The hottest Founding era Substack posts right now

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George W. Bush: What I Learned from George Washington

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 3199 implied HN points • 16 Feb 26
đź’ľ History Founding era
  1. Washington’s humility—shown by willingly giving up power twice—instead of clinging to authority made him a model for democratic leadership and helped shape the republic.
  2. Early hardships and a lack of formal schooling pushed him to work hard and teach himself; his self-education and voracious reading helped form his judgment and leadership.
  3. Power can corrupt, so the greatest leaders sometimes are the ones who refuse to hold onto power; stepping down set a standard later presidents should study and follow.

This Week in American History: Jefferson’s Words for a Fractured Country

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 287 implied HN points • 25 Feb 26
đź’ľ History Founding era
  1. By 1800 American politics had become deeply polarized, with each side accusing the other of threatening the nation.
  2. Jefferson used his first inaugural address to call for reconciliation and to restore harmony and affection so liberty could endure.
  3. His conciliatory words have endured as a powerful expression of American values and a model for healing political divisions.

America’s 250th Isn’t Just a Birthday

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 1224 implied HN points • 19 Jan 26
đź’ľ History Founding era
  1. The vague phrases people use for the anniversary show we’re unsure what kind of civic occasion this is and how to mark it.
  2. Treating the milestone as just a birthday misses the point that 1776 set forth a lasting political proposition and purpose, not merely a moment of birth.
  3. The anniversary should be an occasion to reflect on and renew the founding principles and commitments, not only to throw a party or celebrate the country’s age.

This Week in American History: Just Call It Washington’s Birthday

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 255 implied HN points • 11 Feb 26
đź’ľ History Founding era
  1. Presidents’ Day often feels like a bland, catch-all holiday that treats all presidents the same and can come off like a participation trophy.
  2. In 1798 John Adams caused a stir in Philadelphia when a brusque letter saying he would decline a ball honoring George Washington’s birthday was published.
  3. Americans honored Washington in part because he voluntarily retired after two terms, and that decision became a prized precedent worth celebrating.

Introducing Our America at 250 Newsletter

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 769 implied HN points • 10 Dec 25
đź’ľ History Founding era
  1. A new weekly newsletter will highlight what happened each week in American history and explain why those events still matter today.
  2. The debut issue celebrates George Mason's 300th birthday and emphasizes his often-overlooked role in inspiring parts of the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights.
  3. The newsletter will point readers to related books and articles and asks people to subscribe for full access, with paid subscription options available.
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Bet On It Book Club: For a New Liberty, Chapter 1

Bet On It • 150 implied HN points • 06 Feb 26
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Founding era
  1. The American founding is presented as rooted in libertarian principles, emphasizing the separation of the economy and many social spheres from the state.
  2. Compromises like slavery and the Civil War are portrayed as having pushed politics toward statism and socialism, causing libertarianism to lose influence until a later revival.
  3. The appeal to the Founders is criticized as hypocritical because slavery and Indigenous dispossession contradict libertarian ideals, but 18th-century political ideas still contain important truths that modern libertarianism can recover.

December 21, 2025

Letters from an American • 31 implied HN points • 22 Dec 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Founding era
  1. The United States was not founded as a Christian nation; the Constitution’s First Amendment forbids the government from establishing or favoring a religion.
  2. Founders like Madison, Jefferson, and Washington argued that separating church and state protected individual conscience and was essential to preserving representative government.
  3. Efforts to fuse government with a particular religion — from Confederate rhetoric to later amendment movements — have repeatedly threatened democracy by allowing a religious minority to try to impose its will.