Category:History
What Would Milton Do?
July 31, 2016 | Post
Today would have been Milton Friedman’s 104th birthday. Perhaps no one in history was as successful as Friedman at introducing people to the ideas of liberty and a free society. His bi-weekly column in Newsweek distilled the concepts of freedom to current events for millions of readers, and his 1980 Free to Choose PBS series set the […]
Policy Leaders Call This "The Worst Trade Deal Ever Negotiated." Here's How It's Impacting Americans.
July 21, 2016 | Post
According to policy leader Donald Trump, NAFTA is “the worst trade deal ever negotiated” and it needs to be renegotiated. He said, in fact, that it might even be worth the United States pulling out of NAFTA if better terms couldn’t be reached. Why? Trump’s worried that the trade deal is taking jobs away from […]
Modern Libertarians Have a Lot to Learn from This Moment in History
July 16, 2016 | Post
Though I become more and more convinced—daily, if not hourly, and, sometimes, by the minute—of the inability of the political state to accomplish anything well, anything humanely, anything merely decently, or even anything without ultimately destroying the non-political spheres of life, I do think the finest possible state and political form of governance for a […]
What to Do After You've Overthrown the Government
July 16, 2016 | Post
So you’ve overthrown an unjust government. What next? That’s the position the U.S. found itself in after sending the Declaration of Independence to the British Crown. The nascent U.S. was guided by the Lockean principle that government derives its power not by force, lineage, or scripture, but by the consent of the governed. That’s great […]
America’s Founding, Ep. 6: Creating a Country
July 15, 2016 | Video
So we’ve declared independence (AKA committed Treason), have a small military not ready for war, and want to start America… now what? In July 1776, the Founders really had their work cut out for them. Not only did they have to win a war against the greatest military of the time and avoid […]
Podcast: Prof. Sarah Burns Explains Exactly How America Was Founded
July 14, 2016 | Post
Oppressive taxation. Forcible quartering of soldiers in civilian homes. Lack of representation in government. What happens when a small group of rebels decide to declare freedom from the most powerful government in the world? The story of the American Revolution seems so second nature to many people that one may disregard the notion of listening […]
America’s Founding, Ep.5: Is There A Right To Revolution?
July 13, 2016 | Video
“We as a free people, have the right to stand up to an oppressor.” The colonists didn’t just declare war– they felt the need to justify themselves. Written in 1776, the Declaration of Independence asserted that as a free people they had the right to overthrow an unjust ruler– a shocking idea at the time. […]
How a Few New Ideas Caused an Entire Group of People to Turn on Their Country
July 11, 2016 | Post
Much like us today, American colonists thought of themselves as a free people. They viewed governance through a lens called Radical Whig Theory, a political ideology stating that individuals within a free society must jealously guard their liberty and be wary of any government encroachment. The theory holds that freedom is hard to keep, and […]
America’s Founding, Ep. 4: The Ideas Behind A Revolution
July 11, 2016 | Video
“Freedom is hard to keep and easy to lose. For that reason, when government starts encroaching, it’s incumbent on a people to fight back.” How did “No taxation without representation” become a rallying cry for war? It wasn’t just the actions of the British, but the political beliefs of the colonists that caused this reaction. […]
A Closer Look at the Taxes That Led to America’s Founding
July 8, 2016 | Post
When we left the colonists in the first installment of America’s Founding, the British Empire had begun taxing Americans for the purpose of retaining its vast military power. But the colonists viewed the very military they were funding with ire, as soldiers often treated the colonists with disregard. In the latest installment of this series, Professor […]
America’s Founding, Ep. 3: Taxes & Abuse Of Power
July 8, 2016 | Video
The colonists got sick and tired of the increase in taxes and encroachment on their freedoms. It may have been the last straw One major grievance colonists had against England is the one most people remember learning about in school: taxes. But the concern that radicalized the colonists was less about taxes per se, and […]
This One Dysfunctional Military Practice Might Be Responsible for the Existence of the United States
July 7, 2016 | Post
What would you do if the U.S. Army came to your door tomorrow and demanded you pay taxes and tariffs on many of the items in your home? Would you fight back against them; would you declare yourself free and independent from America? Yeah, we didn’t think you’d opt for the latter route… But, believe […]
Why the Founding Fathers Risked Everything for an Untried Idea
July 7, 2016 | Post
Earlier this week, Americans celebrated one of their most meaningful holidays, their country’s Independence Day. It’s a day every American knows, a day spent with food, family, and fireworks. See Also: Why the American Revolution Was Really an Economic Revolution But, many Americans don’t know the real story that led to July 4, 1776. What […]
Why the American Revolution Was Really an Economic Revolution
July 7, 2016 | Post
Political slogans tend to obscure more than they enlighten. Barack Obama’s 2008 call for “Change We Need,” for example, turned out to mean almsgiving rather than substantive policy reform. Similarly, the American Revolution’s most famous slogan, “No taxation without representation,” failed to capture the essence of what colonists sought, or what, as freemen, they soon […]
America’s Founding, Ep. 2: How The British Enraged The Colonists
July 6, 2016 | Video
In the decade before the revolution, British soldiers had started to act more like an occupying force than a source of security. Prof. Sarah Burns explains why this happened, and how increasing tensions between colonists and soldiers became one of the major reasons for declaring independence.
What to Reflect On This Independence Day
July 4, 2016 | Post
On the Fourth of July, we are celebrating 240 years of American independence. In light of that anniversary, we should take a few moments and reflect on the meaning of that day and the idea of America. The idea of America was a consensus around the belief in individual liberty and a government by the […]
America’s Founding, Ep. 1: Why Our Founding Fathers Risked It All
July 3, 2016 | Video
Remembering the incredible risks our founding fathers took for us to live a life of freedom, choice, and fireworks on the 4th of July. When celebrating on Independence day, do you ever stop to think about the incredible risks the Founders took when they rebelled against British authority? They were starting a war with the […]
Americans Owe It to Themselves to Consider Reparations for Marginalized Minorities
June 22, 2016 | Post
Property rights are key for a free society. Since they set out what belongs to whom, they are the foundation for human freedom. Property norms tell us who can do what, with what, and to whom. When securely guaranteed, property rights offer a basis (if not the best basis) for predictability and stability. As social […]
One Novel’s Perfect Analogy Shows Exactly What Happens When We Try to Censor Human Thought
June 18, 2016 | Post
Today in this country, we pretty much take it for granted that we’re free to worship any god we want…or no god at all. But as you’re probably aware, that is a relatively new concept in human history. And in many parts of the world, this freedom still does not exist. What you might not […]
Don Quixote is First Anti Race-Based Slavery Novel
June 11, 2016 | Post
For almost as long as slavery has existed, there have been books opposing it. Perhaps the first was The Golden Ass, written in the Second Century A.D., whose plot follows a man turned into an ass, who can only turn back into a human when he empathizes with the plight of slaves. Then there is the great […]
Don Quixote: How Don Quixote Protested Slavery in Spain
June 11, 2016 | Video
History of Slavery: Did you know that Don Quixote is the first modern anti-slavery novel? Professor of Literature Eric C. Graf explains why Don Quixote’s author placed so much emphasis on the immoral nature of slavery.
72 Years After D-Day, One Professor Asks What It Would Take for You to Fight for Your Liberty
June 10, 2016 | Post
Seventy-two years ago on June 6, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy to push back the fascist occupiers of Europe. Termed “D-Day,” the operation was the largest seaborne invasion in history. Despite more than 10,000 casualties, the mission was considered a military success. Within a year, Allied forces would reach Berlin, where Hitler had […]
Civil Disobedience: One Lone Man and the Tanks of Tiananmen
June 5, 2016 | Post
On this date, June 5th, 1989. Approximately a decade following the Tiananmen Square massacre I had the pleasure of being invited to dinner by a gentleman who claimed to know a great Chinese restaurant. Over appetizers he popped the question of what it would take for me to accept China. My academic advisor at that […]
The surprising, radical message of Don Quixote
June 4, 2016 | Post
Given the relatively few examples of true liberty from real life, some of the best expressions of liberty have often come from novels. These literary works not only captivate our minds but also inspire us to envision a future where the individual, rather than the government and its agents, holds the reins of human action. […]