The Ideology Behind the American Revolution

Tags: Libertarianism, Property Rights, Secession, U.S. History

07/21/2026 Wanjiru Njoya

Why did so many American colonials take arms against the ruling British, even when the odds were stacked against them? Dr. Wanjiru Njoya looks into the competing ideological claims that go with analyzing the American Revolution.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/ideology-behind-american-revolution

The Mises Institute is a non-profit organization that exists to promote teaching and research in the Austrian School of economics, individual freedom, honest history, and international peace, in the tradition of Ludwig von Mises and Murray N. Rothbard.

Non-political, non-partisan, and non-PC, we advocate a radical shift in the intellectual climate, away from statism and toward a private property order. We believe that our foundational ideas are of permanent value, and oppose all efforts at compromise, sellout, and amalgamation of these ideas with fashionable political, cultural, and social doctrines inimical to their spirit.

Get Your July Rothbard Giveaway Book! The Origins of the Federal Reserve

The Ideology Behind the American Revolution