Opinion

ERIKA KIRK: Charlie saw America’s future in the courage of young patriots

Every campus visit and student event reminds me that the American spirit is alive and well

By Erika Kirk Fox News

Published July 4, 2026 8:00am EDT

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Doug Collins shares patriotic message ahead of America 250

Veterans Affairs Sec. Doug Collins joins 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss honoring veterans and the spirit of patriotism on America's 250th birthday. He reflects on the sacrifices of service members and recent boosts in military recruitment.

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The people who launched the American experiment were remarkably young. Alexander Hamilton was just 21 years old when he dropped out of college to join the Continental Army, Betsy Ross was 24 when she sewed the stitches across the first American flag, James Monroe was 18 when he was wounded at the Battle of Trenton, and Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he penned the closing words of the Declaration of Independence, pledging "our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor" to the cause of American independence.

It’s easy to miss how radical Jefferson’s words were at the time. The signers of the Declaration were committing treason against the most powerful empire in the world, a crime they almost certainly would have paid for with their lives had their revolution not succeeded.

Not only did they win their independence, they did something even more rare and impressive: they stuck the landing. History is full of revolutions that promised liberty only to descend into tyranny, but that didn’t happen here. Instead, the founders created a new, self-governing nation. Interestingly, the chief author of the Constitution, James Madison, was 36........

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