Order Michael Finch’s new book, A Time to Stand: HERE. Prof. Jason Hill calls it “an aesthetic and political tour de force.”
As our nation draws closer to its 250th anniversary, we also draw closer to the possibility of a new era of American greatness – if we choose it and, to paraphrase Ben Franklin’s famous observation, if we can keep it.
A significant part of moving forward as a nation of patriots is knowing where we’ve been and how we got here. There was a time when every American schoolchild received a rigorous – by today’s standards – grounding in American history and civics. Now the internet teems with disheartening videos in which interviewers-on-the-street stump passersby with once-basic questions such as, “Who were the opposing sides in the Civil War?” and “Which country did we win our independence from?” Educating ourselves and our children and grandchildren about our great nation’s history and heroes, rights and freedoms, and laws and government is an essential element of fortifying us to make America great again.
Toward that end, in a joint presentation with the White House and the U.S. Department of Education, Hillsdale College has produced a series of short videos called The Story of America, presenting stories from America’s founding, free to watch online here. For those who don’t know, Hillsdale College is a private Christian liberal arts school in southern Michigan, founded in 1844 and renowned for its classical core curriculum. As Hillsdale President Larry Arnn notes in the introductory video, the purpose of the series is to commemorate – “remember together” – historic moments from our nation’s origins, and “we can’t remember them very well if we don’t know them very well.” So the purpose of the series is first to educate those who have been failed by our Left-dominated educational system, and then to celebrate our exceptional history as one people.
Each episode in The Story of America offers viewers vividly told recreations of the dramatic moments that gave birth to our republic. In the inaugural full video, Dr. Wilfred McClay, professor of history at Hillsdale and holder of the Victor Davis Hanson Chair in Classical History and Western Civilization, narrates the story of “The Shot Heard Round the World,” about the battles of Lexington and Concord which kicked off our war of independence against England. He reminds us that the American Revolution wasn’t led by rebels looking to overthrow everything, but by people defending the way of life they had built through 150 years of self-government.
In the next episode, decorated Army infantry officer and current Secretary of War Pete Hegseth proudly relates the story of the formation of the United States Army: “The gallant soldiers of Washington’s continental army answered the call of liberty and rushed into battle not only for their freedom, but for ours as well. Their story defines us all.” Hegseth goes on to say,
To this day, the courage of the Revolutionary soldier and Minuteman beats in the heart of every American soldier. These individuals strive every day to build a future that embodies the extraordinary spirit of our nation’s very first citizen soldier.
As George Washington put it, “When we assumed the soldier, we did not lay aside the citizen.”
Subsequent episodes feature, among others, historian Walter Borneman on the Battle of Bunker Hill; Lee Habeeb, host of Our American Stories, on John Adams; Fox News host and author Brian Kilmeade on George Washington’s Culper spy ring; Daily Wire host Michael Knowles on the story of the American soldier; Vice President JD Vance on the birthday of the U.S. Marines; and author and radio host Eric Metaxas on Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River. More videos continue to roll out.
All of the videos in the series are of very digestible length (anywhere from four to fifteen minutes) and professionally presented for a general audience of all ages, without being dryly academic. An easy homeschooling lesson is to sit down with your kids and watch, say, one video a day which hopefully will spark deeper interest.
As Christopher Flannery, a senior fellow of the Claremont Institute and host of The American Story podcast noted in a 2020 Hillsdale College speech titled “Mystic Chords of Memory: Learning From the American Story,”
The American story, still young, is already the greatest story ever written by human hands and minds. It is a story of freedom the likes of which the world has never seen. It is endlessly interesting and instructive and will continue unfolding in word and deed as long as there are Americans.
To clarify that: the American story will continue to unfold as long as there are patriotic Americans who believe in, are proud of, and are willing to fight on behalf of, this nation’s special destiny in world history as a beacon of liberty and justice for all.
As we approach our 250th birthday, we are at a fateful crossroad: facing off across a political divide wider than at any time since the War Between the States, with one side vowing to make America great again and the other side hell-bent on tearing it all down. Hillsdale’s The Story of America offers just the kind of ammunition to empower and inspire true patriots to victory.
Follow Mark Tapson at Culture Warrior.
