Books / Digital Text
Murray Rothbard was not just a remarkable economist and political thinker, but one of the best revisionist historians of the twentieth century.
One of his greatest career accomplishments was Conceived in Liberty, a masterful analysis of the libertarian origins of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. Written with his lens of "liberty vs. power," this book demonstrated both his brilliance and originality — deftly handling a huge amount of research including a vast array of hitherto unknown facts.
Unfortunately, due to a tragic technological failing, the original print run of Conceived in Liberty only included the first four of a five-volume work. The fifth volume focusing on the adoption of the Constitution and the Washington administration, sat dormant for decades as a complete, but handwritten, manuscript.
Enter Patrick Newman.
As a young Research Fellow at the Mises Institute, Patrick Newman has made incredible use of the Rothbard Archives here in Auburn, Alabama. Some of his early career achievements include unearthing an original chapter of Man, Economy, and State — providing a fascinating look at Rothbard's own growth as an economist — and editing The Progressive Era, another work focusing on a pivotal period of American history.
While none of those projects compared to the work required to translate Murray's handwriting into a complete book project, it provided him with the tools he needed to get the job done. The result is the remarkable resurrection of what will become an important work in the libertarian historical canon.
The fifth volume of Conceived in Liberty highlights the most important battle of the American project — one that continues to this day — the conflict between those who want to centralize power, and those who choose to stand to defend the American heritage of liberty.
This book features a foreword by Judge Andrew Napolitano, a preface by Dr. Thomas E. Woods, and an introduction by Dr. Patrick Newman.
- Opening Quotations
- Foreword by Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
- Preface by Thomas E. Woods, Jr.
- Introduction by Patrick Newman
- Part 1: The Economic Legacy of the American Revolution
- 1. Changes in Foreign Trade
- 2. The Depression of the 1780s and the Banking Struggle
- 3. The Drive for State and Federal Protective Tariffs
- 4. The Burdens of State Public Debt
- 5. The Issuance of State Paper Money
- 6. The Burdens of Federal Public Debt
- Part II: The Western Lands and Foreign Policy
- 7. The Old Northwest
- 8. The Old Southwest
- 9. The Jay-Gardoqui Treaty and the Mississippi River
- 10. The Diplomacy of the Confederation
- Part III: The Nationalists Triumph: The Consitutional Convention
- 11. Shays’ Rebellion
- 12. The Annapolis Convention
- 13. The Delegates of the Convention and America’s Great Men
- Part IV. The Nationalists Triumph: The Constitution
- 14. Elections in the Bicameral Congress
- 15. The Nature of National Power
- 16. The Debate Over Representation in Congress
- 17. Strengthening the Executive and Judiciary
- 18. The Preliminary Draft
- 19. The Corrupt Bargain and the Preservation of Slavery
- 20. The Ratification and Amendment Process
- 21. The Election of the President
- Part V: The Nationalists Triumph: The Constitution Ratified
- 22. Congress and the First Step
- 23. Federalist Control of the Mail and Newspapers
- 24. Little Delaware and New Jersey Ratify
- 25. The Battle for Pennsylvania
- 26. Georgia and Connecticut Follow
- 27. The Setback in New Hampshire
- 28. The Battle for Massachusetts
- 29. Rhode Island Holds Out
- 30. Maryland and South Carolina Ratify
- 31. New Hampshire Follows
- 32. The Battle for Virginia
- 33. The Battle for New York and the Twilight of the Antifederalists
- 34. The Constitution Takes Effect
- 35. North Carolina Postpones and then Ratifies
- 36. The Coercion of Rhode Island
- Part VI: The Nationalists Triumph: The Constitution's Legacy
- 37. The Bill of Rights
- 38. Was the U.S. Constitution Radical?
- Bibliography