History Archives - The Founding Project

Founding Mama: Betsy Ross

July 6, 2024 Joe Chiang 0

Betsy Ross…In Her Words A glimpse into the life of Betsy Ross, using her words as she may have spoken them, to tell her story… I am Betsy Ross. Over the last several hundred years, it seems you may have forgotten what happened in the making of our nation’s flag so long ago. Here is my story and that of our flag… I was born Elizabeth Griscom on January 1, 1752. My father was Samual Grisom, a carpenter, like Jesus’ dad, Joseph, and my mom was Rebecca James Grisom. I had 17 brothers and sisters. We went to a Quaker school nearby. The Quakers are called “Friends”. When I became old enough, I learned to […]

The Declaration of Independence, Exact Transcript

July 3, 2024 thefpAdmin 0

Declaration of Independence: A Transcription Editor’s Note: This is a transcription of the Engraving of the parchment of The Declaration of Independence, a document on display in the National Archives Museum Rotunda. The spelling, punctuations and wording is exact to the original document. The signers of this Declaration are included at the bottom, along with the state they represented. In Congress, July 4, 1776 The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the […]

Only In America, Part 3: Enter Government

June 24, 2024 thefpAdmin 0

Only in America, Part Three: Enter Government Enter Government, Part Three: The Founding Project introduced our readers to Dr. Jerome Huyler’s work, Only in America, breaking it into an introduction followed by a three part series. Dr. Huyler began with the story of America and its greatness via his study of history and American life in the first chapter. His second chapter further explored America’s growth and effects of freedom, free markets and the aspects of liberty, which allowed individuals a growth, flourishing and prosperity not previously experienced by other nations. Huyler’s work is an observation of America and also on civics education in America and is being presented by The Founding Project in a series of […]

George Washington’s Rules of Civility, Part 2

June 22, 2024 Margo Louis 0

The Rules of Civility, Part 2 The Importance of Civility to George Washington was never more apparent than when a young George took much effort to memorize all 120 Rules for Civility valued at the time. This article is Part 2 of a two part set. In this part, the second 55 of the 110 Rules of Civility, which Washington valued so highly, are listed and are shown exactly as he wrote them as a teen. Civic Virtue – Civility The future first president of the United States thought civility, good manners and politeness were so important that he wrote out the Rules of Civility in his own hand and memorized them as a young […]

Only In America, Part 2: Keeping The Promise

June 20, 2024 Guest Writer 0

Only in American, Part Two: Keeping the Promise Dr. Jerome Huyler’s work, Only in America: The Goodness Greatness Begot, has been featured by The Founding Project with this article being the third in the series and the second chapter of his work, entitled “Keeping the Promise”. Huyler’s work is an observation of America and also on civics education in America and is presented by The Founding Project in a series of articles. Dr. Huyler’s essay is a response to one author’s book, which has come to influence a version of civics education in America. But, Dr. Huyler found that book’s content did not coincide with the full civics education programs once prevalent in American schools […]

George Washington’s Rules of Civility, Part 1

June 18, 2024 Margo Louis 0

The Rules of Civility, Part 1 The Importance of Civility to George Washington was never more apparent than when a young George took much effort to memorize all 120 Rules for Civility valued at the time. This article is Part 1 of a two part set. In it, the first 55 of the 110 Rules of Civility, which Washington valued so highly, are listed and are listed exactly as he wrote them as a teen. Integrity, Honor, Civic Virtue ~ Prized by Washington The future first president of the United States thought civility, good manners and politeness were so important that he wrote out the Rules of Civility in his own hand and memorized them […]

The Birth of The U. S. Constitution

June 17, 2024 John Barrett 7

The Birth of The Constitution of The United States of America A constitution is the document that constitutes or creates a government. It is a contract between the people and the government. As is described in the Declaration of Independence, under the American Constitution, the people grant certain powers to the government, and in return, the government is to secure the natural rights of the people. James Madison was the primary architect of the Constitution. He was the one who came to the convention with the ideas that resulted in the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson was not at the Constitutional Convention. He was the Ambassador to France at the time. However, there was a series of […]

Only In America: Promise of American Life

June 14, 2024 Guest Writer 0

Only In America: The Goodness That Greatness Begot In the first chapter of Dr. Jerome Huyler’s work, Only in America, Dr. Huyler begins the story of America and its greatness via his study of history and American life. Huyler’s work is an observation of America and also on civics education in America and is being presented by The Founding Project in a series of articles. Dr. Huyler’s essay is a response to one author’s book, which has come to influence a version of civics education in America, but he found that book’s content does not coincide with the full civics education programs once prevalent in American schools. But, if you missed his introduction to […]

A Republic Versus A Democracy, Why?

June 13, 2024 John Barrett 1

A Republic Versus A Democracy… The Details: My bet is that virtually all of you have been taught that the U.S. is a democracy. That is wrong. The U.S. is a republic. And the difference is extremely important. The Constitution only refers to a form of government in one place. Article 4, Section 4, states, “The United States shall guarantee to each State in this Union a Republican Form of Government.” What is the difference between a republic and a democracy? When I was in school, I was taught that the use of representatives made us a representative democracy or republic, as opposed to a direct democracy. That is certainly in line with current dictionaries. […]

Only In America: Dr. Huyler’s Introduction

June 6, 2024 Guest Writer 2

Welcome Dr. Huyler and the “Only in America” Series! Dr. Jerome Huyler joins The Founding Project website to bring our members his publication, Only In America. Huyler’s work is a study of America and also on civics education in America and will be presented on The Founding Project website in a series of articles. In particular, Dr. Huyler responds to one author’s book, which has come to influence a version of civics education that does not coordinate or coincide with the full civics education programs once prevalent in our schools. In Dr. Huyler’s introduction, he begins to contrast the message of this one book and its conflict with prior decades of teaching. And, in his […]