History

Examines the history of and motive behind this underreported atrocity, finding the cause to be a combination of mysticism (Islam) and collectivism (racism).

Ari Armstrong reviews America: Imagine the World Without Her, by Dinesh D'Souza.

On September 17, 1787, the Founding Fathers signed the United States Constitution, laying the foundation for the first nation in history based on the recognition of the inalienable rights of man.

Regarding “Getting Lincoln Right” To the Editor: I would like to congratulate Alexander Marriott on his well-written and illuminating article “Getting Lincoln Right” [TOS Summer 2014]. Mr. Marriott eloquently addresses the most common moral and historical fallacies that are used to smear the legacy of a man who, in my…

America came as close as any society has ever come to establishing an exclusively rights-protecting government. Americans were almost fully free to live their own lives, by their own judgment, for their own sake. This is the moral ideal we should embrace and redouble our efforts to achieve.

Auberon Herbert (1838–1906) was a 19th-century British political philosopher and a member of Parliament, who recognized that each individual has inalienable rights to direct his own mind and body, and to keep and use the product of his own effort. In defense of these rights, Herbert advocated a strictly limited, voluntarily funded, rights-protecting government.

Despite his retrospective missteps, Lincoln repeatedly responded to Douglas’s racist tauntings by turning back to his avowed purpose in the election—to remind voters that “the old principle of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison” was that slavery was wrong and should be placed on a path to extinction.

It can be perfectly appropriate to discuss Lincoln’s flaws and errors. What is not rationally defensible is to demonize Lincoln by quoting him selectively and ignoring relevant historical context and facts, such as the critical fact that the Confederacy fought to preserve and strengthen the most horrifically evil institution in America’s history.

Addresses various claims of Lincoln-bashing libertarians and conservatives; presents crucial and oft-ignored facts about Lincoln, about the Founders he revered, about the state of the Union during his time, and about the Civil War; and provides the context necessary to judge Lincoln and his actions objectively.

Slade Mendenhall reviews The Conscience of the Constitution: The Declaration of Independence and the Right to Liberty, by Timothy Sandefur.