Ideas Have Consequences was the title of a book written by Richard Weaver in 1948, and it expresses a truth that philosophers, pundits, scholars, and more have come to recognize and act upon. Individuals and societies order themselves in accordance with ideas. Some ideas have stood the test of time, and others have not, but all have left their mark on history and humanity. Ideas originate many ways and they gain traction with groups of people for different reasons. Sometimes, ideas are made into weapons, and oftentimes people will not only live for ideas but will suffer, fight and die for them.
The website’s name comes from a book written by David Wemhoff with the short title of John Courtney Murray, Time/Life, and The American Proposition. This book discusses the collaboration between three major centers of American power in spreading around the globe something known as The American Proposition during the early Cold War. Henry R. Luce, one of the founders of Time, Inc. which published Time, Life, Fortune and Sports Illustrated, articulated The American Proposition in a speech delivered November 29, 1953 the ideas that were so formative of American society, identity and character. He said “The American Proposition is the Constitution interpreted in the light of certain first principles.” These first principles were found in documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address, and these first principles were traceable to a political philosophy held by the American Founders and derived from the scholars of the ages going back to antiquity and including Christianity. The tradition of natural law found a home with America according to Luce and law was an essential component of life for not only did it serve as a prohibition but it was a command to act and to act virtuously.
The reference to the natural law was an important one for the Catholic Church has a lot to say about the natural law. Not only does it pertain to personal relations, and families, but it also pertains to domestic societies and the international community. Indeed, all are interconnected, interrelated if you will, and right order is essential for proper functioning and peace.
This website is an attempt to present learned commentary and scholarly work on the nature and role of America, and of the reality, necessity and power of ideas in history and geopolitics. America does not exist in a vacuum or in isolation. America exists in a time and place and there are other ideas and other dynamics that exist concurrently. At The American Proposition, we sincerely hope and desire that all of us can gain a better understanding of the past and the present.
Ideas Have Consequences was the title of a book written by Richard Weaver in 1948, and it expresses a truth that philosophers, pundits, scholars, and more have come to recognize and act upon. Individuals and societies order themselves in accordance with ideas. Some ideas have stood the test of time, and others have not, but all have left their mark on history and humanity. Ideas originate many ways and they gain traction with groups of people for different reasons. Sometimes, ideas are made into weapons, and oftentimes people will not only live for ideas but will suffer, fight and die for them.
The website’s name comes from a book written by David Wemhoff with the short title of John Courtney Murray, Time/Life, and The American Proposition. This book discusses the collaboration between three major centers of American power in spreading around the globe something known as The American Proposition during the early Cold War. Henry R. Luce, one of the founders of Time, Inc. which published Time, Life, Fortune and Sports Illustrated, articulated The American Proposition in a speech delivered November 29, 1953 the ideas that were so formative of American society, identity and character. He said “The American Proposition is the Constitution interpreted in the light of certain first principles.” These first principles were found in documents such as the Declaration of Independence and the Gettysburg Address, and these first principles were traceable to a political philosophy held by the American Founders and derived from the scholars of the ages going back to antiquity and including Christianity. The tradition of natural law found a home with America according to Luce and law was an essential component of life for not only did it serve as a prohibition but it was a command to act and to act virtuously.
The reference to the natural law was an important one for the Catholic Church has a lot to say about the natural law. Not only does it pertain to personal relations, and families, but it also pertains to domestic societies and the international community. Indeed, all are interconnected, interrelated if you will, and right order is essential for proper functioning and peace.
This website is an attempt to present learned commentary and scholarly work on the nature and role of America, and of the reality, necessity and power of ideas in history and geopolitics. America does not exist in a vacuum or in isolation. America exists in a time and place and there are other ideas and other dynamics that exist concurrently. At The American Proposition, we sincerely hope and desire that all of us can gain a better understanding of the past and the present.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.
The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization, and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;
To establish Post Offices and post Roads;
To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;
To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;
To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;
To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;
To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;—And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
The ideas explored in The American Proposition are not confined to the pages of the book. They continue to influence discussions about America’s role in the world. Our Commentary section provides ongoing analysis, insights, and reflections on the historical, cultural, and political forces that continue to shape global ideologies today.
In this section, you’ll find articles that dissect key moments in history, explore the lasting impact of the Cold War, and offer critical perspectives on the role of Americanism in shaping the modern world. These pieces aim to further unpack the complex interplay of power, media, and ideology that defined the 20th century and continues to influence international relations, politics, and cultural exchanges.
