Liberty Chronicles

Today Anthony Comegna (@DrLocoFoco) leaves us with one final message as we end chronicling liberty: “I certainly will continue my own end of the deal we have struck here—you couldn’t drag me away from my Locofocos, my Spiritualists, my Free Love anarchists, or my radical English Dissenters, to name just a few—but I’ll close with one final plea to each of you: History is not an instruction manual; it is a cautionary tale. No intellectual tradition, no set of good or just ideas, no heroes nor villains are ever remembered unless we do the labor of memory. Our tradition, our ideas, our tales of heroes and our villains all deserve to be remembered, and we deserve to learn from their examples.”Be sure to check back with libertarianism.org to learn about our new history adventures in the coming months.Our Most Memorable Episodes:Eggnog Riot!!The Possession of Frances WhippleReasonable Crimes: Humanizing PiratesThere’s No Excuse for Slavery (Updated) See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last week we left off with selections from William Graham Sumner and we pick up right there today with Christopher Preble. Preble’s new book was released today on our site and it not only explores America imperialist tendency in the past, but also recognizes our foreign policy blunders of today.Does the U.S. think they are in a perfect position to solve the problems of other countries? How did the war against Spain turn out? Does the American imperial empire exist today? When did the U.S. start to get influenced by the imperial mindset of Europe? What is corporatism? Was it honorable to be a soldier in the 1900s? What was the anti-war movement and what happened to it after World War II?Further Reading:Peace, War, and Liberty: Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy, written by Christopher A. Preble, available April 30, 2019.Dreams of a City on a Hill, 1630, written by John WinthropRelated Content:Address Delivered at the Request of the Committee for Arrangements for Celebrating the Anniversary of Independence, written by John Quincy AdamsJackson: The First Imperial President, Learn LibertyThe Conquest of the United States by Spain, written by William Graham Sumner See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Christopher A. Preble joins us for the first episode of a 2-part discussion about early America’s role in the world. Comegna and Preble focus their conversation around two historical documents that are cited in Preble’s new book Peace, War, and Liberty. The first document is John Quincy Adam’s “Address Delivered at the Request of the Committee for Arrangements for Celebrating the Anniversary of Independence”. The second document is, “The Conquest of the United States by Spain”. Be sure to tune in next week to hear part 2 of this discussion and to download a free copy of the Preble’s book!What is realpolitik? Why weren’t Native Americans seen as sovereign peoples by the United States? What did Americans think of their place in the world by 1820? Did Americans still fear the British in 1820? How did we use the Navy to expand markets in the early and late 1800s?Further Reading:Peace, War, and Liberty: Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy, written by Christopher A. Preble, available April 30, 2019.Dreams of a City on a Hill, 1630, written by John WinthropRelated Content:Address Delivered at the Request of the Committee for Arrangements for Celebrating the Anniversary of Independence, written by John Quincy AdamsJackson: The First Imperial President, Learn LibertyThe Conquest of the United States by Spain, written by William Graham Sumner See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

 Can you imagine people getting themselves all worked up over banks and money today? Having that intensely boring issue so thoroughly dominate political life that presidents and parties rise and fall on this one subject alone? No one today knows anything about the Fed and no one wants to know about the Fed. People back in the 1830s and ‘40s, were in a constant state of agitation about it. It seemed to Jacksonian Americans that the individual pursuit of self interest was natural and inevitable.What was important about Adam Smiths’ Wealth of Nations? Were banks corrupt? Have banks always been corrupt? How did views of banks and the Fed change since Jacksonian America?Further Reading:The Myth of Class in Jacksonian America, Cambridge University PressThe Bank War and the Partisan Press, written by Stephen W. CampbellAndrew Jackson, Banks and the Panic of 1837, Lehrman InstituteRelated Content:Jackson Kills the Bank, Part One, written by Andrew JacksonJackson Kills the Bank, Part Two, written by Andrew JacksonMake America Young Again, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Edgar Allen Poe was far from being defined as a Locofoco. He was no lover of democracy. He idolized the “devoted loyalty” of old Virginia gentry. As a dark romanticist poet, he believed the America’s Old World aristocracy was fighting the noble cause of attempted to preserve the elevated cultures of the past.What did Edgar Allen Poe think of the class struggle? Did Edgar Allen Poe think that Americans were spoiled? How did Poe think America erected an aristocracy? Was Edgar Allen Poe a conservative?Further Reading:The Fall of the House of Usher (Story by Poe), written by David RushEdgar Allen Poe, Poetry FoundationWho was Edgar Allen Poe?, The Poe MuseumRelated Content:Mushrooms & Men, Liberty Chronicles PodcastAn Introduction to Imaginative Literature, Part IV, written by Jeff RiggenbachLibertarians, Class, and the Left, Anthony Comegna & Caleb O. Brown See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For our 100th episode we interviewed Caleb Brown to gain a better understanding of how Quakerism aligns with libertarianism. He discusses his own experience as a Quaker, but he also makes larger claims about how Quakerism can foster a sense of community to the life of an average libertarian.What is attractive about Quakerism? What is a ‘true-believer’ Christian? How does Quakerism mesh with libertarianism? Are there a lot of communitarian elements to Quakerism? How do Quaker meetings take place? What role does Quakerism play in your life?Further Reading:Friends for 300 Years, written by Howard H. BrintonAmazing Grace, directed by Michael AptedCato Daily PodcastRelated Content:Libertarians, Class, and the Left, interview between Anthony Comegna and Caleb BrownThe Antinomians, Liberty Chronicles PodcastSam Gorton: Antinomian Radical, by Literature of Liberty Reviewer See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For classical liberals and libertarians, class is a social phenomenon marked by largely artificial distinctions between people based mainly on their access (or lack of access) to raw physical force and a willingness to use force against other people. Classes do not form in society simply because some people have more material wealth racked up than others, nor because some people are better at drawing or sewing or rollerblading than others. Even ideological content of the mind is not really the stuff of class. Sure, plenty of societies have divvied up rights and privileges based on religious or political adherence to one kind of orthodoxy or another, but even in those cases, the ideas do not create the classes. Who is the ruling class? How were they viewed in Jacksonian America? What is a tyrant? Who are the parasites of the class system? How would you define the class struggle?Further Reading:Class and Class Struggle, written by Henry HellerClass Struggle Analysis: A Critique of Class Structure, written by Alvin Y. SoBastiat’s Theory of Class: The Plunders vs. the PlunderedRelated Content:Class for Classical Liberals, written by Jason KuznickiEquality: The Meaning of Class, written by R. H. TawneyAdam Smith, Class Warrior: A Contentious Legacy, written by David S. D’Amato See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It is a mistake to think of the Civil War a just a conflict between slavery and freedom. Planters and industrialists were interrelated groups that were dependent on the output of one another. The Civil War was not a clear contest between two groups as many academics make it out to be.What was at stake during the Civil War? What impact did the Civil War have on America in the years following? Did the Civil War make the Federal Government to powerful? How did the Union use the Constitution throughout the Civil War to their advantage?Further Reading:Civil War Created the Modern US Economy, written by Jeremy BenderThe Business of Civil War: Military Mobilization and the State, 1861-1865. written by Mark R. WilsonRelated Content:Was the Civil War a Libertarian Moment?, Liberty Chronicles PodcastWhy Did the Southern States Secede?, written by Anthony ComegnaSeward’s “Little Bell”, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Anthony interviews Nicholas Mosvick to discuss the issue of conscription during the Civil War and its’ lasting impact. During the time of the Civil War, conscription was certainly a strain on constitutional authority. Originally a state power to force citizens into fighting, but by the summer of 1862 the Union was growing desperate for manpower & volunteerism was on the decline.What is conscription? Did it change the outcome of the Civil War? Is conscription an abuse of federal power? What is habeas corpus? Who were the War Democrats during the Civil War? Could there be a military draft at any time? Is the all-male draft style constitutional?Further Reading:Should women be required to register for the draft? Commission likely to recommend big changes, written by Gregory KorteThe Draft Should Be Left Out in the Cold, written by James Jay CarafanoRelated Content:Abelman’s Shadow: State Struggles over Habeas Corpus, written by Nicholas MosvickGarrison on the Civil War and Conscription, written by George H. SmithConscription: The Means of Interventionism, written by Justin Raimondo See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On the one hand, Seward’s “little bell” was a wonderful encapsulation of Republican excess and the wartime erosion of liberties which Democrats prided themselves on vigilantly protecting. On the other hand, it was a fabrication, an example of the Democrats’ own penchant for excess and the dramatization of their sufferings during Lincoln’s war—but even if Seward never actually said it, he well could have.What was Seward’s “little bell”? How was Seward a poor Secretary of State? Why was Steward allowed to approve arbitrary arrests? What is the writ of habeas corpus? What did Fort Lafayette represent during the Civil War?Related Content:Mr. Seward’s Little Bell, written by Rick BeardThe Lincoln Administration and Arbitrary Arrests: A Reconsideration, written by Mark E. Neely, Jr.Further Reading:Lincoln the Colonizationist Part 1, with Phil Magness, Liberty Chronicles PodcastEverything Wrong with the Tyler Administration, written by Anthony ComegnaWas the Civil War a Libertarian Moment?, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Confederacy, being far less developed industrial-wise than the Union, had to revolutionize their approach to the war before they could ever hope to win it. Therefore, they had to create the conditions that allowed for the expedition of war-effort necessities. For example, some southern railroads companies existed almost entirely to service the government’s military efforts.During the Civil War, what was the difference between a ‘conservative’ and a ‘revolutionary’? Were the confederates conservatives or revolutionaries? Did the Confederacy exhibit a type of wartime socialism?Further Reading:Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War, written by Jeff HummelWar Socialism and the Confederate Defeat, written by Chris CaltonKarl Marx and the American Civil War, written by Donny SchraffenbergerRelated Content:The Confederacy and Liberty, written by Jason KuznickiWas the Civil War a Libertarian Moment?, Liberty Chronicles PodcastWhy Did the Southern States Secede?, written by Anthony Comegna See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We have a tendency to treat the past as some sort of ideal world where historical actors played out their ideal scenarios under ideal conditions. We grant Lincoln the superhuman powers of creating the war all by himself and being responsible for everything done in the Union’s name. We go to some wild efforts to place historical agency in the hands of particular people or groups to avoid blaming the historical actors with whom we identify personally. There was a time when historians found it both easy and convenient to present the Confederacy as an exercise in Jeffersonian liberalism.Was Lincoln both the Great Emancipator and the shredder of the Magna Carta? How did the Civil War have libertarian underpinnings? How did Frances Whipple use poetry to describe the Civil War as a movement?Further Reading:Sarah O’Dowd, A Rhode Island Original: Frances Harriet Whipple Green McDougall, 2004.“Elleanor Eldridge: Folk Hero of African American Feminism”“Let Usurpers Tremble: The Unrepublican Anomaly”Related Content:The Possession of Frances Whipple, Liberty Chronicles PodcastLiberty Chimes: Free Speech, the Tyrant-Slayer, written by Frances WhippleLiberty Chimes: The Slave Mother, written by Frances Whipple See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michael Braddick joins us to discuss John Lilburne’s legacy of political activism. Lilburne did not want to be considered a martyr. He fought for what we now understand as the English legal tradition, which is really the backbone of American democracy. He defended political freedom when very few mechanisms existed to mobilize support.Who is John Lilburne? What influence did Lilburne have on the English legal tradition? What is Christian Egalitarianism? How did mobilization work during the English Civil Wars? Is John Lilburne a martyr? Were the Levellers the first modern political party?Further Reading:The Common Freedom of the People, written by Michael BraddickJohn Lilburne- Leveller Leader, by the UK National ArchivesRelated Content:Radical Weirdness in the English Civil Wars, Anthony Comegna and Caleb BrownAgenda for Liberty: A Biography of John Lilburne, written by Jim PowellProfiles in Locodom: William Cullen Bryant, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In today’s episode, we shift to the radical end of the spectrum to investigate the life of another Locofoco archetype: William Cullen Bryant, who played the role of venerable, wise, old sage, whose ancient knowledge and cool demeanor kindled radical flames for generations. We explore his early life that led him to write for the Evening Post. Also, we explain how he formed a mentor relationship with William Leggett, which inspired the Evening Post to turn to radical views of politics.Who was William Cullen Bryant and what inspired him to start writing? How did Bryant change the Evening Post? How was he able to be a mentor to William Leggett? What were the political views of William Leggett and William Cullen Bryant and how did they portray them through the Evening Post?Further Reading:William Cullen Bryant, Poetry FoundationWilliam Cullen Bryant, written by John BigelowRelated Content:Ep. 87: Profiles in Locodom: Fernando Wood, Liberty Chronicles PodcastWilliam Leggett, Encyclopedia of LibertarianismProperty, Real & Imagined: Leggett on the Ownership of Ideas, written by William Leggett See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Lincoln was a proponent of gradual compensated emancipation. He hoped that between 1860 and 1900 that slavery would be eliminated. However, he wanted the the dissolving of slavery to be tied to colonization abroad. He believed that slaves who would willingly move to the Caribbean and Central America would not only give the former slaves a place to go, but would also strengthen America’s present abroad.Did Lincoln view slavery as the the irritant that culminated in the Civil War? Why did the Emancipation Proclamation not include anything about colonization? How did Lincoln’s view of colonization get taken advantage of by other political actors? What did Frederick Douglass think of colonization? Should we continue to put Lincoln up on a pedestal, when in reality, he was a proponent of relocating freed slaves to the Caribbean and Central America?Further Reading:Colonization After Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement, written by Phil MagnessAbraham Lincoln: Campaigns and Elections, written by Michael BurlingameHow Republicans went from the party of Lincoln to the party of Trump, written by Andrew ProkopRelated Content:Lincoln the Colonizationist Part 1, with Phil Magness, Liberty Chronicles PodcastAbraham Lincoln and the Abolitionists, written by George H. SmithJames Birney, Colonization, and Abolitionism, written by George H. Smith  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Colonization was the process to actually remove the freed slaves and settle them elsewhere, other parts of the world that whites thought were more suited for the African-American race. Lincoln was a supporter of the Colonization Society and it is debated whether or not he helped start a chapter in Illinois. Lincoln was first and foremost a Whig who viewed Henry Clay as a hero. However, going into the 1860 election Lincoln was viewed as an underdog candidate.What was the “Whig formula”? Why was Pennsylvania integral to the 1860 Presidential election? What was Lincoln’s tariff strategy for Pennsylvania? How did Lincoln address all the coalitions of the Republican Party? Who is Henry Charles Carey?Further Reading:Colonization After Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement, written by Phil MagnessAbraham Lincoln: Campaigns and Elections, written by Michael BurlingameHow Republicans went from the party of Lincoln to the party of Trump, written by Andrew ProkopRelated Content:The Confederacy and Liberty, written by Jason KuznickiAbraham Lincoln and the Abolitionists, written by George H. SmithSpooner and the Secret Six, with Phil Magness, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

All history is a string of sense perceptions linked together by individual minds in meaningful patterns we call moments, minutes, hours, days, months, years, wars, eras, periods, ages, and so on. History is sensation, and all sensation is done by the fundamental units of the human species; the individual. In this episode, we explore the Civil War through sensor history in order to fully understand what it was actually like on the battlefield and at home from the perspective of all 5 senses.What is sensory history? Is sensory history important to understand the depth of the human experience? Should history be hyper individualized? How can sensory history help us learn more about what we believe we already know? Can sound be revolutionary?Further Reading:The Smell of Battle, the Taste of Siege: A Sensory History of the Civil War, written by Mark SmithLooking Back: The explosion of sensory history, written by Mark SmithRelated Content:[The Confederacy and Liberty](https://www.libertarianism.org/blog/confederacy-liberty](https://www.libertarianism.org/blog/confederacy-liberty), written by Jason KuznickiWhy “Libertarian” Defenses of the Confederacy and “States’ Rights” are Incoherent, written by Jonathan BlanksConflicts Among Peace Advocates During the Civil War, written by George H. Smith See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We dive into the secession winter of 1860-1861 when politicians sacrificed unity and stability for personal power. The story of secession cannot be defined as simply an abolitionist versus slaveholders story. There were many factions of people in between the two extremes who were anti-slavery, deportationists, and everywhere in between. It was not as cut and dry as many historians tend to argue.Who were the “fire-eaters”? What were the differences between the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the Confederate States of America? Was the election of 1860 the reason that secession conventions were held?Further Reading:Freehling, William W. The Road to Disunion, Vol. I: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854. New York: Oxford University Press. 1990. The Road to Disunion, Vol. II: Secessionists Triumphant, 1854-1861. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007.Channing, Steven. Crisis of Fear: Secession in South Carolina. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1970.Thomas, Emory. The Confederate Nation: 1861-1865. New York: Harper & Row. 1979.Related Content:Why Did the Southern States Secede?, written by Anthony ComegnaConflicts Among Peace Advocates during the Civil War, written by George H. SmithWho Killed Jefferson(ianism)?, Liberty Chronicles Podcast  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Nicholas Mosvick joins us to detail the life of Fernando Wood and how he was the mayor of New York who wished the state would have seceded during the Civil War. Wood was best known for being an ideologue rather than a political agitator.Was Fernando Wood a Van Buren man or a Calhoun man? Did Fernando Wood represent a glorious American future? Was Wood sympathetic to the South?Further Reading:Fernando Wood: A Political Biography, written by Jerome MushkatMayor Wood’s Recommendation of the Secession of New York City, speech by Fernando WoodRelated Content:The Roots of Modern Libertarian Ideas, written by Brian DohertyTensions in Early American Political Thought, written by Joseph R. Stromberg See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Every family has Christmas traditions, some are more conventional than others. On Christmas Eve in 1826, the cadets at the West Point Military Academy decided they would create a little tradition of their own with some holiday spirits, in both senses of the word. Unfortunately, what started out as some Christmas cheer with a young Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, ended as a full on riot against the bureaucracy.What is the history of Christmas? Who was Jonathan Pintard and what research did he do about Christmas?Further Reading:Christmas in America: A History, written by Penne Lee RestadHow Christmas Became Merry, written by Andrew Burstein1826: The great ‘Eggnog Riot’ at West Point when cadets revolted, written by Jonathan CroyleRelated Content:The Christmas Conspiracy, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Part two of our discussion with Joseph Kelly is about how the whole first three years of Jamestown was basically the struggle of common laborers who discovered what the reality on the ground was and who tried to escape. Many of them did, by melting into the Native American population, others got caught, tortured, and made examples of for their fellows who didn’t make it out.How did the Virginia Company interact with the Native Americans? Who was John Smith? Was he a pirate king? Was Jamestown a slave-labor camp? Do we view the founding of America as truly a pilgrimage story?Further Reading:Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America’s Origin, written by Joseph KellyThe Thanksgiving Story You’ve Probably Never Heard, written by Joseph KellyRelated Content:America was Founded by Runaways & Renegades, with Joseph Kelly, Part One: Liberty Chronicles PodcastSoul Liberty, Toleration, and the Emergence of Religious Freedom in the Colonies, written by Micheal RiegerThe Horrifying Lives of Early Virginians: Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Professor Joseph Kelly joins us today to talk about his book Marooned and how much of our understanding about the beginning of the New World is simply names of people and approximately when they died. Stephen Hopkins, a passenger on the Sea Venture which shipwrecked in Bermuda in 1609, is an exception to that trend.Who is America’s real founding father? What did the Virginia Company do in 1608-1609? Was Jamestown a utopia or a dystopia? Did the Virginia Company have any leadership to guide it? Did they have any real power? What was the difference between colonial Virginia and colonial Bermuda? What is a doctrine of mutual consent?Further Reading:Marooned: Jamestown, Shipwreck, and a New History of America’s Origin, written by Joseph KellyThe Thanksgiving Story You’ve Probably Never Heard, written by Joseph KellyRelated Content:“Virginia is Horrible; Send Cheese”: An Indentured Servant Writes Home, written by Richard FrethorneThe Roots of Modern Libertarian Ideas, written by Brian DohertyThe Horrifying Lives of Early Virginians, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Southerners strived to protect slavery as thoroughly as possible. In order to do that, they embraced a pragmatic ideology tailored to fight their Northern opposition. To many Southerners, slavery represented comfort, but others embraced slavery as their Christian duty to save Africans from the drudgeries of freedom and supposedly meek lives of Northern industrial workers.What is methodological individualism? Was there a monolithic south? What is enlightenment liberalism? Who was Nathaniel Beverly Tucker?Further Reading:America Mobbing, 1828-1861, written by David GrimstedThe Life and Literature of Nathaniel Beverley Tucker, written by Robert Doares, Jr.Related Content:Jeffersonian Optimism vs. Country Pessimism, from Literature of Liberty ReviewerRadical Individualism in America: Revolution to Civil War, written by Eric FonerCompromising Compromisers, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Southerners did not support Jeffersonianism as a matter of principle, but as a strategy that would ensure the survival of slavery and institutionalized racism. This support of Jeffersonian liberalism was ill-founded and tainted the philosophical tradition for many years after.What is the relationship between libertarians and the southerners who were proponents of limited government? How did slavery make the phrase “states’ rights” dirty? How did southerners use the Jeffersonian philosophy to their advantage? Why did southerners fear the health of the republic without slavery? Did southerners actually support a small and limited government or was that just a facade?Further Reading:Ericson, David. The Debate Over Slavery: Antislavery and Proslavery Liberalism in Antebellum America. New York: New York University Press. 2000.Finkelman, Paul. Proslavery Thought, Ideology, and Politics. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc. 1989.Finkelman, Paul. Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South, A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2003.Freehling, William W. The Road to Disunion, Vol. I: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854. New York: Oxford University Press. 1990.The Road to Disunion, Vol. II: Secessionists Triumphant, 1854-1861. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007.The Slaveholder’s Dilemma: Freedom and Progress in Southern Conservative Thought, 1820-1860. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press. 1992.Related Content:Spooner & The Secret Six, with Phil Magness, Liberty Chronicles PodcastWas Frederick Douglass a Libertarian?, Liberty Chronicles PodcastLibertypublicans, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Phil Magness joins us this week to teach the radical nature of Lysander Spooner. Spooner’s legal career started in an apprenticeship under 2 lawyers and he was best known for his support for the Abolitionist movement. His philosophy of liberty heavily influenced his law practice as well as his activist lifestyle.Who was Lysander Spooner? Is there a connection between his post office activism and his abolition activism? What radical politics did Spooner practice? What is the secret six? How does natural law relate to slavery?Further Reading:Two Treatises on Competitive Currency and Banking, written by Lysander SpoonerJohn Brown and the Secret Six, Massachusetts Historical SocietyRelated Content:Cannibals All!, with Phil Magness, Liberty Chronicles PodcastAn Essay on the Trial by Jury: Juries vs. Representative Democracy, written by Lysander SpoonerLysander Spooner on Natural Law, written by George H. Smith See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Democrats and Republicans in the House were doing everything they could think of to force the hands of their opponents into appointing the House Speaker. However, no one could secure the majority number of votes to take over the position. The crisis reached a breaking point when a congressman actually suggested that everyone from the House resign in order eliminate the issue entirely. With every passing day, party lines became clearer and our Loco-Focos were at the core of the anti-slavery Republican movement.Why was there a speakership crisis? How did the House overcome the crisis? What happened to the Loco-Focos in the 1850’s? Did the speakership crisis just serve as a foreshadowing of the trouble to come for the U.S.?Further Reading:Wilentz, Sean. The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. 2005.Bigelow, John. William Cullen Bryant. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1980. (Original printing: 1890).Brooks, Corey M. Liberty Power: Antislavery Third Parties and the Transformation of American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2016.Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America’s Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877. Perennial Classics Edition. 2002. Originally Published: 1988.Reynolds, David S. Walt Whitman’s America: A Cultural Biography. New York: Knopf. 1996Related Content:Compromising Compromisers, Liberty Chronicles Podcast1848 and Its Aftermath, Liberty Chronicles PodcastLibertarian Anti-Capitalism, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Stephen Maizlish sifted through 1700-1800 different documents and speeches from the 19th century in order to recreate an accurate depiction of the discourse that was occurring in Congress prior to the Civil War. His book, A Strife of Tongues: The Compromise of 1850 and the Ideological Foundations of the American Civil War (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era), is the product of his outstanding work. He found that many speeches and documents of lesser-known congressman of the time were the most profound and the least read by historians today.What exactly caused the Civil War? What is the importance of intellectual history? What are the power of words when reconstructing a reality? How different really were the Northern and Southern Congressmen during the Compromise of 1850? How was the division between the North and the South created? How prevalent were the concepts of masculinity in discourse during the time of the Compromise of 1850?Further Reading:“How Calls for Civility Led to the Civil War,” by Oliver BatemanHolt, Michael. The Fate of Their Country: Politicians, Slavery Extension, and the Coming of the Civil War. New York: Hill & Wang. 2004.Ransom, Roger. Conflict and Compromise: The Political Economy of Slavery, Emancipation, and the American Civil War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1989.A Strife of Tongues: The Compromise of 1850 and the Ideological Foundations of the American Civil War (A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era), written by Stephen W. MaizlishRelated Content:The Virtues of Compromise, written by Charles Jared Ingersoll1848 and Its Aftermath, Liberty Chronicles PodcastThe Greatest of Nullifiers, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Prior to 1857, no one had ever heard of Hinton Helper. To be clear, Helper was not a libertarian, he was a vehement racist who made it quite clear that he did not believe that people of color belonged in North America at all. Helper had one great contribution to history and that was his book The Impending Crisis of the South. However, if you read his work closely, his racist remarks were class-oriented to appeal to poor whites. He urged them to revolutionize society. Helper detested the rich white planter elite which was the result of excessive slavery.Who was Hinton Helper? Was his book, The Impending Crisis of the South, more influential than Uncle Tom’s Cabin? Was Helper an abolitionist? Did Helper see slavery as having any value? What was Helper’s version of manifest destiny?Further Reading:Helper, The Impending Crisis of the SouthGeorge Frederickson, “Chapter 2: Antislavery Racist—Hinton Rowan Helper,” in The Arrogance of Race: Historical Perspective on Slavery, Racism, and Social Inequality, Wesleyan University Press. 1988.Brooks, Corey M. Liberty Power: Antislavery Third Parties and the Transformation of American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2016.Related Content:Cannibals All!, with Phil Magness, Liberty Chronicles PodcastThere’s No Excuse for Slavery (Updated), Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Phil Magness best describes George Fitzhugh as an “eccentric character” because that frames the intellectual direction of his life. Fitzhugh had an obsession with reading about the medieval world and throughout his life he had contempt for philosophers. He is famous for viewing free society as a failure and he also claimed that “all government is slavery”.Who is George Fitzhugh? Was he ever a southern planter? What influence did Thomas Carlyle have on Fitzhugh? What were Fitzhugh’s religious views? How did Fitzhugh critique feminism? What did Fitzhugh find valuable about the feudal relationship?Further Reading:George Fitzhugh, Sociology for the South, or the Failure of Free Society, Richmond, VA: A. Morris, 1854.George Fitzhugh, Cannibals All! Or, Slaves Without Masters, Richmond, VA: A. Morris, 1857Related Content:Slavery as Socialism, written by George H. SmithThere is No Excuse for Slavery, Liberty Chronicles PodcastWhat is Classical Liberal History?, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

One of the biggest drawbacks of thinking in “vulgar libertarian” fashion is that you forget that there were ever alternatives available to people, that the way that we live now or the way we’re used to living is the only way that was ever reasonable or good. The rise of the modern state marks a time in history when authorities began to and continue to control more about people’s lives. The modern state also intrudes on people’s lives in a fashion that is so much greater than before. With that being said, we are still hesitant to look at other society organizational possibilities even though the modern state continues to control us more than most would prefer. Kevin Carson joins us to discuss the depths of capitalism and if the possibility for a post-capitalism world exists. What is the definition of capitalism? What is the history of the word “capitalism”? Who were the Boston Anarchists? What is “vulgar libertarianism”? Are there alternative social structures that we do not acknowledge because we are stubborn and stuck in our ways? Is post-capitalism occurring?Further Reading:Center for a Stateless Society websiteMutualist Blog: Free Market Anti-Capitalism, by Kevin CarsonRelated Content:Why Not Capitalism?, Free Thoughts PodcastWhy Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?, Free Thoughts PodcastThe Corporation Problem with Gary Chartier, Liberty Chronicles Podcast See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Historians usually mark off the years, about 1815 to 1845 as the Jacksonian era and for Americans, and many other people across the planet, these were years of singularity. This period of time is remembered for many inventions and innovations. Most notably was Samuel Morse’s magnetic telegraph. His magnetic telegraph “eliminated the greatest problem plagued by all republics since the ancient days of Rome” because it was able to connect the states through rapid communication. Originally, Congress thought that the telegraph would be used as an extension of the Postal Service, but they could find no way for it to be profitable, so they left it up to the private sector to decide how to best utilize the service.When was the Jacksonian era? How did the way Americans travelled change through the Jacksonian era? What was the most impressive innovation of that era? How did the magnetic telegraph affect the way Americans communicated?Further Reading:Feller, Daniel. The Jacksonian Promise: America, 1815-1840. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 1995. Howe, Daniel Walker.What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007.Calhoun’s “Cords of Union” SpeechRelated Content:There’s No Excuse for Slavery, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeDefenses of the Right of Secession, written by George H. SmithWhy Did the Southern States Secede?, written by Anthony Comegna See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Abram Smith caught political fire as a radical Locofoco Democrat, a friend of working people and outsiders. Smith was elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1852 after he spent some time as a notable defense attorney. Let’s not forget that in 1850 the Fugitive Slave Act was revamped in order to ensure that Northerners were not a hinderance in the capture of slaves who had escaped their southern masters. In fact, Northerners were now required to return any slaves whom they knew to be fugitives. Smith, as a judge, was in utter disagreement with this act and he made that quite apparent when he nullified the Fugitive Slave Act for his state after a slave by the name of Joshua Glover was thrown into the city jail. Sherman Booth had been helping Glover maintain his freedom. Smith decided that Glover should be liberated and Booth should be cleared of any wrongdoing.Who was Abram Smith? What was the Fugitive Slave Act and did it change during the Compromise of 1850? What did Abram Smith decide about the Fugitive Slave Act?Further Reading:Dunley, Ruth. “A.D. Smith: Knight-Errant of Radical Democracy,” (PhD Diss.). The University of Ottowa. 2008.Abram D. Smith: Nullification, from Classics of Liberty“From President of Canada to Governor of the People”Music by Kai EngelRelated Content:The Slave Trade and the Constitution, written by George H. SmithThere’s No Excuse for Slavery, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeWhy did the Southern States Secede?, written by Anthony Comegna See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

All the way from the 1770s to the 1850s, Americans had plenty of political disagreements, but nothing ever seriously disrupted the machinery of state until abolitionists and planters began forcing the slavery issue. Prior to the election of 1856, some much-needed rearrangement occurred in politics. In 1856, the newly-minted Republican Party lost on the back of John C. Frémont, but they gained crucial insight out of the election. The Republicans realized that they could take over the White House without a single vote from the Southern states. In 1860, along came an ambitious Republican from Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, who used the trail blazed by early libertarians.How did the Republican Party arise? What happened to the Free Soilers and Whigs in response to the birth of the Republican party? Who was the New American Party? Who were the “Know-Nothings”? Was there a Loco-Foco Party?Further Reading:James Buchanan: Campaigns and Elections, written by William CooperUnited States presidential election of 1856, written by Richard PallardyGienapp, William. The Origins of the Republican Party, 1852-1856. New York: Oxford University Press. 1987.Eric Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1995.Music by Kai EngelRelated Content:There’s No Excuse for Slavery (Updated), Liberty Chronicles EpisodeWhiggery’s Last Gasp, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeFree Soil After Van Buren, Liberty Chronicles Episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This is a updated version of “There’s No Excuse for Slavery” which was released on July 3rd, 2018. Enjoy!The planters of the South believed that slavery had grown up with American society and its’ institutions. John C. Calhoun argued that slavery was a “positive good” because he believed that no well-off society existed in which “one portion of the community did not in point of fact, live on the labor of the other”. How did beliefs like these and those of Calhoun’s followers further split the Union?How could a man like Jefferson at once declare all humanity’s equal, natural rights and yet hold hundreds of people in bondage? What was state-made racism? Who were the beneficiaries of slavery? Who were the Quakers and how did they influence the anti-slavery movement? What is the argument of slavery as a “positive good”? Who really was John C. Calhoun?Further Reading:John C. Calhoun and Slavery as a “Positive Good:” What He Said, written by Clyde WilsonJohn C. Calhoun: He Started the Civil War, written by Civil War TimesMusic by Kai EngelRelated Content:Libertarians and the Confederacy, by Jason KuznickiWhy “Libertarian” Defenses of the Confederacy and “States’ Rights” are Incoherent, written by Jonathan BlanksKansas Changes Everything, Liberty Chronicles Episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the mid-20th century, it was fashionable for historians to speak of a “Blundering Generation” of pre-Civil War politicians, people who—well intended or not—made a long series of foolish and short-sighted mistakes. They made blunders that make for wonderfully detailed political histories “from below,” as it were, but what appear to be mistakes were often intentional, and what appear to be great men were often just the schemers whose plans succeeded in the end.Who is the worst politician to come out of Illinois? Who were the “F Street Mess”? What happened to the Whig party between 1852 and 1856? Who were the first Republicans? Was the Civil War avoidable?Further Reading:Stephen A. Douglas: A Featured BiographyStephen A. Douglas, History ChannelWhat Can the Collapse of the Whig Party Tell Us About Today’s Politics?, Smithsonian MagazineMusic by Kai EngelRelated Content:Whiggery’s Last Gasp, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeWas Frederick Douglass a Libertarian?, Liberty Chronicles Episosde See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In 1850, American politics was nearing its breaking point. The Senate as well as the Administration was doing much in order to keep the peace between the Southern and Northern politicians. For example, Henry Clay was pulling out all the stops to pass a combination of compromise measures that would finally resolve the territorial crisis. However, his bill kept failing on partisan lines. No Southerners wanted to vote for restricting slavery, even if it meant getting a souped-up fugitive slave law in return. And no self-respecting or self-interested Northerner, wanted to vote for that fugitive slave bill, even if it meant abolishing the slave trade in Washington.What did the Compromise of 1850 solve? Did it just put off an inevitable split in our nation over the slavery issue? What happened in the Presidential Election of 1852? Did nationalism take over in this period defined by great stress and division?Further Reading:Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Life of Franklin Pierce” Holt, Michael.The Fate of Their Country: Politicians, Slavery Extension, and the Coming of the Civil War. New York: Hill & Wang. 2004.Silbey, Joel. The Shrine of Party: Congressional Voting Behavior, 1841-1852. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. 1967.Music by Kai EngelRelated Content:1848 and Its Aftermath, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeThe World Wide Revolution, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeThe Virtues of Compromise, written by Charles Jared Ingersoll See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Jeff Hummel joins our lengthy debate about who Van Buren really was as a person and as a President. Hummel argues that Van Buren took a small “r” republican position for most of his career, both in the law and in politics. Hummel also argues that Van Buren was more consistent as President than those who came before him.Why would Jeff Hummel categorize Van Buren as the “least bad” President? Why is Van Buren considered the first “ethnic President”? Was Van Buren consistently classically liberal? How does Van Buren compare to Calhoun? What did Van Buren think was the purpose of political parties?Further Reading:Jeff Hummel’s articles on Van Buren: In The Independent and from Reassessing the PresidencyCurtis, James C. The Fox at Bay: Martin Van Buren and the Presidency, 1837-1841. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky. 1970.Silbey, Joel. Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2002.Van Buren, Martin. Inquiry into the Origin and Course of Political Parties in the United States. New York: Hurd and Houghton. 1867.The Autobiography of Martin Van Buren, Edited by John C. Fitzpatrick. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. 1920.Widmer, Edward. Martin Van Buren. New York: Times Books. 2005.Music by Kai EngelRelated Content:Free Soil After Van Buren, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeVan Buren’s Dirty Game, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeWhat’s a Loco-Foco?, Liberty Chronicles Episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Whigs were happy to have the White House, but many of them, at least, could still see the trouble lying head at the inevitable contest of 1852. On the strength of surprisingly large margins, the Free Soilers actually had a serious seat at the table. The Loco-Focos were the ones out there leading the young America cultural movement, they were the ones integrating Whigish abolitionism, with Jacksonian anti-monopoly, even when Van Buren had left them behind.What happened to the Free Soil Movement after Van Buren was elected? What was the Speakership Crisis of 1849? Were the Whigs more reliable allies than the Democrats? What were the Loco-Focos doing during this time of upheaval in Congress? What role did the Wilmot Proviso play in this time defined by factions?Further Reading:Blue, Frederick. The Free Soilers, Third Party Politics, 1848-54. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. 1973.Foner, Eric. Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party Before the Civil War. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1995.Brooks, Corey M. Liberty Power: Antislavery Third Parties and the Transformation of American Politics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2016.Music by Kai EngelRelated Content:1848 and Its Aftermath, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeVan Buren’s Dirty Game, Liberty Chronicles EpsiodePolk- What a Horrible President!, Liberty Chronicles Episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Our conversation about how all history is revisionist and open to creativity with Michael Douma continues this week. Douma believes that a history classroom should not be about memorizing facts that a professor believes matter. It is more important to train people to think critically and creatively. Douma believes that history is always written from the perspective of the historian, describing it as, “a discussion without end”, meaning history is never completely solid or solved.What is the definition of creativity? How is history like a pencil? Is history all conspiracy? What is a history buff? What is a crack-pot?Further ReadingMichael J. Douma websiteCreative Historical Thinking, written by Michael J. DoumaWhat is Classical Liberal History?, written by Michael J. DoumaMusic by Kai EngelRelated ContentCreative Historical Thinking, with Michael Douma, Part One, Liberty Chronicles EpisodeWhat is the Importance of History, written by David BoazIs there a Purpose to History?, Free Thoughts EpisodeWhat is Classical Liberal History?, Liberty Chronicles Episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michael Douma joins us for the first part of a two-part series to discuss how we see the past as as an interpretative history. He argues that history is a creative discipline because we choose to arrange facts in a certain way.Douma goes through his new book, Creative Historical Thinking, and how he typically asks his students to draw a timeline of their lives or a timeline of American history. Quite often, each students’ timeline forms differently. Relating that to the study of the past, Douma argues that every timeline a historian draws, is a different interpretation of the past, creating history. Everyone has a different mental model or “timeline” in which they view their lives and that allows history to be a creative endeavor.Is the past simply what happened? With that in mind, is history our interpretation of the past? Is history how we give meaning to the past? What is the difference between an error in conception and an error in fact? If you had to drawl the timeline of your life how would you drawl it?Further Reading:Michael J. Douma websiteCreative Historical Thinking, written by Michael J. DoumaWhat is Classical Liberal History?, written by Michael J. DoumaMusic by Kai EngelRelated Content:What is the Importance of History, written by David BoazIs there a Purpose to History?, Free Thoughts EpisodeWhat is Classical Liberal History?, Liberty Chronicles Episode See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Timothy Sandefur joins us this week to discuss how Frederick Douglass and his beliefs do not align perfectly to today’s political factions. He is often mischaracterized due to his legendary status. Has Douglass been purposefully distorted over time? Does the omission of facts about what he did and how he acted play a large role in that distortion?Frederick Douglass is defined as an individualist, which is best exemplified by his speeches and attitudes toward serving in the military. In his speeches and writings, he believed that slaves should join the army, not to serve their country, but rather, to give themselves a sense of pride. This, he believed, was a crucial way for the slaves to feel empowered because they earned their freedom in a way that ensured that it would never be taken away.Further ReadingFrederick Douglass: Self-Made Man, by Timothy SandefurHow Libertarians Ought to Think About the U.S. Civil War by Timothy SandefurNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written by Himself Music by Kai EngelRelated ContentSlavery in America, Encyclopedia of LibertarianismWhat to a Slave is the Fourth of July, written by Frederick DouglassFrederick Douglass: Self-Made Man, Free Thoughts Episode  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

1848 was a wild ride. That year the Free Soil Party tried to force Whigs and Democrats to take a stand on the issue of slavery in the territories. Once and for all, politicians would have to openly declare themselves either in favor of Free Soil for free society or Slave Territory, for the planters’ personal dominion.Further Readings/References:Johnson, Reinhard. The Liberty Party, 1840-1848: Antislavery Third-Party Politics in the United States. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University. 2009.From historian Joel Silbey:The Shrine of Party: Congressional Voting Behavior, 1841-1852. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. 1967.Martin Van Buren and the Emergence of American Popular Politics. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. 2002.Party Over Section: The Rough and Ready Presidential Election of 1848. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas. 2009.Music by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The average Free Soiler was a radical Loco-Foco, probably from New York, touched by more than a decade of early libertarianism. But always and everywhere there were also the opportunists, the schemers, the self-advancing office seekers, desperate to leverage free soil into greater personal power, and right there at the top of this magnificent new party was the schemer in chief, the little magician, the Red Fox of Kinderhook, the architect of the Second Party System itself, and now the perpetrator of one of the dirtiest double games in all of politics, Martin Van Buren.Further Readings/References:For an overview of the later Loco-Foco movementBlue, Frederick. The Free Soilers, Third Party Politics, 1848-54. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. 1973.Earle, Jonathan. Jacksonian Antislavery & the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 2004.Mayfield, John. Rehearsal for Republicanism: Free Soil and the Politics of Antislavery. Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press. 1980.Rayback, Joseph G. Free Soil: The Election of 1848. Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press. 1970.Music by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Polk Administration was a strange time in the early history of American Libertarianism called Locofocoism. In many ways, it was the time of ultimate triumph. Polk was as committed to their economic program as anyone else on the national stage, including their champion, Martin Van Buren. He was a Republican nationalist and an expansionist, and so were many of the more hopeful and naive Locofocos. By 1844, Locofocoism was all over the country, from the shores of New England, through the mountains of New York, and out to the plains of Ohio and Wisconsin, right the way down, even in the South, to places like Montgomery, Alabama, and for at least a brief period, Polk was their man. Everything looked bright, but the peace within the democracy was uneasy at best. Then along came Polk’s war on Mexico, an unforgivable tragedy to some, and an insurmountable political disaster to most others. To set things aright, to protect the power and interests of the North’s free citizens, to expand the zone of liberty and Republicanism, in the face of both British and slave-holding aggression, Northern radicals rose up in political revolution.Further ReadingsBlue, Frederick. The Free Soilers, Third Party Politics, 1848-54. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press. 1973.Earle, Jonathan. Jacksonian Antislavery & the Politics of Free Soil, 1824-1854. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. 2004.Mayfield, John. Rehearsal for Republicanism: Free Soil and the Politics of Antislavery. Port Washington, New York: Kennikat Press. 1980.Rayback, Joseph G. Free Soil: The Election of 1848. Lexington, KY: The University of Kentucky Press. 1970.George H. Smith, “The Liberty Party”Music by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the end, a few thousand early libertarians in New York made the Mexican War a possibility. And almost right away, Polk began betraying Van Buren defectors. He ignored Van Buren’s cabinet suggestions and supported the conservative faction in New York.Further Reading:For an overview of the later history of locofocoism“The Artist as Exemplar: Thomas Cole’s Voyage of Life”A quick life of Thoreau in the Encyclopedia of LibertarianismWalt Whitman’s Democratic Vistas (1871)Polk’s Special Message to Congress (11 May, 1846)Lincoln’s “Spot Resolutions” at the National ArchivesMusic by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Dr. Nima Sanandaji has a PhD in Engineering from Stockholm’s Royal Institute, and he has written over 20 books on policy, philosophy, current affairs and history. He joins me now to talk about his latest, “The Birthplace of Capitalism,” which explains how and why ancient Middle Easterners invented capitalism and entrepreneurship.Further Reading:Nima Sanandaji’s Wikipedia entryHis latest book, The Birthplace of Capitalism: The Middle East, Timbro (2018)Dr. Sanandaji’s 2016 speech on Nordic socialism at the Cato InstituteRoderick Long joins Free Thoughts to talk about libertarian themes in ConfucianismMusic by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Corporations are so commonplace, so ubiquitous, and considered so necessary that we barely stop to ask whether it’s ever been justifiable in the first place. Here to help us tackle one of the great, relatively forgotten questions in Libertarian history is Gary Chartier.Further Reading:Gary Chartier’s Wikipedia entryHis archive at the Center for a Stateless Society“Corporations: A Contractual Program” in Literature of Liberty, December 1979“The Limited Liability Corporation” in Literature of Liberty, September 1982William Leggett, “The Restraining Law and Its Abominations,” August 1836Music by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the grand catalog of 19th century America, there are few villains so worthy of a Libertarian’s scorn, as James K Polk. The Jacksonian period was one flush with eager upstarts, middling men who hit it big with cunning and peculiar talents. Polk, too, was one of these eager, young, upstart Americans.Further Reading:Frances Whipple, ed. Liberty Chimes. Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society of Providence. 1845.May, Robert. Manifest Destiny’s Underworld: Filibustering in Antebellum America. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 2002.Morrison, Michael. Slavery and the American West: The Eclipse of Manifest Destiny and the Coming of the Civil War. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 1997.Sellers, Charles. James K. Polk, Jacksonian: 1795-1845. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1957.James K. Polk, Continentalist: 1843-1846. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 1966.Music by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We often learn that Manifest Destiny was the invention of racists and conquest-hungry imperialists, and there is some truth to that, but much as historians have ignored it and much as we might like to do the same, America’s first libertarian movement was also responsible. Jacksonian radicals called Locofocos provided the ideology that helped transform the United States from a limited republic into a continental empire. Uncomfortable as it might be, we will find that their early libertarianism was a jumping-off point for what only later became a much more typical racist imperialism.Further Reading:“Battling the Empire,” Part One and Part Two“The Oregon Question”“A Latent Leaning Toward Texas:” Republicanism vs. EmpireJohn L. O’Sullivan: The Great Nation of FuturityHorsman, Reginald. Race and Manifest Destiny: The Origins of American Racial Anglo-Saxonism. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1981.Merk, Frederick. Manifest Destiny and Mission in American History: A Reinterpretation. New York: Knopf. 1963.Stephanson, Anders. Manifest Destiny: American Expansionism and the Empire of Right. New York: Hill & Wang. 1995.Music by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As we have seen over the last several months on this show, America’s first libertarian movement called Locofocoism was, but one among many reform movements dotting the Jacksonian period. For a century and a half, historians have diligently detailed the stories of abolitionists, working people, feminists, land reformers, prohibitionists, suffragists, and suffragettes, free lovers, communists, industrialists, progressivists, free thinkers, transcendentalists, socialists, and the Young America Artistic Movement that lent credibility to the broad cause of reform. This week, we turn to an example of yet more mixed success in which radical Locofocoism was both implemented and watered down at the same time. New York’s Anti-Rent War and the Revolutionary Constitution of 1846.Further Reading:“Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions,” 7 June 1629Stephen B. Miller, Historical Sketches of Hudson, Embracing the Settlement of the City, City Government, Business Enterprises, Churches, Press, Schools, Libraries, &c. Hudson: Bryan & Webb, Publishers. 1862.Anna Rossman Bradbury, History of the City of Hudson, New York: With Biographical Sketches of Henry Hudson and Robert Fulton. Hudson, NY: Record Printing and Publishing Company. 1909.Cheney, Edward P. The Anti-Rent Agitation in the State of New York, 1839-1846. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. 1887.Huston, Reeve. Land and Freedom: Rural Society, Popular Protest, and Party Politics in Antebellum New York. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2000.McCurdy, Charles W. The Anti-Rent Era in New York Law and Politics, 1839-1865. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. 2001.Music by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Frances Whipple was born into the quintessential American aristocratic family. On her father’s side, the Whipple line included Rhode Island heroes like Abraham, who led the burning of the British ship Gaspee in 1772, and some of the earliest settlers of the colony. On Frances’ mother’s side, the Scotts included some of Roger Williams’ earliest and closest associates in the foundation of the Rhode Island colony. In 1815, though, nature leveled the Whipple clan. A storm called the Great Gale ravaged Providence, flooding wharves and destroying crops within a 40-mile radius of the city. It was also the year without a summer, thanks to the Tambora volcano in Indonesia, which erupted so violently that the ash clouds actually cooled the planet. With a future of nothing but drought, sooty clouds and gloom, her father sold the family farm in 1816 and Whipple was destitute. Frances supported herself through odd jobs and self-education. She became a very different sort of Whipple, and over her lifetime, she helped make America a very different sort of place.Further Reading:Sarah O’Dowd, A Rhode Island Original: Frances Harriet Whipple Green McDougall, 2004.“Elleanor Eldridge: Folk Hero of African American Feminism”“Let Usurpers Tremble: The Unrepublican Anomaly”Whipple, Might and Right: By A Rhode Islander, Providence: A.H. Stilwell. 1844.Music by Kai Engel See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.