U.S. History

Using state power to enforce social orthodoxy is always a recipe for disaster. Radical Republican governments in the post-war South attempted to do just that, sowing seeds of hatred and discord in the process.

Tariffs don‘t just raise consumer prices. They also affect capital flows and, on numerous occasions, have triggered stock market crises. What tariffs don‘t bring is prosperity.

For nearly 30 years, the Fed has pursued an easy-money policy that has made the economy increasingly dependent upon the next round of “stimulus.” Reversing that policy will mean, at least in the short run, a stiff recession before the economy rebounds, which is a non-starter today.

Modern “antiracist” historians have pursued the myth that the virtuous North engaged in warfare with the South in order to free slaves and end chattel slavery. The historical record, however, tells a much different story.

The First World War was critical to boosting the influence of that child of progressivism and Wall Street corporatism: the Federal Reserve System. 

In the early years, the pilgrims of Plymouth Colony adopted a 17th-century form of socialism and nearly starved to death. They had little to be thankful for until they gave up on dreams of utopia and turned to markets instead.

In this episode, Ryan McMaken takes a look at how the domestic and commercial rituals of the Thanksgiving holiday are things that communists really don‘t like. 

While men like Murray Rothbard and Ludwig von Mises believed in “just” war, nonetheless, they did not believe that wars lead to “just” outcomes, as war leads to destruction of civilization. The outcome of the American war of secession proved that point eloquently.

As with any other government-controlled institution, a high level of public skepticism about elections is healthy.

In his failed 1896 presidential campaign, inflationist William Jennings Bryan declared that he would “not crucify mankind on a cross of gold.” But at least even Bryan favored silver money. Today‘s political candidates will crucify us on a cross of paper.