A Call to Liberty - Liberty Fund

War: The Dreaded Enemy of Liberty

An essay by Christopher J. Coyne & Abigail R. Hall

The American Revolution and subsequent constitution of the newly-formed United States reflected some of the key ideas of liberalism—natural rights, government by consent, and limits on state power. Can war be contained by liberal ideals?

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Letter from the Editors

When Francis Scott Key wrote the poem “The Defense of Fort M’Henry” which would be set to music and sung as the American national anthem “The Star Spangled Banner,” he used his memories of the bombardment of Fort McHenry to present war as both a greatest threat to and the surest protector of the young American nation. We were, as our lead essayists this month note, founded in war. But what is the proper place of war and other military action in American politics now?

A little over a year ago when we sketched the plan for the topics that would be covered in the A Call to Liberty project, we had no way of knowing that this month’s question, “Can war be contained by liberal ideals” would be so relevant to our current political context. In these uneasy times it is worth it, we think, to take a moment to think about what our Founders thought about war in their time, and about what their principles might lead us to think about war in our own.

This Month's Further Reading and Listening

This month, Christopher J. Coyne and Abigail R. Hall consider the growth of American military intervention since the Revolution, and Steve Ealy considers three 18th century pamphlets arguing over the question of war with America. After you read their work, we offer a few suggestions for further reading and listening.  Gordon Wood and Jack Green talk a bit about some early American military actions. You’ll find economically influenced discussions of war in Bruce Bueno de Mesquita’s Econtalk episode as well as in Edwin Van der Haar’s piece on Adam Smith. Law and Liberty provides a book review about a recent work on religious war, and we have a suggestion for a Liberty Fund book to add to your shelf.

Countdown to the Declaration

New material every month as we explore the Declaration's past, present, and future.

12

months to go

Find the full list of months, including archived and upcoming themes, on our Countdown page.

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