Liberty Enlightening the World

Liberty Enlightening the World

Mar 23, 2025 | Commentary, Ideas, People

Raphaël Glucksmann, a French member of the European Parliament from the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, recently suggested we return the Statue of Liberty to France: “We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine...
Richard Henry Lee, Gentleman Radical

Richard Henry Lee, Gentleman Radical

Jan 29, 2025 | People

The American Revolution was a peculiar sort of revolution, and not least because it was led by men we find it hard to imagine as revolutionaries. George Washington, George Mason, and John Hancock were respected and wealthy members of the gentry. They had everything to...
A Revolution in Tar and Feathers

A Revolution in Tar and Feathers

Dec 13, 2024 | Events, Features

The American revolutionaries rejected monarchy, aristocracy, and religious establishments, the defining institutions of the old regime. They expressed ideals — independence, liberty, equality, natural and civil rights, and responsible citizenship under the rule of law...
The Elusive Peter Hunter

The Elusive Peter Hunter

Dec 5, 2024 | People

On November 4, 1844, Stephen Thomas of rural West Fairlee, Vermont, wrote to Dr. Ira Davis, an old friend then in Connecticut. Thomas explained that the widow of a Revolutionary War soldier named Peter Hunter had approached him for help in securing a widow’s pension....
Plunket Fleeson, Revolutionary Upholsterer

Plunket Fleeson, Revolutionary Upholsterer

Nov 20, 2024 | People

A prosperous craftsman whose trade serves the very wealthy is an unlikely sort of revolutionary. He has too much invested in stability to welcome economic upheaval and too much invested in relationships with customers, suppliers, and peers to welcome revolutionary...