Republican Motherhood

This is a little talk I’ve been sharing at local events in honor of America’s semiquincentennial, though most of the Florida story takes place after 1776. Now that we are celebrating 250 years of American independence, we will hear a lot of the classic, inspiring stories of patriotism as they unfolded in regions across the budding United States: New England saw “the problem child” colony of Massac...

I’m definitely partial to vintage, classic children’s picture books, but there are some new ones out there worth reading. While browsing our local library I came across The President of the Jungle , a funny story about animals peacefully uprising against the King Lion by agreeing to hold an election for a president instead. It was published in 2020 and features some familiar protest slogans and ca...

Mercy Otis Warren was an early advocate, critic, and historian of the United States founding. Born September 14, 1728 in Barnstable, MA to Col. James Otis and Mary Allyne Otis, Mercy was the third of their thirteen children. As was typical for girls at that time, Mercy didn’t receive much formal education, but she was allowed to observe her older brothers’ lessons under a private tutor. Her brothe...

So iconic was Dolley Madison in her lifetime that she defined the role of presidential spouse as “first lady,” a title that we acknowledge to this day. In 1768, she was born Dorothea Payne in North Carolina to John and Mary Coles Payne. The Paynes had eight children and moved to Virginia shortly after Dolley was born. In accordance with their Quaker values, John freed their plantation slaves as so...

Any discussion of the American founding would be remiss without mention of Abigail Adams, both a wife and mother of U.S. presidents, and respected advocate for liberty, equality, and self-governance. While she and her husband John Adams spent at least a decade of their marriage apart, their resulting correspondence created a valuable tome of primary source observations and political philosophy of...

Cleopas and his friend departed Jerusalem with devastated and perplexed hearts. The crowds had chosen a criminal to be released during Passover season instead of the innocent man who had healed and loved them. The Pharisees condemned a man who had come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets that they studied and preserved. The Romans had executed a leader not of insurgency, but of peace. In vain they...

When glancing at political history it is easy to overlook people who did not hold official titles, but nevertheless many had lasting influence. One such figure is Elizabeth Willing Powel (1743-1830), a mayor’s wife, bereaved mother, poet, confidante of George and Martha Washington, and grand dame of the “ Republican Court .” If she is remembered in popular culture it is likely due to her asking Be...

We often learn at an early age that American heritage is one of shared passion for values like liberty and equality. This idealism is, after all, spelled out in the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. But if you look further back at the Declaration of Independence, you’ll see that the great unifier of Americans is actually skepticism of institutionalized authority . That isn’t nearly as romantic, b...

One of the biggest obstacles to self-governance is apathy, which could be described as simply the status of not caring . Despite how obvious it is that we should care about important things, I think that we can insidiously foster an overall attitude of carelessness when we make apathy towards anything a boasting matter. It brings to mind the trite meme of Julie Andrews twirling around the Austrian...

republicanmotherhood.com https://www.thefire.org/news/2026-college-free-speech-rankings-americas-colleges-get-f-poor-free-speech-climate https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-3102 https://youtu.be/zVCAXR1S-xY?si=tg6Wp1Ok2kZ0Crft This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit republicanmotherhood.substack.co...

www.republicanmotherhood.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit republicanmotherhood.substack.com

We can insidiously foster an overall attitude of carelessness when we make apathy towards anything a boasting matter. In order to raise a citizenry that maintains its republic through self-governance, we need to develop a balanced, productive mindset in the way we relate to culture and politics. This is a series on cultivating self-governance which can be found at my educational compendium, Republ...