The Senate's Failure To Rein in Trump on Iran Is Part of a Long History of Congress Abdicating Its War Powers
War making in "the power of a single man" is not what the Founders intended.
History
Review: A Fresh-Eyed Tour Through Revolutionary America
My American Revolution revisits the American Revolution through those that keep the revolutionary spirit alive.
SCOTUS Overturns Hawaii's Default Rule Against Guns on Private Property Open to the Public
The decision means similar laws in other states likewise violate the Second Amendment, and it casts doubt on the constitutionality of location-specific gun bans that cover a lot of territory.
Joy Reid: "Nobody Black I Know Is Really Excited About the Fourth of July"
Robby Soave and Amber Duke discuss Joy Reid's recent remarks about July Fourth.
The Secret Origins of 'Conspiracy Theory'
A new book shows how a phrase made its way from the crime pages to our political arguments—and picked up a passel of meanings along the way.
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.
Happy Labor-Saving Day August/September 2026 Puzzle
"Rapper who's a Second Amendment supporter"
The Founders Revered the Right to Trial by Jury. Will SCOTUS Now Follow Their Example?
Understanding the stakes in Kian v. Florida
1776 All-Stars: Why a Pseudonymous Anti-Federalist Is My Favorite Founder
The man known only as "A Farmer" warned against the "sword of government."
1776 All-Stars: Why George Mason Is Extremely Underrated
I'm not saying that just because I teach at the university named after him.
Comic: It's America's Founding Fake News Terrorist, Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams sets his sights on Tory lackeys.
The White House UFC Fight Is the Perfect Event for the Present, Not the Past
A cage fight on the South Lawn may be an unusual choice to celebrate the Founding. But it is a mirror of our political moment.
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.
Review: George Washington's Apple Brandy
A replica of Washington's apple brandy is available for purchase at his Mount Vernon estate.
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.
Gordon Wood's Enduring Defense of the American Revolution
Plus: When tattoos meet copyright law
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."
Reading: The Quietest Way To Disobey
Today's anxieties about digital culture are prefigured in the long and wobbly history of books.
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.
1776 All-Stars: Samuel Adams Was the Most Libertarian Founder
The libertarian rabble-rouser who helped ignite the American Revolution
Native Americans Taught Colonists How To Fight—and To Live Without Kings
Unlike in Europe, native rulers had little formal authority; they had to persuade others to follow their ideas.
Review: Drunk History and the American Revolution
Hamilton, Jefferson, Franklin, and others appear in the irreverent TV series.
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.
Was Lincoln More Radical Than We Remember?
Damon Root discusses the path to emancipation, the struggle to secure freedom after the Civil War, and the constitutional changes that remade America.
America, 250 Years Ago: July 2026 Puzzle
"City where the Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776"
Understanding Vaccine Hesitancy
Unlike many people who tackle this topic, Kira Ganga Kieffer treats the vaccine-hesitant with respect and curiosity, not contempt.
How To Sell a War
Presidents use a web of private influence to garner support for foreign invasions.
1776 All-Stars: Benjamin Franklin Reminds Us To Just Do Things
Franklin was fundamentally an optimist, and his life reminds us that politics is not what really matters.
Henry Clay's Deal That Was No Deal: How the Compromise of 1850 Deepened the Slavery Crisis
The Compromise of 1850 was really no compromise at all.
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.
Psychic Soldiers, Mind Readers, and Dolphin Drones: The Cold War's Weird Paranormal History
How Soviet séances and CIA remote viewers sparked a decades-long arms race no one was supposed to know about
Trump Loves Accusing Critics of Treason. U.S. Law Makes That Charge Hard To Prove—for Good Reason.
The president’s habitual attempts to criminalize dissent hark back to tyrants of yore.
Ayn Rand Is Alive in Ankara
Objectivism in Turkey has risen and fallen in recent decades, but is newly rejuvenated.
The Foreign-Born Heroes Who Chose America
Immigrants have fought for America's founding promise because they understood it, not because they inherited it.
The DJ Who Brought America Weird Al, Tom Lehrer, and 'Cows With Guns'
After 55 years, Dr. Demento has finally retired from the airwaves.
SCOTUS Term Limits May Be a Good Idea. But They Still Require a Constitutional Amendment.
Lifetime tenure for federal judges has been the constitutional practice since ratification.
The Modern Passport Has Eliminated Fraud, Forgery, and Heroes Who Can Bend the Rules To Save Lives
The biometric immigration system makes it impossible for bureaucrats to make a moral stand. I know because I tried.
Why Populism Leads to Decline
Johan Norberg discusses what makes societies prosperous, why protectionism and nostalgia keep returning, and how populism feeds cultural decline.
Stewart Brand on Fixing Stuff, Modern Environmentalism, and the Nuclear Future
"There's always a place in not just the market, but a range of situations and mindsets, for things that are cheap, fast, and just barely in control," the Whole Earth Catalog creator tells Reason.
The Anarchists Who Thought Mao Was on Their Side
As the Cultural Revolution turns 60, here's a look back at some of the fantasies that people projected onto it—and at one moment of possible prescience.
How Much Deference Does SCOTUS Owe to Congress?
Should it take more than a 5–4 vote for the Supreme Court to strike down a federal law?
Clarence Thomas Sets a New SCOTUS Record
Plus: A "supremely cringe" viral tweet about the Supreme Court
Heroes of 1776 Shows That Remembering the Past Is Key to Progress
Neil Gorsuch's new book reminds us that to accelerate progress, we must first acknowledge the progress that has already occurred.
Ted Turner, Entrepreneur of His Age
The creative destruction triggered by Ted Turner's wild gambits left the tyranny of licensed, bureaucratic TV in rubble.
