Liberty Chronicles

On the one hand, Seward’s “little bell” was a wonderful encapsulation of Republican excess and the wartime erosion of liberties which Democrats prided themselves on vigilantly protecting. On the other hand, it was a fabrication, an example of the Democrats’ own penchant for excess and the dramatization of their sufferings during Lincoln’s war—but even if Seward never actually said it, he well could have.

What was Seward’s “little bell”? How was Seward a poor Secretary of State? Why was Steward allowed to approve arbitrary arrests? What is the writ of habeas corpus? What did Fort Lafayette represent during the Civil War?

Mr. Seward’s Little Bell, written by Rick Beard

The Lincoln Administration and Arbitrary Arrests: A Reconsideration, written by Mark E. Neely, Jr.

Lincoln the Colonizationist Part 1, with Phil Magness, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

Everything Wrong with the Tyler Administration, written by Anthony Comegna

Was the Civil War a Libertarian Moment?, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

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The Confederacy, being far less developed industrial-wise than the Union, had to revolutionize their approach to the war before they could ever hope to win it. Therefore, they had to create the conditions that allowed for the expedition of war-effort necessities. For example, some southern railroads companies existed almost entirely to service the government’s military efforts.

During the Civil War, what was the difference between a ‘conservative’ and a ‘revolutionary’? Were the confederates conservatives or revolutionaries? Did the Confederacy exhibit a type of wartime socialism?

Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men: A History of the American Civil War, written by Jeff Hummel

War Socialism and the Confederate Defeat, written by Chris Calton

Karl Marx and the American Civil War, written by Donny Schraffenberger

The Confederacy and Liberty, written by Jason Kuznicki

Was the Civil War a Libertarian Moment?, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

Why Did the Southern States Secede?, written by Anthony Comegna

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We have a tendency to treat the past as some sort of ideal world where historical actors played out their ideal scenarios under ideal conditions. We grant Lincoln the superhuman powers of creating the war all by himself and being responsible for everything done in the Union’s name. We go to some wild efforts to place historical agency in the hands of particular people or groups to avoid blaming the historical actors with whom we identify personally. There was a time when historians found it both easy and convenient to present the Confederacy as an exercise in Jeffersonian liberalism.

Was Lincoln both the Great Emancipator and the shredder of the Magna Carta? How did the Civil War have libertarian underpinnings? How did Frances Whipple use poetry to describe the Civil War as a movement?

Sarah O’Dowd, A Rhode Island Original: Frances Harriet Whipple Green McDougall, 2004.

“Elleanor Eldridge: Folk Hero of African American Feminism”

“Let Usurpers Tremble: The Unrepublican Anomaly”

The Possession of Frances Whipple, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

Liberty Chimes: Free Speech, the Tyrant-Slayer, written by Frances Whipple

Liberty Chimes: The Slave Mother, written by Frances Whipple

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Michael Braddick joins us to discuss John Lilburne’s legacy of political activism. Lilburne did not want to be considered a martyr. He fought for what we now understand as the English legal tradition, which is really the backbone of American democracy. He defended political freedom when very few mechanisms existed to mobilize support.

Who is John Lilburne? What influence did Lilburne have on the English legal tradition? What is Christian Egalitarianism? How did mobilization work during the English Civil Wars? Is John Lilburne a martyr? Were the Levellers the first modern political party?

The Common Freedom of the People, written by Michael Braddick

John Lilburne- Leveller Leader, by the UK National Archives

Radical Weirdness in the English Civil Wars, Anthony Comegna and Caleb Brown

Agenda for Liberty: A Biography of John Lilburne, written by Jim Powell

Profiles in Locodom: William Cullen Bryant, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

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In today’s episode, we shift to the radical end of the spectrum to investigate the life of another Locofoco archetype: William Cullen Bryant, who played the role of venerable, wise, old sage, whose ancient knowledge and cool demeanor kindled radical flames for generations. We explore his early life that led him to write for the Evening Post. Also, we explain how he formed a mentor relationship with William Leggett, which inspired the Evening Post to turn to radical views of politics.

Who was William Cullen Bryant and what inspired him to start writing? How did Bryant change the Evening Post? How was he able to be a mentor to William Leggett? What were the political views of William Leggett and William Cullen Bryant and how did they portray them through the Evening Post?

William Cullen Bryant, Poetry Foundation

William Cullen Bryant, written by John Bigelow

Ep. 87: Profiles in Locodom: Fernando Wood, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

William Leggett, Encyclopedia of Libertarianism

Property, Real & Imagined: Leggett on the Ownership of Ideas, written by William Leggett

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Lincoln was a proponent of gradual compensated emancipation. He hoped that between 1860 and 1900 that slavery would be eliminated. However, he wanted the the dissolving of slavery to be tied to colonization abroad. He believed that slaves who would willingly move to the Caribbean and Central America would not only give the former slaves a place to go, but would also strengthen America’s present abroad.

Did Lincoln view slavery as the the irritant that culminated in the Civil War? Why did the Emancipation Proclamation not include anything about colonization? How did Lincoln’s view of colonization get taken advantage of by other political actors? What did Frederick Douglass think of colonization? Should we continue to put Lincoln up on a pedestal, when in reality, he was a proponent of relocating freed slaves to the Caribbean and Central America?

Colonization After Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement, written by Phil Magness

Abraham Lincoln: Campaigns and Elections, written by Michael Burlingame

How Republicans went from the party of Lincoln to the party of Trump, written by Andrew Prokop

Lincoln the Colonizationist Part 1, with Phil Magness, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

Abraham Lincoln and the Abolitionists, written by George H. Smith

James Birney, Colonization, and Abolitionism, written by George H. Smith

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Colonization was the process to actually remove the freed slaves and settle them elsewhere, other parts of the world that whites thought were more suited for the African-American race. Lincoln was a supporter of the Colonization Society and it is debated whether or not he helped start a chapter in Illinois. Lincoln was first and foremost a Whig who viewed Henry Clay as a hero. However, going into the 1860 election Lincoln was viewed as an underdog candidate.

What was the “Whig formula”? Why was Pennsylvania integral to the 1860 Presidential election? What was Lincoln’s tariff strategy for Pennsylvania? How did Lincoln address all the coalitions of the Republican Party? Who is Henry Charles Carey?

Colonization After Emancipation: Lincoln and the Movement for Black Resettlement, written by Phil Magness

Abraham Lincoln: Campaigns and Elections, written by Michael Burlingame

How Republicans went from the party of Lincoln to the party of Trump, written by Andrew Prokop

The Confederacy and Liberty, written by Jason Kuznicki

Abraham Lincoln and the Abolitionists, written by George H. Smith

Spooner and the Secret Six, with Phil Magness, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

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All history is a string of sense perceptions linked together by individual minds in meaningful patterns we call moments, minutes, hours, days, months, years, wars, eras, periods, ages, and so on. History is sensation, and all sensation is done by the fundamental units of the human species; the individual. In this episode, we explore the Civil War through sensor history in order to fully understand what it was actually like on the battlefield and at home from the perspective of all 5 senses.

What is sensory history? Is sensory history important to understand the depth of the human experience? Should history be hyper individualized? How can sensory history help us learn more about what we believe we already know? Can sound be revolutionary?

The Smell of Battle, the Taste of Siege: A Sensory History of the Civil War, written by Mark Smith

Looking Back: The explosion of sensory history, written by Mark Smith

[The Confederacy and Liberty](https://www.libertarianism.org/blog/confederacy-liberty](https://www.libertarianism.org/blog/confederacy-liberty), written by Jason Kuznicki

Why “Libertarian” Defenses of the Confederacy and “States’ Rights” are Incoherent, written by Jonathan Blanks

Conflicts Among Peace Advocates During the Civil War, written by George H. Smith

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We dive into the secession winter of 1860-1861 when politicians sacrificed unity and stability for personal power. The story of secession cannot be defined as simply an abolitionist versus slaveholders story. There were many factions of people in between the two extremes who were anti-slavery, deportationists, and everywhere in between. It was not as cut and dry as many historians tend to argue.

Who were the “fire-eaters”? What were the differences between the U.S. Constitution and the Constitution of the Confederate States of America? Was the election of 1860 the reason that secession conventions were held?

Freehling, William W. The Road to Disunion, Vol. I: Secessionists at Bay, 1776-1854. New York: Oxford University Press. 1990. The Road to Disunion, Vol. II: Secessionists Triumphant, 1854-1861. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2007.

Channing, Steven. Crisis of Fear: Secession in South Carolina. New York: Simon and Schuster. 1970.

Thomas, Emory. The Confederate Nation: 1861-1865. New York: Harper & Row. 1979.

Why Did the Southern States Secede?, written by Anthony Comegna

Conflicts Among Peace Advocates during the Civil War, written by George H. Smith

Who Killed Jefferson(ianism)?, Liberty Chronicles Podcast

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Nicholas Mosvick joins us to detail the life of Fernando Wood and how he was the mayor of New York who wished the state would have seceded during the Civil War. Wood was best known for being an ideologue rather than a political agitator.

Was Fernando Wood a Van Buren man or a Calhoun man? Did Fernando Wood represent a glorious American future? Was Wood sympathetic to the South?

Fernando Wood: A Political Biography, written by Jerome Mushkat

Mayor Wood’s Recommendation of the Secession of New York City, speech by Fernando Wood

The Roots of Modern Libertarian Ideas, written by Brian Doherty

Tensions in Early American Political Thought, written by Joseph R. Stromberg

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