john adams

Here is the story of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the Marylander who was the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.

The US was the world’s first liberal democracy. The first to put in place the idea that governments derive their power from the consent of those governed.

John Adams believed that only a Biblically-based people could ever understand or live by the Constitution. Thomas Jefferson believed that man had a natural morality that only made sense through the lens of Christianity. George Washington sought God’s intervention and blessings.

Massachusetts lawmaker and attorney Josh Cutler recently published a book about violence against journalists.‘Mobtown Massacre: Alexander Hanson and the Baltimore Newspaper War of 1812.' outlines attacks on Federalist journalists located in and near Baltimore.

By Erin B. Logan

Feb 19, 2019

Trump's anonymous writer follows in the footsteps of Thomas Paine.

Trump supporters will degrade themselves and their beliefs to tweak liberals - are we supposed to be entertained or just embarrassed for all involved?

Today we celebrate Independence Day, the day in 1776 when the original 13 colonies declared their independence from England.

Maryland was a crucial holdout in the decision to declare independence from Great Britain.

Voters of Carroll County deserve better than unattributed ad hominem attacks and appeals to people’s underlying fears and prejudices. Candidates can parry this political porn by using town hall meetings, forums and this newspaper to tell us more about what they stand for and what they are aga

The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra's 2018-2019 season will include the ensemble's first performance of Olivier Messiaen's "Turangalila," as well as programs featuring violinist Joshua Bell and "Hamilton" star Leslie Odom Jr.

While Boston and Philly were hardly in direct competition in politics or finance, both played vital roles in the founding and defining of America. Nowadays when one links Boston and Philly it usually has something to do with professional sports. Super Bowl LII is only the most current instance.

To a large, half-appreciative audience, Trump offers the 'greatest hits' version of his first year of alternative facts.

When we think of the best people we know of — whether they be friends or family, co-workers or bosses, teachers or pastors or neighbors, even celebrities — what usually stands out is their graciousness.

There is just so much government can do if people choose to behave as criminals.

James Madison on the free press: "The only effective guardian of every other right" Trump: "Frankly disgusting."

What are the thoughts of Harford County's administrative judge, and the only African-American member of the Circuit Court bench, on portraits of Confederate veterans that hang in county courthouse?

By David Anderson

Sep 6, 2017

Many of the issues in the Trump administration were also present during the Revolutionary War era. There are lessons from that time the White House should understand.

There is a movement for change that is happening in this country, and women are at the forefront of it. It is an incredible time to be a woman and by extension, to be a girl. It is also exhausting, and it is hard work. It is a time of high hopes and great expectations.

On the weekend episode of the Roughly Speaking podcast, my foodie friends John Shields and Henry Hong discuss the cuisine of the seven banned nations -- the

By Dan Rodricks

Feb 10, 2017

Sunday column on Syrian refugee family living near Towson

By Dan Rodricks

Feb 4, 2017

On Saturday evening, people from all over Baltimore—some coming straight from the Women's March in Washington—filed into Coppin State University's James Wheldon Auditorium, passing through the epicenter of the Baltimore Uprising to see acclaimed actors perform dramatic readings of an adapted version of Sophocles' 2,500-year-old Greek tragedy "Antigone."

On Friday, tens of millions of people will watch the pomp and spectacle of a uniquely American tradition. Yet all of the day's formalities fail to cover up certain strains that often accompany this public ceremony. For alongside the pageantry, our inaugurations also expose some of the biggest tensions that define the U.S. presidency — and show how our democracy has survived to repeat the ritual for the nation's 45th commander-in-chief.

Facts and figures about presidential inaugurations over the years

Happy New Year and good riddance to the horrific dystopian apocalypse that will be the focus of a future historian's discussion of the events of the year 20

You might like to see the press ridiculed by Donald Trump or kept at arm's length by Hillary Clinton, but all of us lose when we are forced to vote with as little information as we have about these two elderly candidates.

By David Zurawik

Sep 16, 2016

On Sept. 17, 1787 members of the Constitutional Convention completed their work. The myth of the historical coverage of this 100-day tour de force is that the confab would make for a good Hollywood movie, highlighted by an articulate and handsome lead cast, a spirit of unanimity and good will, and minor characters dedicated to attendance and hard work. The reality, on the other hand, is quite the opposite.

Here's the story of the only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Skip your normal Fourth of July routine and take a patriotic road trip to Philadelphia to celebrate Independence Day in the city where the good ol' US of A got its start.

By Brittany Britto

Jun 24, 2016

My colleague Liz Bowie reports in The Sun that the school board in Baltimore County is going to consider making two Muslim holy days, Eid al-Adha and Eid

From October through June, the big news in the nation's capital every Monday are the Supreme Court decisions announced to the public. They are often likely to upstage what the president and Congress are doing, as illustrated by the high court's disposition last month of the case regarding the Little Sisters of the Poor and Obamacare. But in the old days, the Supreme Court was not anything to get excited about. Its first chief justice, John Jay, once that the high court lacked "the energy, weight

The Obama administration continues its attacks on traditional values and common sense sensibilities by threatening to withhold billions in federal aid unless North Carolina repeals its bill that requires people to use the bathroom or locker room that conforms to their biological sex.

A sampling of opinions of the Scalia legacy from Baltimore legal veterans and a Supreme Court historian.

By Dan Rodricks

Feb 15, 2016

President Obama's remarks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore

Joe Biden's accomplishments in the Senate and as Obama's dependable sidekick have shown him to be fit for the presidency, says Jules Witcover.

But even with the feisty Donald Trump in the mix, our contemporary politics are actually much more polite — and much less malicious — than in earlier eras. And we diminish ourselves when we pretend otherwise, by imagining some golden age of civility that never existed.

The common view is that the American vice presidency is little more than booby prize awarded to achieve balance on the national ticket, and is a dead end to further political ambition.

By Jules Witcover

Jul 27, 2015

The Free State wasn't so eager to free itself of Great Britain. Here's the story of how Maryland came around to independence.

A nation that still falls short of its ideals

Senior Briefs

Senior Briefs

Senior Briefs

"1776" is a very talkative musical. Watching this Broadway musical at Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia amounts to a civics lesson that'll help you prep for the Fourth of July.

The moral decline of the Md. GOP

Neither Hillary Clinton nor Jeb Bush are objectionable as presidential candidates, but are these really the only two families from which solid candidates can come?.

Democrats only oppose changing the Constitution as long as they benefit from the status quo.

The fifth freedom: Freedom to eat what we want

Men enrolled in a program to learn how to detail cars dream of full-time employment, and an escape from city violence.