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Entangling Alliances with None—The Founders' Vision of American Foreign Policy

  • Writer: Jeff Kellick
    Jeff Kellick
  • Jan 10
  • 1 min read

Empire of Liberty: America's Foreign Entanglements from the Founders to the Forever Wars - Ep. 01



This episode establishes the baseline of American foreign policy as the founders envisioned it. We examine the lessons of the Revolutionary War and the French Alliance, the classical republican tradition's warnings about standing armies, and the constitutional provisions designed to prevent military adventurism. We explore the foundational texts—Washington's Farewell Address, Jefferson's First Inaugural, and Madison's "Political Observations"—in depth and in the founders' own words.


We trace how the early republic tested these principles in the Quasi-War, the Barbary Wars, the War of 1812, and the Monroe Doctrine. Finally, we address the interventionist objection and explain why the founders' wisdom remains relevant for a global superpower.

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