U.S. History

We remember the Declaration's first paragraph and forget its last—the one where thirteen separate states declare themselves free and independent. Larsen Plyler on a legacy that got lost.

The Policy and History faculty panel takes student questions on the state of the movement and the prospects for freedom.

What were Abraham Lincoln’s views on racial matters of the day? In today’s Friday Philosophy, Dr. David Gordon takes a critical look at Harry Jaffa’s interpretations of Lincoln’s statements and finds them wanting.

The anti-slavery disunionists and the abolitionists were some of the most critical of slavery and the most serious about ending it. For them, decentralization and secession were potential solutions not problems in ending slavery.

The anti-slavery disunionists and the abolitionists were some of the most critical of slavery and the most serious about ending it. For them, decentralization and secession were potential solutions not problems in ending slavery.

The Fed was sold as a check on Wall Street's power. Wall Street's share of the nation's bank reserves went up after it passed, not down. Patrick Newman on the Federal Reserve as cronyism.

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.

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.

Bob uses U.S. economic history, centering on the greenback era, to work through some subtle but important distinctions in Austrian monetary theory.

Intervention begets intervention. This was the case following the American Revolution, as the consequences of inflation, credit expansion, and wartime disruptions set up for the depression of 1784 in peacetime.