Sharon Statement

The Sharon Statement is the founding statement of principles of the Young Americans for Freedom. The views expressed in this statement, while not considered "traditional conservative principles" at the time, played a significant role in influencing Republican leaders in the 1980s.

Written by M. Stanton Evans and adopted on September 11, 1960, the statement is named for the location of the inaugural meeting of Young Americans for Freedom, held at William F. Buckley, Jr.'s estate in Sharon, Connecticut. The statement reads:

WE, as young conservatives, believe:

THAT foremost among the transcendent values is the individual's use of his God-given free will, whence derives his right to be free from the restrictions of arbitrary force;

THAT liberty is indivisible, and that political freedom cannot long exist without economic freedom;

THAT the purpose of government is to protect those freedoms through the preservation of internal order, the provision of national defense, and the administration of justice;