Dear Friends and Partners,
As America approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding this week, we celebrate not just an enduring nation, but the extraordinary idea that free people, under limited government and the rule of law, can build unmatched prosperity and human flourishing, with much of this flowing from the innovative outputs of free enterprise and capitalism. This Independence Day, the Buttonwood Brief reflects on what it truly means to be an American company at a moment when that identity matters more than ever.
What does it mean to be an American company? Is it simply a matter of geography – the state of incorporation, headquarters location, domestic headcount, and where taxes are paid? Location and legal domicile are merely a starting point, not the defining standard. A company can be incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in New York, yet still offshore American jobs, restrict the lawful speech of its employees, promote un-American causes that alienate customers, and treat its duties to the nation and its people as expenses to be minimized.
To be an American company is to be heir to a tradition as old as the republic itself — the belief that commerce, when rightly ordered, is one of the most powerful forces for human flourishing ever devised. From the earliest craftsmen and merchants who built colonial towns into thriving communities, to the manufacturers and innovators who shaped the modern world, American enterprise has always carried with it a moral dimension. The men and women who built great companies understood that a business draws its strength from the communities it serves, the workers it employs, and the character it demonstrates in the marketplace. To do business in America is to accept a covenant, not just with shareholders or customers, but with the broader promise of a nation founded on the conviction that every person possesses inherent dignity and the right to build a meaningful life.
True American companies put America—and Americans—first in spirit as well as actions. They invest in American workers, defend free speech and open debate, reject divisive activism that alienates their customer base, and recognize that corporate power now rivals governments in shaping information, culture, and opportunity. With that power comes urgent moral responsibility: to uphold the principles that made this country exceptional rather than undermine them.
As the United States marks 250 years of self-governance, American companies face both a challenge and an invitation: to ask not merely what is profitable, but what is worthy. The greatest chapters of American corporate history were written not by those who extracted the most from their communities, but by those who invested in them — who offered fair wages, kept their word, treated customers as neighbors, and asked whether the work they did made the country stronger. That spirit is not a relic of the past; it is the standard against which every American company, in every generation, is called to measure itself.
On this anniversary, to be an American company means to renew that commitment, to demonstrate that free
enterprise and genuine responsibility are not in tension, but are, at their best, inseparable.
At 1792 Exchange, we help businesses rediscover this standard. We support companies that want to get back to business—creating value, serving customers, employing people, and generating shared prosperity—without outsourcing moral judgments to self-serving gatekeepers.
The Buttonwood Agreement of 1792 was a practical commitment to honest commerce amid uncertainty. In that same spirit, we deliver research, coalitions, and roadmaps so companies can pursue excellence, integrity, and long-term value creation.
Thank you for standing with us as we help American business rediscover what made it, and our nation, great.
Best regards,
Doug Napier
Executive Chairman & CEO