Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: March 28, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 The American spirit of voluntarism and voluntary associations was an observation made by Alexis de Tocqueville in the 1830s. His analysis picked up on a...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: March 21, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 The reality of tensions collides with the daily aspirations of people across the colonies. In some cases, these aspirations pertain to seeking a better...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: March 14, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 A second tea party occurs in Boston harbor and again protestors are wearing Native disguises. Something important is going on with their choice of symbol...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: March 7, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 In the winter's final weeks, relationships everywhere in colonial life are under strain, made worse by the imperial crisis over the tea protests. And...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: February 29, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 No such day existed because it wasn't a Leap Year. Only those people in a Leap Year have this day given to them. In 1774 the gift will come again in...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: February 22, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 Two earthquakes, one literal and one symbolic, rock the third week of February. The symbolic version is in the meeting room of George III's Privy...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: February 15, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 Approximately two months have passed since the Boston Tea Party and one month since British officials in England learned of the incident. Day by day,...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: February 8, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 Safety and security, how do you find them on this day in the American colonies? The question and its answer changes as you move from place to place,...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: February 1, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 Mercy Otis Warren mourns the loss of a friend and fears the loss of two more. Grief drives her to renew her commitment to friendship. It also sets the...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: January 25, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 Violence has broken out in Boston, the result of the tea protests. Will it spread? Will it worsen? No one knows. The newly organized Committee of...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: January 18, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 The effects of the tea protests from last month continue to spread in ripples and waves. Among them is a remarkable town meeting held at Hampton, colony...

Excerpts from: Americanism Redux: January 11, on the journey to the American Founding, 250 years ago today, in 1774 The odds for violence are rising in a place of disputed control—Pittsburgh. On the Atlantic coast, tensions are high in Massachusetts from the fall-out...