TeachingAmerican
History.org
Information on seminars and on-line lectures for American history teachers sponsored by the Ashbrook Center.

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founding.com
A User's Guide to the Declaration of Independence created by The Claremont Institute.

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FoundingFather.com
George Washington Online created by The Claremont Institute





Vindicating the Founders is a defense of the Founders' views and actions on slavery, women's rights, property rights, voting rights, and other controversial issues.

The main purpose of this site is to make available to the public an extensive collection of original historical documents on the themes of this book. These documents provide evidence from original sources in support of the book's arguments.

Most of the historical documents are quite short. Some are appropriate for in-class teacher handouts. All can be read quickly by students.

This site also publishes other useful information about the book, such as the table of contents, book reviews and other discussions of the book, and information on the author.


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"Some Americans have taken to accusing the Founders of their country of hypocrisy. There is something decidedly cheap about such charges. But it's necessary for someone to take them seriously enough to provide a refutation. West has risen to the challenge. What looks like grown-up sophistication by the critics he shows to be childish petulance based on misrepresentation and misunderstanding."
—Harvey Mansfield



Dr. Thomas G. West, a Director and Senior Fellow of the Claremont Institute, is Professor of Politics at the University of Dallas, where he has taught since 1974.








- Founding Principles

- Chapter 1: Slavery

- Chapter 2: Property Rights

- Chapter 3: Women and the Right to Vote

- Chapter 4: Women and the Family

- Chapter 5: Was the Founding Undemocratic? The Property Requirement for Voting

- Chapter 6: Poverty and Welfare

- Chapter 7: Immigration and the Moral Conditions of Citizenship

- Afterword: Liberals and Conservatives Abandon the Principles of the Founding

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This site is a project of the
Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs at Ashland University
and
The Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship and Political Philosophy

Send comments to:
[email protected]