Conservative principles are rooted in Western civilization. These pillars of belief in liberty, tradition, rule of law, and God are interrelated and evolved gradually over our long history. These principles descend to us from our ancient past, our Judeo-Christian heritage, our English common law experience, and the American founding.
Publisher Alfred S. Regnery explains the traditional pillars of conservatism, their historic origins, and how the core beliefs of contemporary conservatives stem from these earlier pillars. He shows how conservative convictions flow naturally from an appreciation of God’s supremacy and of a natural law that exists above man’s law.
Regnery also highlights efforts to unite the conservative movement behind common principles, such as the Mount Vernon Statement, which was signed by representatives of all major branches of the conservative movement, including Regnery himself, in February 2010. This statement echoes an earlier commitment to common principles known as the Sharon Statement, signed by young conservative leaders in the fall of 1960 at the Sharon, Connecticut, home of National Review founder William F. Buckley. According to the Mount Vernon Statement, the principles of the American founding “define us as a country and inspire us as a people. . . . They are our highest achievements, serving not only as powerful beacons to all who strive for freedom and seek self-government, but as warnings to tyrants and despots everywhere.”
Alfred S. Regnery is one of the most iconic members of the conservative movement and comes out of a rich publishing tradition. Regnery’s father was Henry Regnery, who helped create the conservative newspaper Human Events in 1944 before founding his own publishing company. Henry Regnery’s firm published William F. Buckley Jr.’s God and Man at Yale in 1951 and Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind in 1953.
Alfred Regnery is the former president and publisher of Regnery Publishing, Inc., as the firm founded by his father is now called. During his tenure, the firm produced twenty-two New York Times best sellers. He is also a former publisher of The American Spectator, the monthly conservative journal. Regnery served in the Justice Department during the Reagan administration, worked as counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and has been in private law practice. He is the chairman of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.