Path to Liberty

Little known to most people today, for many years after the Boston Massacre of March 5, 1770 - residents of the city held a solemn public holiday to commemorate the event annually. These tributes featured special orations, poetry, and visual representations. On this episode of Path to Liberty, highlights from John Hancock’s Massacre Day Oration of March 5, 1774.

Using James Madison’s advice and strategy to undermine and defeat federal programs, get a status report update on efforts in 15 states taking action against federal attacks on the 2nd Amendment

A radical Change in the “Principles, Opinions, Sentiments and Affection of the People” was the real American Revolution of the 18th century. Are we witnessing the very early beginnings of a new radical change today? Maybe, but as Samuel Adams made clear, it will require our “utmost circumspection, deliberation, fortitude and perseverance.”

While most people today never heard his name, if you were alive at the time of the founding, you definitely knew "The Chancellor," Robert R. Livingston, who passed away today in history - Feb 26, 1813. Get a highlight reel of his life - from the Declaration of Independence to the ratification of the Constitution and beyond.

Have you ever been attacked as a "statist" because something you support to expand liberty - in a big or small way - doesn’t "go far enough?" Join the club - we’ve heard this kind of thing from a subset of libertarians for years. But their all-or-nothing approach not only rejects the strategy of leading founders like Thomas Jefferson and John Dickinson, it also runs counter to the ideas of Mr. Libertarian himself.

Through the proliferation of joint law enforcement task forces, the federal government is creating a national police force that operates in a legal twilight zone with little or no oversight.

The feds have no delegated power to impose wage controls under the original, legal meaning of the Constitution. Federal supremacists will quickly point to the commerce clause. But that constitutional argument for a federal minimum wage is as ignorant as the economic arguments.

While many warnings from the founding generation might seem prophetic today - they were usually based on an intense study of history and human nature. On this episode, some of the best predictions/warnings, an overview of what the Founders studied, and quotes from federalists and anti-federalists that we should pay close attention to today.

After John Dickinson urged them to take action in response to the Townshend Acts of 1767, James Otis, Jr. and Samuel Adams drafted the Massachusetts Circular Letter, which was sent to the other colonies - and London - on Feb 11, 1768. What transpired before, during and after is a little-known - but incredibly important - part of the march towards independence.

The Founders and Old Revolutionaries told us that liberty would only be safe when the people rejected and resisted usurpations early and often - nip the shoots of arbitrary power in the bud was the maxim. They even provided us with the tools to do so under the Constitution. Yet, many who claim to want to “nullify” the feds today are really just looking for permission to do so from that same federal government.