These timeless messages encourage us to reflect on who we are as a nation and the principles that define true liberty. In 1948, cartoonist Walt Kelly gave voice to a swamp-dwelling possum named Pogo,

At the Institute on the Constitution, we believe that safeguarding our future begins with understanding and reinforcing our foundations. That’s why we’ve created Throwback Truths — a series that revisits classic video presentations from Michael Anthony Peroutka, founder of IOTC. These timeless messages encourage us to reflect on who we are as a nation and the principles that define true liberty. In recent decades, a growing number of voices in public discourse have questioned

At the Institute on the Constitution, we believe that safeguarding our future begins with understanding and reinforcing our foundations. That’s why we’ve created Throwback Truths — a series that revisits classic video presentations from Michael Anthony Peroutka, founder of IOTC. These timeless messages encourage us to reflect on who we are as a nation and the principles that define true liberty. In this edition, we revisit the powerful words of Thomas Paine, whose plainspoken

At the Institute on the Constitution, we believe that safeguarding our future begins with understanding and reinforcing our foundations. That’s why we’ve created Throwback Truths — a series that revisits classic video presentations from Michael Anthony Peroutka, founder of IOTC. These timeless messages encourage us to reflect on who we are as a nation and the principles that define true liberty. In this edition, we revisit Peroutka’s powerful warning sparked by a 2014 controv

At the Institute on the Constitution, we believe that safeguarding our future begins with understanding and reinforcing our foundations. That’s why we’ve created Throwback Truths — a series that revisits classic video presentations from Michael Anthony Peroutka, founder of IOTC. These timeless messages encourage us to reflect on who we are as a nation and the principles that define true liberty. In this edition, we revisit Peroutka’s remarks from a rally held in support of Ki

Understanding the intentions of the Founding Fathers has never been more significant. Many see these figures as the architects of the United States, and their visions have shaped the nation's ideals for generations. When you dig deeper into their thoughts and principles, you unearth a wealth of insights that continue to influence modern society. Their intentions were the cornerstone for creating a robust yet fair system, reflecting values like liberty, justice, and democracy.

Who decides what’s appropriate for minors? Who decides what belongs in the public library? Should it be librarians or the people’s representatives? Who decides what is appropriate for public libraries? That is at the heart of the case Fayetteville Public Library et. al. v. Crawford County, Arkansas et. al. The representatives of the people of Arkansas passed a law, Arkansas Act 372, which both established a crime of furnishing a harmful item to a minor and established guideli

Do the Constitution and Laws of the United States require birthright citizenship What does “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” mean? Does Trump’s executive order fall within a President’s duty to faithfully execute the laws of the United States? One of the executive orders Donald Trump signed on his first day in office ordered federal departments and agencies to not issue any citizenship documents to anyone born in the United States to a mother who was either illegally

Have you received a census questionnaire this year? The Census is important, but lately it appears to be more about snooping on the American people. Could these census questionnaires actually be illegal? Have you received one of these? We’re all familiar with the decennial census, the enumeration of the population every ten years, but this isn’t one of those years. While the census is an important part of the union, it’s been corrupted and used illegally for decades, but thes

TL;DR Federalist No. 1 and an early Anti-Federalist essay reveal the competing arguments surrounding ratification of the proposed U.S. Constitution. Alexander Hamilton argued that a stronger national government could preserve the Union and protect liberty, while John DeWitt emphasized careful public examination and warned that concentrated governmental power could threaten individual liberty. Key Takeaways Federalist No. 1 was written by Alexander Hamilton under the pseudonym

Does the Constitution matter any more? Is there something wrong with the Constitution? Does the Constitution need to be rewritten, or just reread? I’ve spent a lot of time the last few years wondering why Americans do not celebrate Constitution Day. Then it occurred to me that we have spent so much time and effort trampling the document, along with the freedoms and liberties it’s designed to protect, We the People are simply too apathetic to celebrate the Constitution or too

What are your rights and liberties worth to you and your family? Are you willing to stand up against those who are trying to infringe on your rights? Those who signed the Declaration pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor. What will you pledge? Things looked bleak for the colonies in 1776. The question of freedom had life and death consequences. Those 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence knew they were committing treason against their king. They knew tha

Authored By: Mike Sonneveldt It’s not like Self-Evident doesn’t know when the 4th of July comes around. After all, the reason for the celebration is also the reason for our namesake. Without the Declaration of Independence, we would have never had the 4th of July. Plus, Self-Evident would have never come to be. Can you imagine? On the 4th of July, we as a nation reflect on what our founding fathers did to provide us with such amazing opportunities and blessings. We honor o

When Jesus said, “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” (Matthew 22:21b), He was proclaiming a huge new distinction—something quite different for the coming Church Age, relative to the past with Old Testament (OT) Israel. This passage, among other New Testament (NT) passages, represents the biblical basis of institutional separation of civil government from God’s ordained institution of the Church. (Lest you misunderstand wha

Authored By: Mike Sonneveldt The History of Liberty We tell ourselves that if we are in Christ, then we are free. But do we understand what true liberty means? Do we understand that liberty was a gift from God given as a right? To show you the development of God-given liberty in Western civilization, I won’t start at the beginning. Instead, we’re going to start with a document that every American should love and cherish. The Declaration of Independence Our Declaration

Most Americans learned about the Battles of Lexington and Concord from a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. But is that history or propaganda? Did you realize that our war for independence was initiated in response to gun control? Will the American people learn the lessons of these battles before we have another shot heard around the world. Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Most of us who g

Nobody likes paying taxes, but where did the federal income start? The Sixteenth Amendment did not create the federal income tax. However, the 16th Amendment did fundamentally change the republic. As April 15th approaches and people spend valuable time and money on filing their income tax returns, I think it worth our time to look at the source of our pain. While plenty of people grouse and complain about paying income taxes, most don’t realize that the cause of their pain is