Veterans have a responsibility to share their knowledge, love of country and allegiance with others, Dr. Matthew Spalding says.
The 250th anniversary of the United States is coming up fast, and Hillsdale College Vice President of Washington Operations Dr. Matthew Spalding issued a challenge to The American Legion Thursday, Aug. 29, to “educate yourself about your country … and then get involved.”
He told thousands of veterans gathered in New Orleans for the 105th National Convention of The American Legion how in 1976, the nation’s largest veterans organization “actively encouraged, participated in, and led bicentennial celebration activities. Indeed, The American Legion and the American Legion Auxiliaries (cast) an 8-ton replica of the Liberty Bell that traveled across the United States on the American Freedom Train in 1975 and 1976. I know it because I remember seeing it as a boy.”
In 2026, the 250th anniversary of the nation presents a “unique and once-in-a-generation opportunity to recall our nation to its heritage and remind our fellow citizens, and especially America’s youth, of America’s meaning and purpose. What are you going to do about it? The American Legion, in every post in every state in every region, should be front and center.”
He suggested that Legionnaires take advantage of Hillsdale College’s free online education programs to refresh their knowledge of American principles and then share that knowledge with schools, churches, state legislatures, civic organizations, family members and other veterans. He added that the national America 250 Commission has branches in many states that Legionnaires can engage.
“The critics of our country, the cynics and skeptics, the naysayers of patriotism and Americanism dominate much of our culture, our media and many of our educational institutions. They must not win the day.”
Spalding said it is imperative that veterans, specifically members of The American Legion, take responsibility to shift the narrative. “All of you … once took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. And you did so honorably. You also supported in that same oath to bear true faith and allegiance. And true allegiance and faith is a belief – an unwavering belief – on your shoulders and in your heart about the cause of your country. You have not been relieved of that duty. Today, my friends, your country needs you.”
He explained that “today… most high school students and college students do not know the basic facts of American history. They consistently score poorly in virtually every major of civic knowledge. While there is much that we have forgotten, it is not merely a case of amnesia. In many circles, especially among the learned elites of our universities and law schools, those who teach the next generation, shape our popular culture and set the terms of our political discourse, the self-evident truths upon which America depends have been supplanted by the passionately held belief that no such truths exist and that history is less about facts than about politics and political will.
“Over the past century, the federal government has lost much of its mooring, with little regard for the limits placed on it by the Constitution, which many regard as obsolete. On both the left and the right, our political leaders are increasingly unsure of their way, speaking in expiring generalities, all the while mired in small-minded politics and debate. As a nation, we are left divided, about our own meaning, unable, perhaps unwilling, to defend our ideas or our institutions. Or maybe even ourselves.”
In May 2024, Hillsdale College for the first time served as the host venue for The American Legion National Oratorical Contest, a constitutional speaking competition that awards over $200,000 in scholarships each year. In July, also for the first time, The American Legion Junior Shooting Sports Championships were conducted at facilities on Hillsdale’s southern Michigan campus.
“We look forward to a long and very productive relationship,” Dr. Spalding told the Legionnaires.
From constitutional fluency to Second Amendment rights and responsibilities, those two youth programs align with Hillsdale’s mission to advance the founding values of the nation. “Today, every one of our students is required to take a course on the United States Constitution. Like The American Legion, the history of Hillsdale College is deeply intertwined in the history of America. Like Hillsdale College, The American Legion knows the obligations of history, and what they create.”
Dr. Spalding, best-selling author of “We Still Hold These Truths: Rediscovering Our Principles, Reclaiming Our Future,” which details America’s core principles, how they have come under assault, and how they can be recovered, participated in American Legion California Boys State in 1982.
- Convention