America has been described as the land of Exceptionalism or having a Manifest Destiny or even as a global Superpower, but those are just effects of her legacy both positive and negative. What really unpins the greatness of America, the real magic of America are the five core ideals that constitute the breadth and depth of the original American psyche.

For 150 years, the isolated English colonies carved a civilization out of the wilderness. Through hardship and privation the early Americans developed a view of life and the world that is unique in history. Following the path of nascent Greece and Rome, the early Americans discussed, argued over, and ultimately birthed a nation founded on the bedrock of five primary ideals. For the next 250 years, America became a bastion of liberty and the dream of millions of immigrants worldwide based on the perpetuation of those five ideals. That hope was immortalized in 1886 with the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, which was later made a national monument in 1924.

These five ideals were gleaned from the best of history. They were hard earned and jealously guarded for generations until the national culture was fully permeated.

The globally impacting American legacy ideals are:
• Georgics
• Liber
• Providence
• Public Virtue
• Liberty

Today, we live in a time when these sacred ideals are little more than a whisper of bygone times and are no longer valued by the upcoming generations. Much of what we see occurring in American culture today is a result of moving away from these American ideals. What once made the American citizen and family strong emotionally, spiritually, physically, and financially are the same ideals that we are lacking in our families, communities, states, and on the national level. The Center for American Legacy Studies is dedicated to leading the way for a return to the original American Legacy Ideals.