The Trail of Tears shouldn’t have happened. People at the time knew that it was wrong, that it was illegal, and that it was unconstitutional, but they did it anyway. Historian Amy Sturgis explains why the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation to “Indian Territory” (modern-day Oklahoma) was wrong on both moral and legal grounds. […]
Historian Amy Sturgis recounts history that seems made for the movies but hasn’t made it to the big screen. It’s a decades-long story of oppression and freedom fighting. Why hasn’t there been more attention paid to John Horse and the Black Seminoles? Prof. Sturgis argues that John Horse and the Black Seminoles deserve to be […]
Prof. Lynne Kiesling discusses the history of regulating electricity monopolies in America. Conventionally, most people view regulation of monopoly, such as the Sherman Antitrust Act, as one of government’s core responsibilities. Kiesling challenges this notion, and finds that government regulation of monopoly actually stifles innovation and hurts consumers. The American electricity industry was booming in […]
According to Professor Amy H. Sturgis, Andrew Jackson frequently appears in top ten lists of great Presidents of the United States. The following reasons are often given to justify Jackson’s high ranking among Presidents: 1. champion of the common man 2. son of the frontier 3. war hero 4. enemy of the elite 5. champion […]
Dr. Virgil Storr discusses the political economy of disaster and post-disaster recovery. Specifically, he looks at data and stories from Hurricane Katrina, the largest natural disaster in U.S. history. Additionally, Storr seeks to understand why people returned to the devastation of Katrina and how people actually went about recovering. While conducting his research to answer […]
Prof. James Stacey Taylor discusses the work and contributions of David Hume, who, like Adam Smith, was heavily influenced by Francis Hutcheson. Hume’s philosophy took Hutcheson’s views towards sentimentalism to their logical conclusion. Although Hume was heavily influenced by Hutcheson, Hutcheson did not approve of Hume’s views. Hume thought that our passions and our affections […]
Prof. James Stacey Taylor discusses the contributions of Adam Smith with a particular focus on his philosophy. Smith is most famous for two works: The Wealth of Nations and The Theory of Moral Sentiments. The Wealth of Nations is an important book on economics, so important in fact that Smith has been called the father […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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!
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 […]
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 […]
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