History: American History 
Essential
The Constitution of the United States of America
As the supreme law of the land, the American Constitution acts to limit the role of government to the defense of our rights against foreign and domestic threat.
The Declaration of Independence
As one of America's founding documents, the Declaration is one of the most influential pieces of libertarian thought ever written
The Tide in the Affairs of Men
By Milton Friedman and Rose D. Friedman: "The aim of this brief essay is to present a hypothesis that a major change in social and economic policy is preceded by a shift in the climate of intellectual opinion. The intellectual tide is spread to the public by all manner of intellectual retailers: teachers and preachers, journalists in print and on television, pundits and politicians. "
Declaration of the National Anti-Slavery Convention
By William Lloyd Garrison: "Every man has a right to his own body—to the products of his own labor—to the protection of law—and to the common advantages of society."
Associations in Civil Life
By Alexis de Tocqueville. "Thus the most democratic country on the face of the earth is that in which men have, in our time, carried to the highest perfection the art of pursuing in common the object of their common desires and have applied this new science to the greatest number of purposes."
What Sort of Despotism Democratic Nations Have To Fear
By Alexis de Tocqueville. "It would seem that if despotism were to be established among the democratic nations of our days, it might assume a different character; it would be more extensive and more mild; it would degrade men without tormenting them."
National Emergency and the Erosion of Private Property Rights
By Robert Higgs and Charlotte Twight: The scope of private property rights in the United States has been greatly reduced during the 20th century. Much of the reduction occurred episodically, as governmental officials took control of economic affairs during national emergencies—mainly wars, depressions, and actual or threatened strikes in critical industries."
A Different Story
By Stephen Davies: "Politics and power do indeed have far-reaching effects on people’s lives in a dramatic way. However, the view of history, and of human social life more generally, that we get from the classic lists of important dates is partial and distorted."
"To Begin the World Anew" - Politics and the Creative Imagination
By Bernard Bailyn: "The creative reorganization of the world of power and all its implications has happened at various points in history, but rarely, if ever, I believe, as quickly, successfully, and -- so it seems to me -- mysteriously as by a single generation on the eastern shores of North America two hundred years ago."
The Sixteenth Amendment: The Historical Background
By Arthur A. Ekirch,Jr.: "One of the briefest amendments, it has also been one of the most important and far-reaching in our history."
Colonial Origins of the American Constitution: A Documentary History
"A collection of eighty documents which demonstrate how local government in colonial America was the seedbed of American constitutionalism."
Lectures on Modern History
By Lord Acton: "These are the lectures given by the great English classical liberal historian, Lord Acton, in the academic years 1899-1901 at Cambridge University. It is a survey of modern history from the rise of the modern nation state to the American Revolution. The book also contains his “Inaugural Lecture” of 1895."
Nation, State, and Economy: Contributions to the Politics and History of Our Time
By Ludwig von Mises: "Examines and compares prewar and postwar economic conditions and explicates Mises’s theory that each country’s prosperity supports rather than undercuts the prosperity of other countries."
The Federalist No. 10
By James Madison. "Among the numerous advantages promised by a well constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction."
The Writings of James Madison
"This volume contains his public papers and his private correspondence, including speeches in the First Congress and Address to the General Assembly to the People of the Commonwealth of Virginia."
The Writings of Thomas Paine
"The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind. Many circumstances have, and will arise, which are not local, but universal, and through which the principles of all lovers of mankind are affected, and in the event of which their affections are interested."
Recommended
Entrepreneurship Helps Make America Great
As a former business reporter, John Stossel has seen a great deal of what makes businesses thrive, and in this article describes how entrepreneurship is a key to America's prosperity. In America, different than many other countries, failure in business is an opportunity to start over and try again, not something to be ashamed of. In fact, the U.S. Constitution even includes several protections for entrepreneurship. However, the modern economy and business environment are not without challenges, as Stossel states that “Unfortunately, bureaucrats are threatening this good part of America.”
Stop the Federal Spending Spree
Cato budget analyst Tad DeHaven calls for action on an issue that, as he notes, has many Americans up in arms. The government has massively increased both spending and the amount of publicly held debt, to levels not seen since the end of WWII. The problem is, DeHaven remarks, that the WWII spending ended with the war but the current spending crisis is due to European-style entitlements, which will only increase over time. DeHaven states that, "at a time when citizens are warning both parties to stop their fiscally profligate ways, Republicans need to do more than just say "no."" Several congressmen have made moves in the right direction, but real leadership is needed to make real change happen.
A Plague of 'A' Students
Political satirists and Cato fellow P.J. O'Rourke says that "America has made the mistake of letting the A student run things." 'A' students assume the high levels of society that change our way of life, but everybody else drives the engine of the country. (i.e. "B students work for C students — A students teach.") The problem is that the impact of top-level decisions made by elitists is not seen for decades, when negative effects have become institutionalized. So while they seem the best suited to run our society, it may just be an impression of their fine grooming and not their actual ability. With an article that is one part humor and two parts clever insight, O'Rourke serves up a message relevant to students at all levels – from ivy leagues to the school of hard knocks.
Locating Ourselves Historically: Why We Are Not Living in Western Civilization
Dr. Stephen Davies considers the narrative of 'Western Civilization' and concludes that historic Western Civilization no longer exists but has perished or been transformed. This, he argues, should make us think about how to understand our historical location and lead us to see past, present, and future in a new way.
We Miss You, Bubba
Cato executive vice president David Boaz writes that while Bill Clinton was no champion of liberty, he would be welcomed back to replace President Obama. From spending, to free trade, to regulation, to welfare, Clinton's record starkly contrasts Obama's interventionist and big-government approach. Much of this was possible because of divided government, as the Republicans held Congress for six of Clinton's eight years. All of these factors led Boaz to implore, "Come back, Bill, all is forgiven. Or most, anyway. As long as you bring a Republican Congress with you."
The 'Decade from Hell'? Not Quite.
Sure, the past decade has brought some interesting challenges into the lives of Americans everywhere, but that doesn't mean the good hasn't outweighed the bad, says Cato vice president Gene Healy. Compared to the misery of several past decades in U.S. history – including phenomena such as unemployment, 70 percent tax rates, gas lines, and inflation – the 00's have provided net gains to the American public. The Internet alone has extensively contributed to better quality of life, greater efficiency in work, and supported the exercise of the First Amendment. Healy notes that history runs in cycles, and that the hard times of the 60's and 70's ended when "Americans corrected their course," adding that "the years to come will give us plenty of incentive to put America on the right path again."
Obama, the Omni-President?
Gene Healy, Cato VP and author of 'Cult of the Presidency,' addresses the issue of President Obama's recent and expansive extension of executive power into practically everything, from auto companies to late night television appearances, Olympic committee hearings to reforming college football. Although not the only president to expand the bounds of the job description, Healy notes that, "Obama has forged new frontiers in triviality. He's the president of all things great and small: He calls for "a cure for cancer in our time" while also promising to stand behind the warranty on your new Ford Fusion." Considering Obama's be-everywhere tendency mixed with his recent failures and challenges, Healy warns that "a man who is everywhere, promising to do everything, may end up accomplishing very little, and he's sure to disappoint."
Video: What is a Libertarian?
Cato executive VP David Boaz appears on the McCuistion show to discuss what it means to be a libertarian. They talk about the principles of libertarianism that are in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Among many other topics, they also discuss absolute free trade and the conflict between big government, the Federal Reserve and free markets. This 30 minute video provides a solid foundation of Libertarianism, for the avid free-marketer or anyone just curious.
Higgs Takes NYT, Progressives to Task
Robert Higgs, editor of the Independent Review, challenges the leftist sensibilities espoused in a New York Times article, which bemoans the decline of European socialism and decries capitalism and its supposed misdeeds. Not only critiquing the article's biased language, Higgs also provides historical examples to refute its author's claims. He makes the call, "God save us from outrageously overbearing and intolerably impudent, yet tiresomely ignorant and analytically challenged, progressive news media."
March on 9/12 Shows the Right on the Rise
While the crowd of 75,000+ (some estimates are much higher) that descended on the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on 9/12 had many specific aims in their protests, in his weekly column in the Washington Examiner, Cato VP Gene Healy saw this common thread: that the conservative Right is not dead. He added that their message "remains a vital part of the national conversation." Although the Right has its own inconsistencies, and leaves much to be desired, they demonstrate a distrust of big government and some warmth for a libertarian's cold heart. Healy concludes, "That rising distrust of big government — of which Saturday's march was the most vivid recent example — shows this much at least: 'The death of conservatism' has been greatly exaggerated."
Hey, Mr. President, Leave Those Kids Alone
In his weekly Washington Examiner column, Cato VP Gene Healy calls for a back-peddling of Presidential involvement, particularly in our schools. President Obama is scheduled to address school children nationwide on September 8th to, with the help of lesson plans from the Dept. of Education, "inspire" kids to serve their fellow classmates, their future, and their elected officials - which Healy views not only as partisan, but an over-step of power. "The framers thought of the president as a mere constitutional officer, whose main job is taking care that the laws are faithfully executed. Students -- and presidents -- could stand to learn a lot more about how far we've drifted from that ideal."
Ted Kennedy and the Death (Hopefully) of an Era
Nick Gillespie, at Reason, comments on the life of Ted Kennedy. He explains that although Kennedy was highly effective in passing legislation over his nine terms in the Senate, it was legislation reminiscent of a worldview no longer held by many Americans, and for good reason. He does, however, note several major benefits brought on by the Senator's work. Gillespie explains that, “Because they do not fit the Ted Kennedy narrative preferred by his admirers and detractors alike, these accomplishments rarely get mentioned in stories about the late senator. But they are exactly the sort of legislation that we should be celebrating in his honor, and using as a model in today's debates..."
King George III: Obama-esque?
Cato scholar David Boaz succinctly lists many examples of the current administration's tendency toward excessive and business-retarding tax policies. He contrasts the opressive attack on American's back pockets with the historical declaration announced by our nation's founders 233 years ago, quoting the Declaration: "He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance." Strangely familiar? You decide.
Activist and Warrior Presidents Dominate Historians' Polls
By Gene Healy: "Asked how his presidency will be remembered, Bush typically insisted that "history" will be the judge. He's right — and right as well that historians may be kinder to him than his abysmal approval ratings would suggest. But that says less about Bush's success than it does about the perverse standards by which historians evaluate presidents."
Gene Healy on the Presidency
In this video Cato VP Gene Healy discusses the growth of the imperial presidency.
Banished: 'The Forsaken' by Tim Tzouliadis
Reviewed by Richard Pipes: "Most of these expatriates, not intellectuals but simple working men, were quickly disenchanted and wanted to return home, only to find that Moscow considered them Soviet citizens and barred them from leaving. Ignored by the American government, many of them ended in the gulag."
Crying Wolf: Are we all fascists now?
By Michael C. Moynihan: "To anyone that has attended a political demonstration, trawled a blog, or attended a Western university in the past half century, the scattershot use of 'fascist' will ring familiar. And almost as clichéd as accusing an ideological opponent of fascist sympathies is the accurate observation that such charges often demonstrate an utter lack of understanding of just what qualifies as fascist, other than 'someone I vehemently disagree with.'"
The Klein Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Polemics
By Johan Norberg: "To make her case, Klein exaggerates the free-market reforms that take place in times of crisis, often by ignoring central events and rewriting chronologies. She uses loose metaphors and wild distortions to claim that free markets are a form of violence. She confuses libertarianism with corporatism and neoconservatism and blames Milton Friedman for encouraging reform by stealth. To do so, she engages in one of the most malevolent distortions of a thinker that has been done in a major work in recent years."
Narcissists With Nukes
By Shawn Macomber: "Should Cato Institute Senior Editor Gene Healy's wonderfully informative, perception shifting examination of the wayward American executive, The Cult of the Presidency, receive the attention it so richly deserves, however, it may serve as a perfect literary tonic for our historical and cultural amnesia. Perhaps Healy, armed with a persuasive, good-natured outrage, will even inspire some among us toward a more narrow definition of presidential virtuousness and, by extension, broaden the conception of our own."
Bernstein on the History of Trade
"William Bernstein talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the history of trade. Drawing on the insights from his recent book, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, Bernstein talks about the magic of spices, how trade in sugar explain why Jews ended up in Manhattan, the real political economy of the Boston Tea Party and the demise of the Corn Laws in England."
Inventing Alexander Hamilton: The troubling embrace of the founder of American finance
By William Hogeland: "Now, a Hamilton revival is not only under way but an accomplished fact. Wrestling anew with Hamilton’s contributions to national politics and economics could be both fascinating and worthwhile. But Neo-Hamiltonians, like the latter-day Jeffersonians of the ’30s and ’40s, have been eagerly chopping up the past to make it conform to their political aims."
What FDR Had In Common With the Other Charismatic Collectivists of the 30s
By David Boaz: "When economic crisis hit — in Italy and Germany after World War I, in the United States with the Great Depression — the anti-liberals seized the opportunity, arguing that the market had failed and that the time for bold experimentation had arrived."
Alexis de Tocqueville
A site about the life and work of Alexis de Tocqueville, one of the great modern political thinkers and an inspiration to classical liberals ever since. This site gives detailed biographical information as well as images and text in English and in French.
'Knowing' Industrial Pollution: Nuisance Law and the Power of Tradition in a Time of Rapid Economic Change, 1840 – 1864
Experience shows that Common Law and Private Property Rights can be an alternative to top-down regulation on air pollution. In this essay, Christine Meisner Rosen examines nuisance law "from the perspective of an environmental historian who is interested in how people made sense of industrial pollution problems in the past."
The Common Law: How it protects the environment
"The purpose of this PERC Policy Series paper is to show, by examining specific cases in American and English history, that strong legal traditions enabled ordinary citizens to protect their air, land, and water, often against politically potent parties."