Armed conflicts around the world generate large numbers of refugees.

It has been 25 years since the death of Elliot Richardson (1920-1999), ambassador to Great Britain and Secretary of Commerce under President Gerald R. Ford.

The French philosopher René Descartes believed that knowledge resulted from “clear and distinct ideas” that occurred in the mind.

The two most consequential powers of modern governments are the power to conscript individuals into military service and to dip its hands into people’s pockets.

If federal authorities fail to stem illegal immigration, may the states do so?

Recently historians from many nations commemorated the birth 150 years ago of one of the most remarkable political figures in modern times.

Debates over the Constitution always involved the balance between granting a power and limiting it.

All politics is an expression of the meaning and purpose of human life in society, and it is necessary to clarify what this expression of meaning and purpose is, both what contemporary forms of politics assume social life to be, and what in reality human society should look like or aspire to.

Since presidential pardons are very much in the news right now we thought it would be a good idea to provide the public with a primer on the power and its limitations.

Not long before his own death, President Ford called his good friend President Carter and asked if he would deliver a eulogy at Ford’s funeral. Carter agreed so long as Ford returned the favor.

The most dangerous people in the world are those with no sense of humor.

Hamilton’s extended meditation on the importance of a federal army continued in Federalist #28, the penultimate essay on the topic.

The debates concerning a standing army take an interesting turn in Federalist #27.

Longevity is no particular virtue, although healthy habits enhance its prospect.

The bachannalian and overcommercialized celebration of the New Year with the attendant resolutions to make ourselves better people in the coming year stands somewhere between comedy and farce.

If you had asked educated Americans during the Constitutional period when America was “founded,” they likely would have answered “1688.”

Far be it from me or anyone else during these twelve days of Christmas to put the kibosh on conviviality.

Given her painful loss to Donald Trump, surely the most unfortunate of Kamala Harris’ verbal tics was her frequent celebration of “what can be, unburdened by what has been.”

The root story of our United States is not inscribed by the ink of institutions but by the bold strokes of individuals who dared to dream of a better tomorrow.

Last week, in discussing Federalist #24, I rehearsed in some detail some of the antifederalist arguments concerning a standing army, the main subject of Hamilton’s essays 24-29.