Letter from the Editors
From shopkeepers, tradesmen, and attornies, they are become statesmen and legislators, and are employed in contriving a new form of government for an extensive empire, which, they flatter themselves, will become, and which, indeed, seems very likely to become, one of the greatest and most formidable that ever was in the world.
Adam Smith, Wealth of Nations
Adam Smith was developing his great book The Wealth of Nations at the same moment that the Americans were developing their own new nation. As our lead essayist observes, Smith’s foundational work in economics did not directly influence the Declaration, but both were born from the same ideas, in the same atmosphere, at the same time. Smith’s work on the detrimental effects of colonialism, mercantilism, tariffs, and unjust taxation had been developing and spreading to the American Colonies for at least a decade before the American Revolution began. That the Declaration and Wealth of Nations were published in the same year is a happy accident of history, but a fitting one.
This Month's Further Reading and Listening
This month we offer essays and a video from Liberty Fund’s publications that round out your understanding of taxation in the American Revolution and Adam Smith’s own revolution in how we see markets and the state. We pair Smith’s famous section on colonies in the Wealth of Nations with irreverent commentary from our #WealthofTweets project, and have chosen a selection of other content on the contentious (but inescapable) relationship citizens have with the taxman.
Book extract
Adam Smith on Colonies
Document Collection
The Pamphlet Debate on the American Questiobn
Countdown to the Declaration
New material every month as we explore the Declaration's past, present, and future.
7
months to go
Education
Citizenship, Seminars, and the Declaration of Independence
What kind of education is necessary for a citizenry that takes the Declaration seriously?
Law & Constitutionalism
The Declaration of Independence and the American Theory of Government
Does the Declaration offer us any permanent guidance in thinking constitutionally?
Equality
Anything But Compromising
Writing a Declaration that could secure support required compromises and negotiations: How did these compromises chart the course of, or delay the recognition of equality for coming generations?
Political Institutions
Republican Government after the Digital Revolution
Does technology fundamentally alter the basis for representative government? Does it give us cause to reconsider the principles of the Declaration?
Philosophy & Theology
Against Authority
How important are religious and Enlightenment ideas to the concepts in the Declaration? Are these influences necessarily in conflict?
Political Economy
Economic Wisdom for Tumultuous Times
Why do we find ourselves refighting the same debates between open markets and mercantilism that preoccupied the 18th century?
Find the full list of months, including archived and upcoming themes, on our Countdown page.
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Liberty Fund offers a rich set of educational programs. These include Socratic-style conferences, thought-provoking books, and engaging online resources focused on the understanding and appreciation of the complex nature of a free and responsible society.