Show Notes
In 1850, American politics was nearing its breaking point. The Senate as well as the Administration was doing much in order to keep the peace between the Southern and Northern politicians. For example, Henry Clay was pulling out all the stops to pass a combination of compromise measures that would finally resolve the territorial crisis. However, his bill kept failing on partisan lines. No Southerners wanted to vote for restricting slavery, even if it meant getting a souped-up fugitive slave law in return. And no self-respecting or self-interested Northerner, wanted to vote for that fugitive slave bill, even if it meant abolishing the slave trade in Washington. What did the Compromise of 1850 solve? Did it just put off an inevitable split in our nation over the slavery issue? What happened in the Presidential Election of 1852? Did nationalism take over in this period defined by great stress and division? Further Reading: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Life of Franklin Pierce” Holt, Michael. The Fate of Their Country: Politicians, Slavery Extension, and the Coming of the Civil War. New York: Hill & Wang. 2004. Silbey, Joel. The Shrine of Party: Congressional Voting Behavior, 1841-1852. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press. 1967. Music by Kai Engel Related Content: 1848 and Its Aftermath, Liberty Chronicles Episode The World Wide Revolution, Liberty Chronicles Episode The Virtues of Compromise, written by Charles Jared Ingersoll Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Today Anthony Comegna (@DrLocoFoco) leaves us with one final message as we end chronicling liberty: “I certainly will continue my own end of the deal we have struck here—you couldn’t drag me away from my Locofocos, my Spiritualists, my Free Love anarchists, or my radical English Dissenters, to name just a few—but I’ll close with one final plea to each of you: History is not an instruction manual; it is a cautionary tale. No intellectual tradition, no set of good or just ideas, no heroes nor villains are ever remembered unless we do the labor of memory. Our tradition, our ideas, our tales of heroes and our villains all deserve to be remembered, and we deserve to learn from their examples.” Be sure to check back with libertarianism.org to learn about our new history adventures in the coming months. Our Most Memorable Episodes: Eggnog Riot!! The Possession of Frances Whipple Reasonable Crimes: Humanizing Pirates There’s No Excuse for Slavery (Updated) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Last week we left off with selections from William Graham Sumner and we pick up right there today with Christopher Preble. Preble’s new book was released today on our site and it not only explores America imperialist tendency in the past, but also recognizes our foreign policy blunders of today. Does the U.S. think they are in a perfect position to solve the problems of other countries? How did the war against Spain turn out? Does the American imperial empire exist today? When did the U.S. start to get influenced by the imperial mindset of Europe? What is corporatism? Was it honorable to be a soldier in the 1900s? What was the anti-war movement and what happened to it after World War II? Further Reading: Peace, War, and Liberty: Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy, written by Christopher A. Preble, available April 30, 2019. Dreams of a City on a Hill, 1630, written by John Winthrop Related Content: Address Delivered at the Request of the Committee for Arrangements for Celebrating the Anniversary of Independence, written by John Quincy Adams Jackson: The First Imperial President, Learn Liberty The Conquest of the United States by Spain, written by William Graham Sumner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Christopher A. Preble joins us for the first episode of a 2-part discussion about early America’s role in the world. Comegna and Preble focus their conversation around two historical documents that are cited in Preble’s new book Peace, War, and Liberty. The first document is John Quincy Adam’s “Address Delivered at the Request of the Committee for Arrangements for Celebrating the Anniversary of Independence”. The second document is, “The Conquest of the United States by Spain”. Be sure to tune in next week to hear part 2 of this discussion and to download a free copy of the Preble’s book! What is realpolitik? Why weren’t Native Americans seen as sovereign peoples by the United States? What did Americans think of their place in the world by 1820? Did Americans still fear the British in 1820? How did we use the Navy to expand markets in the early and late 1800s? Further Reading: Peace, War, and Liberty: Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy, written by Christopher A. Preble, available April 30, 2019. Dreams of a City on a Hill, 1630, written by John Winthrop Related Content: Address Delivered at the Request of the Committee for Arrangements for Celebrating the Anniversary of Independence, written by John Quincy Adams Jackson: The First Imperial President, Learn Liberty The Conquest of the United States by Spain, written by William Graham Sumner Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Can you imagine people getting themselves all worked up over banks and money today? Having that intensely boring issue so thoroughly dominate political life that presidents and parties rise and fall on this one subject alone? No one today knows anything about the Fed and no one wants to know about the Fed. People back in the 1830s and ‘40s, were in a constant state of agitation about it. It seemed to Jacksonian Americans that the individual pursuit of self interest was natural and inevitable. What was important about Adam Smiths’ Wealth of Nations? Were banks corrupt? Have banks always been corrupt? How did views of banks and the Fed change since Jacksonian America? Further Reading: The Myth of Class in Jacksonian America, Cambridge University Press The Bank War and the Partisan Press, written by Stephen W. Campbell Andrew Jackson, Banks and the Panic of 1837, Lehrman Institute Related Content: Jackson Kills the Bank, Part One, written by Andrew Jackson Jackson Kills the Bank, Part Two, written by Andrew Jackson Make America Young Again, Liberty Chronicles Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.