Knowledge as National Power on Independence Day, 1828
Frances Wright
July 7, 2025
Editor’s Note: In 1828, for a woman to deliver a major public address on a political occasion like the Fourth of July was a radical and highly controversial act. That’s what happened that year at New Harmony Hall, where the abolitionist and freethinker Frances Wright delivered a speech that, on its surface, might seem distant from the modern strategist’s concerns. Yet, her impassioned call for a system of national, rational education speaks directly to the foundational pillars of any strong and resilient state.
Wright argues for an education grounded in empirical inquiry and critical thought, liberated from the dogma she saw as shackling human potential. For our readers, her speech is more than a historical artifact. It is a vital reminder that a nation’s intellectual capital is a core component of its strength.
For Wright, “the free and fearless exercise of the mental faculties, and that self-possession which springs our of well-reasoned opinions and consistent practice” was an inseparable part of liberty. She advocated for education for all, including women and emancipated slaves, not only for the sake of equality but as a strategic imperative. She understood that a republic’s vitality is derived from the intellectual capacity of its entire populace.
An uninformed citizenry, she contended, lacks the tools for effective self-governance and the preservation of its own security. Her call for a national commitment to empirical knowledge and universal education, therefore, remains a prescient and powerful message. Wright’s arguments compel us to consider how a nation’s educational foundations directly support its enduring security and stability.
https://warontherocks.com/2025/07/frances-wright-on-knowledge-as-national-power-on-independence-day-1828/
