In 1775 a handful of citizen-soldiers stood on Lexington Common and defied the military might of the most powerful empire on earth. They made a stand to secure their rights as free men in an unprecedented democratic experiment. In doing so, they began a revolution that continues today -- a revolution that advances freedom, opportunity, and equality before the law for all men and women.

It was no accident that the patriots of Lexington made their stand on the Common, the heart and symbol of their community since its founding by Puritans in the early eighteenth century. Every community that has meaning to its members provides some common ground where they can meet to express their shared values and resolve their differences. The Lexington Institute participates on the common ground of American democracy, the political process that expresses the will of the people.

It is the goal of the Lexington Institute to inform, educate, and shape the public debate of national priorities in those areas that are of surpassing importance to the future success of democracy, such as national security, education reform, tax reform, immigration and federal policy concerning science and technology. By promoting America's ability to project power around the globe we not only defend the homeland of democracy, but also sustain the international stability in which other free-market democracies can thrive.

The Lexington Institute believes in limiting the role of the federal government to those functions explicitly stated or implicitly defined by the Constitution. The Institute therefore actively opposes the unnecessary intrusion of the federal government into the commerce and culture of the nation, and strives to find nongovernmental, market-based solutions to public-policy challenges. We believe a dynamic private sector is the greatest engine for social progress and economic prosperity.