Political Thought

Understanding our political heritage is a vital part of building a stronger America for the next generation. The principles of America’s Founders must be restored to their proper role in the public and political discourse, influencing public policy and reforming government to reflect constitutional limits.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Understanding America Understanding America

    Understanding America explores how the United States’ commitment to the universal truths of human equality and the right to self-government—as proclaimed in the Declaration of Independence—requires a vigilant defense of the cause of liberty, both at home and abroad. Read More.

  • We Still Hold These Truths We Still Hold These Truths

    "We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future," written by Heritage's Matthew Spalding, offers a bracingly fresh analysis of how and why we have lost our bearings as a nation. Read More.

  • Rejecting Principles in the Name of Progress Rejecting Principles in the Name of Progress

    Few members of Congress have bothered to ask what the Constitution has to say on health care -- even though they are sworn to uphold the principles articulated in that document. Read More.

Our Research & Offerings on Political Thought
  • America at Risk Memo posted May 1, 2012 by Matthew Spalding, Ph.D. The Price of Liberty: Providing for the Common Defense

    Throughout history, as in many other parts of the world today, political rule was the privilege of the strongest or the most powerful. Property was the possession of kings, barons, and lords. Each was born to his or her destiny, and almost all were subject to someone else. …

  • First Principles Series Report posted April 19, 2012 by Herman Belz A Federal Republic: Lincoln’s First Inaugural and the Nature of the Union

    Abstract: The Constitution establishes a federated republic in which government sovereignty is divided between federal and state institutions. From the outset, this division introduced into American politics an element of ambiguity over the proper relation between the federal…

  • Center for Policy Innovation Lecture posted April 2, 2012 by Robert Moffit, Ph.D. Why Congress Must Confront the Administrative State

    Abstract: The triumph of the administrative state has been made possible by the emasculation of the legislative power. Washington’s problem is not merely federal spending and debt; it is the arrogance of centralized power. The time is therefore ripe for a major national discussion…

  • Lecture posted March 29, 2012 by Daniel Hannan Down the Road to Serfdom: Warnings from a British Friend

    Abstract: The United States was born out of a popular revolt against a distant and autocratic government, and its model has always been based around the maximum decentralization and democratization of power. Now that model is being abandoned. The policies currently being pursued amount…

  • Report posted March 29, 2012 by Thomas Berg Faith, Freedom, and the First Amendment: The Guarantee of Religious Liberty

    Abstract: Freedom of religion is at the heart of the American understanding of liberty. Under our constitutional order, the free exercise of religion is not a mere matter of toleration but an inalienable natural right. As George Washington explained in his famous…

  • Issue Brief posted March 26, 2012 by Matt Mayer Federalism Allows Law Enforcement to Determine Counterterrorism Policies That Work Best

    With an increase in the national response to terrorism, many people believe the principle of federalism has little utility today or that states do not have much to contribute in counterterrorism policy or activity. When it comes to domestic security, however, federalism is more relevant than ever, and the states…

  • Issue Brief posted March 8, 2012 by Paul Larkin The STOCK Act and Fraud: Competing Visions, Common Goal to Address Government Corruption

    Last month, the House and Senate passed, by overwhelming majorities, different versions of a bill entitled the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act).[1] The bills would acknowledge that the insider trading laws apply to federal officials. The Senate version would also reach other perceived public corruption…

  • Issue Brief posted March 7, 2012 by Paul Larkin The STOCK Act and Gratuities: Competing Visions, Common Goal

    Last month, Congress considered two different versions of a bill—the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (STOCK Act)[1]—that would make clear that the federal insider trading laws apply to federal officials. The Senate and House of Representatives have passed different versions of the STOCK Act,…

  • Lecture posted February 23, 2012 by Honorable Mike Lee President Obama’s Unconstitutional “Recess” Appointments

    Abstract: President Barack Obama has stated that he made his “recess” appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and National Labor Relations Board pursuant to the…

  • Commentary posted February 22, 2012 by Lachlan Markay ‘Buying’ House Votes for Unpopular Legislation

    An examination of “administrative earmarks” around the time of congressional votes on key pieces of President Barack Obama’s agenda suggests the White House used its power to fund local projects as a means to “buy” votes for major legislative efforts. Administrative earmarking refers to the federal government’s…

Find more work on Political Thought
  • Lecture posted November 24, 1999 by Sir Rhodes Boyson, Antonio Martino What We Can Learn from Margaret Thatcher

    POLITICAL LESSONS Sir Rhodes Boyson Margaret Thatcher has her place in world as well as British history. Her very name is used to denote a way of thinking: Thatcherism. She herself was not an original thinker, and on her resignation the editor of the Daily Telegraph described Thatcherism as a powerful…

  • First Principles Series Report posted July 18, 2007 by Thomas West, William Schambra The Progressive Movement and the Transformation of American Politics

    Progressivism was the reform movement that ran from the late 19th century through the first decades of the 20th century, during which leading intellectuals and social reformers in the United States sought to address the economic, political, and cultural questions that had arisen in the context of the rapid changes brought with the Industrial Revolution…

  • WebMemo posted September 16, 2009 by Edwin Meese III The Meaning Of The Constitution

    An excerpt from The Heritage Guide to the Constitution The Constitution of the United States has endured for over two centuries. It remains the object of reverence for nearly all Americans and an object of admiration by peoples around the world. William Gladstone was right in 1878 when he…

  • First Principles Series Report posted April 19, 2012 by Herman Belz A Federal Republic: Lincoln’s First Inaugural and the Nature of the Union

    Abstract: The Constitution establishes a federated republic in which government sovereignty is divided between federal and state institutions. From the outset, this division introduced into American politics an element of ambiguity over the proper relation between the federal…

  • White Paper posted August 26, 2002 by Matthew Spalding, Ph.D. How to Understand Slavery and the American Founding

    Editor's Note: Today's most controversial public policy questions concerning race in the United States--from the debate over affirmative action and racial quotas to financial demands for reparations--ultimately derive from the fact that those who founded this country did not abolish the institution of slavery as part of their project to establish a…

  • Lecture posted June 7, 2011 by Mark David Hall, Ph.D. Did America Have a Christian Founding?

    Abstract: Did America have a Christian Founding? This disputed question, far from being only of historical interest, has important implications for how we conceive of the role of religion in the American…

  • Backgrounder posted May 24, 1988 by Dana Joel A Guide to Prison Privatization

    INTRODUCTION America has been getting tougher on lawbreakers. This is something that the public long has been demanding. The problem it creates, however, is a shortage of prison capacity to hold the increased numbers of convicted criminals. This has led to: prison overcrowding, sometimes prompting court actions against penal systems; rapidly rising operational outlays;…

  • First Principles Series Report posted August 30, 2010 by Thomas West The Economic Principles of America’s Founders: Property Rights, Free Markets, and Sound Money

    Abstract: Although there are many scholarly treatments of the Founders’ understanding of property and economics, few of them present an overview of the complete package of the principles and policies upon which they agreed. Even the fact that there was a consensus among the Founders is often denied.…

  • Special Report posted February 10, 2012 by Allen Guelzo Abraham Lincoln or the Progressives: Who was the real father of big government?

    Abstract: Early Progressives co-opted Abraham Lincoln’s legacy to justify their program of expansive government powers over American life. In so doing, they obscured how their philosophy of government broke with Lincoln and the Founding to which he was heir. Nevertheless, much conservative and libertarian…

  • Lecture posted December 19, 2005 by J. Rufus Fears The Lessons of the Roman Empire for America Today

    I am honored to give a lecture named after Russell Kirk, who told us to ponder the permanent things, such as history and human nature. It is about human nature and history that I want to speak to you this afternoon. We are on patrol today in Iraq. Men and women of the United States armed…

Find more work on Political Thought
Find more work on Political Thought
Find more work on Political Thought