encyclopedia
Spooner, Lysander (1808-1881)
Lysander Spooner was a legal and political theorist favoring individualist anarchy. He is best known for his activism as an abolitionist.
Explore
essays
The Affirmative Action Myth
Affirmative action cannot solve the American dilemma of racial inequality.
essays
You Can’t Do That!: Liberty or Law
“The insidious forces which produce inequality and destroy liberty are the subject of a large part of this volume.”
essays
This is All Fanaticism–Wait and See
Our study begins with a frank discussion of slavery, its impact on American life, and the constitutionality question.
encyclopedia
Madison, James (1750-1836)
James Madison was instrumental in creating the values behind the United States Constitution, both as one of its primary authors and in his own writings.
columns
James Birney, Colonization, and Abolitionism
Smith discusses Birney’s eventual opposition to the American Colonization Society and why he embraced abolitionism instead.
essays
“That Audacious Document”: Notes on the Declaration of Independence
Smith begins a series of essays on the Declaration of Independence by examining colonial reaction to its list of grievances.
columns
A Libertarian Perspective on the Modern American Welfare State
The American welfare state is expensive, of limited efficacy, and crowds out better options for alleviating poverty.
columns
Jedi Libertarianism: Lessons on the Nature of Evil from Star Wars
The greatest evils are typically perpetrated by ideologues committed to false conceptions of the good.
essays
The Depths of Mutual Hate
Ingersoll tries to revive the Second Party System’s spirit of compromise—one marked by wilful ignorance of slavery, its horrors, and its legacy.
essays
Resourceful Enterprise: A Biography of Benjamin Franklin
Founding father, scientist, businessman, diplomat—Franklin was America’s original “self-made man.”
columns
Edmund Burke, Intellectuals, and the French Revolution, Part 1
Edmund Burke condemned the French Revolution as a “digest of anarchy.” What relevance does his critique have for the modern libertarian movement?
columns
Gradualism and the Republican Party
Smith discusses plans for the abolition of slavery by radical members of the Republican Party.
columns
Can Abolitionists Vote or Take Office under the United States Constitution?
Smith discusses the arguments of Wendell Phillips that abolitionists should not vote or hold political office.
essays
A Gossipy Interlude: George Eliot, Herbert Spencer, and John Chapman, Part 3
Smith discusses the significant role played by John Chapman in the lives of Herbert Spencer, George Eliot, and G. H. Lewes.
essays
Walker’s Timeless “Appeal,” Part Two
“Should tyrants take it into their heads to emancipate any of you, remember that your freedom is your natural right…God will dash tyrants…into atoms.”
essays
Fingering the King on the Road to Independence
The Coercive Acts led Americans to blame the king for the conspiracy to strip them of their rights and liberties.
essays
A Right-Wing Reunion: The 1977 Convention of the Young Americans for Freedom
Palmer “went to New York…to set up a table for the Young Libertarian Alliance, hoping to find some sparks…that might be fanned into flames.” No dice.