Can an academic institution be truly free if it relies on government funding? Federal dollars mean federal mandates, and those mandates grow increasingly draconian. More and more, they stifle debate on open questions, demand denial of verifiable scientific truths, eliminate due process for students accused of misdeeds by other students, or insist on unequal treatment for different groups in ways that corrupt the academic mission. Yet, it is still possible for academic institutions to remain free of government mandates by rejecting federal funding. The Martin Center located 19 such schools successfully operating in the United States, and tried to find out what they are doing, how they are doing it, and why they are good for the intellectual life of the nation. The ability of independent schools to function outside the boundaries of the federal government efficiently and effectively--offering lower tuition than most other private schools while holding high academic standards--suggests that federal funding is hardly necessary. And it poses a further question: does federal funding hinder education rather than improving it?