Dad Saves America

Most Americans can quote a line or two of the Declaration of Independence, but almost no one has actually read the whole thing. Today I'm going line by line to unpack what Jefferson was actually arguing and why it matters even more now than it did in 1776.
A generation raised with little independence and everything on demand can’t fully understand the values woven into the Declaration and how they apply today. In 2026, it isn’t all that suprising that Gen Z is increasingly pro-socialism and anti-patriotism.
Our creed won't pass itself on. That's our job as parents.
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Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/the-real-reason-gen-z-doesnt-care?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
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Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/3T2n3JpAFsQ
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
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I sat down with historian James Hankins, who recently resigned from Harvard after 40 years, to discuss why academia abandoned Western civilization, the institutional mechanisms that silence dissent, and how we can embrace the Western roots of America in the 21st century.
We get into:
* Why he left Harvard and joined the Hamilton School in Florida
* How fear of student backlash silences even tenured professors
* What happened to Harvard’s commitment to Western civilization
* Why teaching “global history” misses the point of education
* The link between Christianity, liberalism, and capitalism
* The classical education movement as antidote to institutional rot
* Why America needs to reclaim its Western heritage
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Ready to give MASA a try? Get 25% off your first order by going to https://www.masachips.com/dad and using code DAD.
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Follow James Hankins on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/JamesWHankins1?s=20
Read James’s Harvard resignation article: https://www.compactmag.com/article/why-im-leaving-harvard/
Order a copy of “The Golden Thread”: https://a.co/d/06ypgCWv
Check out James on Substack: https://substack.com/@goldenthread
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Outline:
[0:00] Why he left Harvard after 40 years
[7:51] The decline of elite higher education
[18:12] The big lie about Western Civilization
[25:27] Global history vs. narrative history
[42:04] Does history help us predict the future?
[49:45] What is Western Civilization?
[1:01:23] Islamic conquest and the Dark Ages
[1:05:20] The origins of liberalism
[1:19:07] How did the Church enforce canon law?
[1:24:42] The evolution of usury laws
[1:33:19] America’s role in Western Civilization
[1:39:45] The French Revolution’s societal self-hatred
[1:47:30] The Radicalism of the American Revolution
[1:54:04] Do Catholics belong in America?
[2:01:20] Is the “Protestant work ethic” real?
[2:07:32] What to prioritize when educating your kids
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Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/B9itx1ljE5E
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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The United States is a constitutional republic, not a democracy. Today I'm going back to the original text of the Constitution to uncover what it actually says, and just as importantly, what it doesn't.
The Constitution never mentions health, education, or retirement. The president was never meant to wield this much power. The Senate was never supposed to be directly elected. And the First Amendment almost wasn't about free speech at all.
The Founding Fathers didn't trust pure democracy. After 250 years, it's pretty clear they were right.
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Check my sources over on Substack: https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/p/our-government-was-never-meant-to?r=24ayxm
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Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/kJ6QRZgFi5s
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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I sat down with Jack Henneman, host of the “History of the Americans” podcast, to discuss the early history of the American colonies, the weaponization of history for political purposes, and why judging the past by today’s standards corrupts our ability to understand it.
We get into:
* Why Jack launched a podcast to read American history from the very beginning
* How the New York Times weaponized the 1619 Project to reshape history education
* How Spain’s conquest of the New World set the stage for English colonization
* Why the Puritans and the Virginia planters built two completely different Americas
* How the Dutch built the most important city in history trading beaver fur and guns
* What the arrival of Africans at Jamestown in 1619 actually tells us about the origins of slavery
* Why conflicts broke out between Native Americans and European settlers
* What the great men of history can teach us about our own blind spots
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Follow Jack Henneman on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/TheHistoryOfTh2?s=20
“The History of the Americans” podcast: https://thehistoryoftheamericans.com/
Read Jack’s writings on Substack: https://jackhenneman.substack.com/
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Outline:
[0:00] The History of the Americans podcast
[4:11] The fundamental flaw of the 1619 Project
[15:59] Spanish settlement of America
[30:41] The rise of English America
[34:45] Why New England Puritans were so successful
[44:41] The aristocratic culture of the South
[49:55] How slavery became the norm in the South
[55:56] What was Bacon’s Rebellion?
[1:00:58] The Native Americans of New England
[1:08:10] Where did Thanksgiving actually come from?
[1:16:03] The 400-year decline of Native Americans
[1:20:47] Dutch settlement of New York
[1:30:09] John Winthrop’s “City on a Hill”
[1:34:47] Why Pennsylvania was Quaker
[1:46:16] The Catholic colony of Maryland
[1:49:17] Why slavery became more violent
[1:56:14] How to read history as an amateur
[2:08:37] What’s the point of studying history?
[2:15:56] Ideas, ideology, and identity
[2:21:12] What is an “American”?
_____________________________________
Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wuEvVZwYc7M
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


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The world comes to America for the World Cup and falls in love. Europeans are singing our songs, losing their minds at Buc-ee's, and telling us we don't know how good we have it. Meanwhile, Rupert Lowe just released his 200-page report on the UK’s decades-long grooming gang disaster. The UK government now wants to ban social media for teenagers and arrest people for saying the wrong words online.
America is basking in global admiration. Britain is facing a civilizational reckoning. The question is whether we understand what makes the difference, and whether American fathers are willing to fight to keep it that way.
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Check my sources over on Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/dadsavesamerica/p/the-uk-learned-to-hate-itself-is?r=24ayxm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
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Head to https://cozyearth.com/ and use my code DSA for up to 20% off! And if you get a Post-Purchase Survey, make sure to let them know you heard about Cozy Earth right here!
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Go to http://cape.co/dadsavesamerica and use code DADSAVESAMERICA33 to get 33% off your first six months.
_____________________________________
Purchase a T-shirt, hoodie, and more over on our merch store: https://shop.dadsavesamerica.com/
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/1Q8G49lYXxA
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Visit our website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Get full access to Dad Saves America at www.dadsavesamerica.com/subscribe