By Todd Stottlemyer

When you look back on American history, you realize that the founders and early leaders of our country were at heart entrepreneurs. Risk-takers boarded ships to make a dangerous ocean crossing, looking for new opportunities in a new land. Later adventurers loaded wagons and headed west for the same reason.

In between, our founding fathers fought to be free of unfair taxes, to have the political and, perhaps more importantly, economic freedom to be innovative within a marketplace that values the free flow of ideas.

That’s a truly powerful force, one that’s unique in the world. It’s given our society great intrinsic advantages over other countries, as we’ve built a culture that’s based on people believing in taking risks and seizing opportunities. We can do that because we’ve created an economic environment that contains few institutional limitations on what we can achieve.

Small-business owners now account for more than half of the nation’s gross domestic product and are generating virtually all net new jobs. They don’t take lightly the gift of freedom so eloquently expressed in the Declaration of Independence and enshrined in our Constitution. Without their vigilance and without their efforts to remind legislators and policymakers of the importance of free enterprise, the laws of the land wouldn’t be favorable to those who start and grow businesses in this country, and the opportunities their efforts provide for future generations.

Like their revolutionary forebears, small-business owners continue to make their voices heard, demonstrating their passion to ensure their many freedoms, including those of speech, assembly, petition and the pursuit of their economic dreams.

As a result, small business has become one of the most trusted institutions in the country. According to a June Gallup poll, 59 percent of Americans say that they have “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in small businesses, exceeding law enforcement, organized religion, banks, the media, big business or any branch of government. The military, at 69 percent, is the only institution in which Americans say they have more confidence.

There’s a good reason for that. In addition to creating jobs, small-business owners are the lifeblood of their communities. They support your local civic and charitable organizations, volunteer to serve as everything from firefighters to festival organizers, and sponsor the local youth sports teams. They’re taking care of their communities, their families and their employees.

But, as they say about the stock market, “past performance is not an indicator of future results.” We must continue to nurture and build those aspects of our society that have contributed to our success. That is especially important when we look for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

We must recognize that we live in an ever-changing world, that we now compete on a global basis, and that complacency in the face of this new reality is our biggest enemy. This is a challenge that faces our next generation.

Tomorrow’s innovators are everywhere, and not just in classes devoted to business. Entrepreneurs are artists, musicians, scientists, doctors and writers, among others. It’s important to find them and to teach them about the roots of our great country to ensure that we continue to celebrate and exercise all of our freedoms, both economic and social, and fulfill our forefathers’ dreams.

Todd Stottlemyer is president and CEO of the National Federation of Independent Business in Washington, D.C.