When I arrived in D.C. five years ago, I was struck by the number of libertarians who defended the Confederacy and, specifically, the South’s “right” to secession. The proponents aren’t a majority of libertarians, but neither is it an insignificant number espousing the belief. Given the history of the Confederacy and its legacy Jim Crow, I think it is important to really flesh out what support for the Confederacy means and why it is wholly inconsistent with individual rights and, thus, liberty.

To that end, I have written an essay that examines the ‘libertarian’ defenses of the Confederacy why any continued support runs contrary to the cause of freedom.