The Tocqueville Liberty Institute is a 501(c)(3) revitalizing America’s commitment to liberal democracy through civic education on our economic history, civic responsibilities, and the foundations of the republic.https://thetocque.org/en-ushttps://thetocque.org/2026/06/18/make-iran-great-again/https://thetocque.org/2026/06/18/make-iran-great-again/Why Iran’s Rage Won’t Set It Free: A Tocqueville Warning A Tocqueville Liberty Institute Analysis By Colonel Pete The dream of a free, secular, and prosperous Persia rising from the ashes of the Islamic Republic is emotionally powerful. The waves of mass protest that have swept Iran — most dramaticaThu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2026/06/18/podcast-episode-make-iran-great-again/https://thetocque.org/2026/06/18/podcast-episode-make-iran-great-again/Pip: The Tocqueville Liberty Institute — where the nineteenth century’s sharpest observer of democracy gets applied to the twenty-first century’s messiest problems. Today that means Iran. Mara: Colonel Pete’s piece takes a hard look at the Iranian protest movement, the regime’s brutal response, and Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2026/06/13/repealing-the-seventeenth-amendment-restoring-the-republics-guardrails/https://thetocque.org/2026/06/13/repealing-the-seventeenth-amendment-restoring-the-republics-guardrails/The Seventeenth Amendment was sold to Americans as a Progressive Era triumph of democracy. Before 1913, state legislatures chose senators. The direct election of senators would supposedly clean up corruption and give power back to the people.It didn’t work out that way.The Founders designed the SenaSat, 13 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2026/06/11/the-president-who-pushed-me-into-bitcoin-wasnt-who-youd-expect/https://thetocque.org/2026/06/11/the-president-who-pushed-me-into-bitcoin-wasnt-who-youd-expect/It Was George W. Bush By Colonel Pete Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel | Founder, Tocqueville Liberty Institute The man who inspired my first Bitcoin purchase wasn’t a tech genius or a libertarian icon. He never owned a single satoshi. He was a Republican president — George W. Bush. Let me explain, beThu, 11 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2026/06/01/was-fdr-the-first-american-communist/https://thetocque.org/2026/06/01/was-fdr-the-first-american-communist/Sen. Mike Lee recently challenged the widespread ranking of Franklin D. Roosevelt as the “greatest” U.S. president. For years, I have shared this skepticism. FDR’s New Deal fundamentally expanded federal power, confiscated Americans’ gold, and devalued the dollar — actions that undermined federalismMon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2026/05/25/civic-duty-the-third-leg-of-a-stable-democracy/https://thetocque.org/2026/05/25/civic-duty-the-third-leg-of-a-stable-democracy/Published on TheTocque.org A three-legged stool is one of the most elegant structures in all of engineering. Remove one leg, and the entire thing collapses — not gradually, not gracefully, but immediately and completely. Alexis de Tocqueville understood this principle long before management consultaMon, 25 May 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2026/04/30/the-faith-leg-why-liberty-needs-belief/https://thetocque.org/2026/04/30/the-faith-leg-why-liberty-needs-belief/Alexis de Tocqueville saw in 1835 that American liberty stands on a three-legged stool: faith, economics, and civics. The faith leg is the moral foundation. Without strong faith, liberty turns into license. People lose the habits of self-restraint, duty, and sacrifice that make self-government possiThu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2026/04/29/libertys-three-legged-stool/https://thetocque.org/2026/04/29/libertys-three-legged-stool/Imagine a stool with three legs. It looks simple, but it’s actually very clever. As long as all three legs are strong and equal, the stool stands steady. Shorten or weaken just one leg, and the whole thing becomes wobbly and eventually falls over. That’s exactly how Alexis de Tocqueville saw AmericaWed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2026/04/29/the-commerce-leg-of-liberty-why-sound-money-matters-more-than-ever/https://thetocque.org/2026/04/29/the-commerce-leg-of-liberty-why-sound-money-matters-more-than-ever/I’m wrapping up the Bitcoin Conference 2026 today, and one truth keeps ringing louder than ever: sound money is the commerce leg of liberty’s three-legged stool. Alexis de Tocqueville observed in 1835 that American liberty rests on three strong supports — faith, economics/commerce, and civics. WeakeWed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2025/05/27/taiwans-untold-story-part-2-post-war-turmoil-and-the-road-to-democracy/https://thetocque.org/2025/05/27/taiwans-untold-story-part-2-post-war-turmoil-and-the-road-to-democracy/Introduction Welcome back to Taiwan’s Untold Story, a three-part series from the Tocqueville Liberty Institute. I’m your host, Colonel Pete, and in this second installment, we’ll explore the tumultuous post-World War II era in Taiwan. From the arrival of the Chinese Nationalist regime to the tragic Tue, 27 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2025/05/21/taiwans-untold-story-part-1-from-indigenous-roots-to-colonial-transitions/https://thetocque.org/2025/05/21/taiwans-untold-story-part-1-from-indigenous-roots-to-colonial-transitions/Introduction Welcome to Taiwan’s Untold Story, a three-part series exploring the rich and often overlooked history of Taiwan. I’m your host from the Tocqueville Liberty Institute, and in this first installment, we’ll journey through Taiwan’s ancient origins, its early colonial periods, and the seedsWed, 21 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2025/03/02/fractional-reserve-banking-how-it-legally-plunders-wealth-from-americans/https://thetocque.org/2025/03/02/fractional-reserve-banking-how-it-legally-plunders-wealth-from-americans/Introduction Welcome to the Tocqueville Liberty Institute! I’m your host, Colonel Pete, and today we’re tackling a topic that impacts your money every day, yet most people don’t fully understand it: fractional reserve banking. By the end of this post, you’ll grasp how this system works, why it’s proSun, 02 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2025/02/18/liberty-and-bitcoin-the-genesis-of-the-tocqueville-liberty-institute/https://thetocque.org/2025/02/18/liberty-and-bitcoin-the-genesis-of-the-tocqueville-liberty-institute/Introduction Hello, I’m Colonel Pete, the founder and president of the Tocqueville Liberty Institute. In this blog post, I’ll share the story of why I founded the Institute and the journey that led me to purchase my first 40 Bitcoins for just $500. This wasn’t a spontaneous decision but a gradual prTue, 18 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://thetocque.org/2025/02/16/understanding-patriotism-principles-and-emotions/https://thetocque.org/2025/02/16/understanding-patriotism-principles-and-emotions/Being patriotic for many is an emotional feeling for one’s country. To me it’s more than that. Yes, I do get emotional at times when a rousing anthem or patriotic sounding tune is being played. To me, it is an adherence to a set of principles our founders have penned in the declaration of independenSun, 16 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT