The American Revolution and America's Role in the World

The year 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, yet the founding is controversial now in ways it has not been in decades. The American Enterprise Institute offers a major intellectual and educational project to reintroduce Americans to the unique value of their national inheritance.

In the sixth volume of this series, scholars of American history and international relations survey how the United States defined its place among the community of nations following independence. As they noted in the Declaration, the revolutionaries understood that the success of their movement depended on “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind” and assistance from allies abroad. At the same time, disputes over foreign entanglements and neutrality fiercely divided Americans in the early republic.

Looking at the founding-era debates over America’s “empire of liberty” can inform the foreign policy questions we face today.