Category:History
Giants of the Scottish Enlightenment Part One: Francis Hutcheson
December 7, 2011 | Video
Prof. James Stacey Taylor discusses the contributions of Francis Hutcheson, an intellectual of the Scottish Enlightenment who was instrumental in advancing the sentimentalist approach to morality. In this approach, Hutcheson acknowledged the conventional five senses, but in addition, identified three additional senses: The public sense The sense of honor The moral sense Hutcheson had a […]
Liberty Movements in American History
November 16, 2011 | Video
Historian Stephen Davies describes how various nonprofit institutions have made the advocates of liberty more productive and effective. These institutions have also made the ideas of liberty more available and have created and facilitated networks that enable people to share and strengthen their ideas. Broadly speaking, there are two types of advocates. There are those […]
We Demand Freedom: Popular Movements for Liberty in U.S. History
October 19, 2011 | Video
According to Dr. Stephen Davies, the tea party movement in the United States is not an isolated occurrence in American history. Rather, it’s part of a recurring movement in American history that ebbs and flows. These movements are peculiar, however, as they are unique to the United States. Dr. Stephen Davies offers several ideas as […]
An Introduction to the Industrial Revolution
October 7, 2011 | Video
What was the industrial revolution? According to Dr. Stephen Davies, it was an extraordinarily innovative period in history that generated the highest living standards the world had ever seen. For instance, over the course of the 19th century, average per capita income in the United Kingdom rose by a factor of six. To put this […]
Top Three Myths About the Great Depression and the New Deal
July 1, 2011 | Video
Historian Stephen Davies names three persistent myths about the Great Depression. Myth #1: Herbert Hoover was a laissez-faire president, and it was his lack of action that lead to an economic collapse. Davies argues that in fact, Hoover was a very interventionist president, and it was his intervening in the economy that made matters worse. […]
Spreading Freedom to the World
May 27, 2011 | Video
Lawrence Reed, President of FEE, discusses the importance of freedom. Through as series of personal stories, he illustrates the difficulty of a typical life under tyranny. Further, he describes the relentless efforts of individuals who successfully overcome the obstacles prohibiting their own freedom. Liberty is what makes life worth living. You can make a difference!
After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy
March 10, 2011 | Video
From the IHS Vault: Prof. Christopher Coyne lends an economist’s eye to the subject of foreign policy, specifically post-conflict reconstruction and “exporting democracy.” He examines recent U.S. policies, and suggests that a better way to promote peace and liberal democracy around the world would be principled non-intervention and free trade. This talk is based on […]
The American Founding in Practice
February 10, 2011 | Video
From the IHS Vault: History professor Rob McDonald of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point gives a lecture on the conflict between the ideals of the American Revolution, such as individual liberty, and unfortunate realities of the time, such as slavery. Filmed at the 2006 IHS seminar “Exploring Liberty” at Princeton University. Produced by […]