America's Founders Blended Liberalism and Religion
If the fusionist account of history is correct, the anti-fusionists are engaged in a far more radical project than most of them are willing to admit.
July 2026
The First Free Americans
Unlike in Europe, native rulers had little formal authority; they had to persuade others to follow their ideas.
Features
The Gun That Won the Revolution
The American Long Rifle was accurate at long distances, unlike British smoothbores.
America's Founding Drinkers: Washington and His Men Knew How To Party
America was founded by drinkers, distillers, and maltmen whose consumption would be labeled problematic by today's public health authorities.
Disillusioned Revolutionaries: Many Founders Died in Despair About the American Experiment
America's Founders helped create a world they were not yet ready to live in.
'Government Totally Annihilated': How Americans Governed Themselves as British Rule Crumbled
America in the mid-1770s was a jumble of spontaneous formations amid the ruins of an empire.
How the Slaveholding Founders Really Felt About Slavery
Angst, guilt, and more self-awareness than you might expect
America Was Not Founded by 'Tariff Men,' Contrary to This Painting in Trump's White House
Free trade is "a direct affront to our Founding Fathers," President Donald Trump said during his first presidential campaign.
What Makes Someone American? It's Neither Creed Nor Bloodline—It's a Spirit
After 250 years, Americans are still considering this basic question.
Comic: It's America's Founding Fake News Terrorist, Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams sets his sights on Tory lackeys.
The British Statesman Who Recognized America's 'Fierce Spirit of Liberty'
"When you drive him hard, the boar will surely turn upon the hunters," Edmund Burke warned Parliament. What if the British government had followed his advice?
Interview
Neil Gorsuch on the Declaration of Independence, Originalism, and Separation of Powers
"There was nothing inevitable about it. Absolutely nothing," the Supreme Court justice tells Reason's Nick Gillespie.
Forums
1776 All-Stars: Why Benjamin Franklin Is the Most Fascinating Founder
Franklin was fundamentally an optimist, and his life reminds us that politics is not what really matters.
1776 All-Stars: Why Thomas Jefferson Is the Most Fascinating Founder
The author of the Declaration of Independence may have written "the greatest sentence ever."
1776 All-Stars: Why Samuel Adams Is the Most Fascinating Founder
The libertarian rabble-rouser who helped ignite the American Revolution
1776 All-Stars: Why a Farmer Is the Most Fascinating Founder
A pseudonymous Anti-Federalist writer warned about the "sword of government."
1776 All-Stars: Why George Washington Is the Most Fascinating Founder
America's first president helped establish the tradition of military submission to civilian authority.
1776 All-Stars: Why George Mason Is the Most Fascinating Founder
I'm not saying that just because I teach at the university named after him.
1776 All-Stars: Why Patrick Henry Is the Most Fascinating Founder
Henry's warning about presidential powers is especially prescient today.
Editor's Note
Introducing Reason's America 250 Issue
America was a bicentennial basketcase. For the sestercentennial, we're in shambles. But there are still many reasons to celebrate.
Books
America's First Drafts
Before it was history, the Declaration of Independence was news. Not everyone got the story right.
Reviews
Review: Visit Independence Hall, Where Founders Signed Their Own 'Death Warrants'
Modern visitors to the site where they signed the Declaration of Independence can still feel a sense of uncertainty and trepidation.
Review: The Short Life of a Formerly Enslaved Poet
The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley tells the story of early America's "African poetess."
Review: This Iconic Musical Reminds Us That Open Debate Still Matters
1776 is a musical about John Adams' pursuit of American independence.
Review: George Washington's Apple Brandy
A replica of Washington's apple brandy is available for purchase at his Mount Vernon estate.
Review: Gore Vidal's Burr Is the Anti-Hamilton
This novel depicts America's Founding through the eyes of the least popular Founding Father.
Review: Drunk History and the American Revolution
Hamilton, Jefferson, Franklin, and others appear in the irreverent TV series.
Review: The Lesser-Known Texts That Shaped the American Revolution
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution draws upon writings and speeches you might not have heard of.
Review: A Fresh-Eyed Tour Through Revolutionary America
My American Revolution revisits the American Revolution through those that keep the revolutionary spirit alive.
ETC.
Afroman on Free Speech, Government Abuse, and Election 2028
"I want a smaller government. I want to get crooked judges and police officers out of the government," the rapper tells Reason's Andrew Heaton.
Brickbats: July 2026
News of politicians, police, and bureaucrats behaving badly from around the world
Archives: July 2026
Excerpts from Reason’s bicentennial vaults
