What Were the States?

In hopes to curb federal authority, limited government advocates are increasingly shifting their focus toward their own respective states. It is through the grassroots work of individual citizens and of the state governments themselves, it is thought, that a realistic means in scaling back the abusive overreach of Washington can be achieved. In order to achieve the maximum in limited government and reaffirm the constitutional sovereignty of the states in the modern age, it’s necessary to take a step back and remember the original nature of the union from the drafting of the Articles of Confederation through the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.

An interesting article I came across while rummaging through the infinite achieves of LewRockwell.com takes a deep look at the true origins of the founding of the United States and analyzes the often neglected truths of our constitutional history and state sovereignty. Instead of viewing the United States as a singular, consolidated entity as most now see it, this article likens the United States to a political union not so dissimilar from the current United Nations.

A defining – but so far unasked – question regarding the Civil War is the political status of the states: specifically, was the "United States of America" indeed, as our popular Pledge of Allegiance claims, "one nation, indivisible?" Or was it, rather, a union of sovereign nations, bound only to each other by mere treaty, as with any other treaty – such as the current United Nations?

Regardless of how deep your own personal feelings and aspirations concerning states rights are, this article presents an interesting and slightly alternative perspective on the issue and perhaps sheds new light on the modern struggle for states rights.

You can check out the rest of the article here.

A Holocaust Survivor Dances at Auschwitz

It is so heartwarming to watch this Holocaust survivor and his younger family members dancing at Auschwitz and other concentration camps in celebration of his life and to mock the cruel tyrants that built these terrible places:

"A revolution without dancing is not a revolution worth having." -- Emma Goldman

In Support of the Declaration of Independence

When I came across some poll numbers recently released by Rasmussen Reports which found that a majority of Americans say they strongly support the ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence, I admit I was pleasantly surprised. Although I’m typically not one to put all my faith into poll numbers, I do often find the results interesting. Since Rasmussen released these numbers on July 4th, it got me thinking about what exactly a majority of Americans really think about the Declaration.

Rasmussen found that 88% of Americans agree with the Declaration’s phrase “we are all endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It’s critical that this essential bedrock of the declaration itself; that our rights are not granted to us by governments but are instead inherit in our humanity and cannot be taken away is chiefly understood.

The report also found that 68% of Americans agree with the Declaration's claim that “Governments derive their only just powers from the consent of the governed.” Although Rasmussen also reported earlier this year that a majority of Americans don’t believe the U.S. government is currently functioning through the consent of the governed, ascribing to this principle is key in holding true to the belief that those in government work for us.

Want to Become Master of the Universe? Listen to Ralph Raico

When a libertarian argues that the United States is an empire, that Woodrow Wilson was a tyrant, and that the Civil War was an unnecessary slaughter, he should expect Republicrats to pounce at the opportunity to challenge him. It's simply human nature to try to smash a gadfly. This is especially true when said gadfly is directly challenging the deeply-enculturated, throughly pro-state viewpoints of the people it pesters.

To prepare for bombardment from all fronts,  libertarians need to demonstrate we're knowledgeable people not just being contrarian for its own sake. Statists aren't expected to justify cliche' statements about how wonderful Lincoln and FDR were, but we will be attacked for challenging these emotionally comforting orthodoxies.   This requires a decent grounding in western history, not just economics and political philosophy.

On that note, I strongly recommend Ralph Raico's lectures on western history from Mises.org. Raico is a titan of the liberty movement who knew and worked with Rothbard, Hayek, Rand, and all the greats. In my opinion, he is also the most important living libertarian historian.