As we celebrate Independence Day, we should probably pause and ask ourselves an important question. Independence from what? On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring the 13 American colonies free and independent states. It was an act of secession. And in the eyes of the British and many loyal…
Whether you’re staying close to home or traveling far this Thanksgiving, hopefully you’ll have some time for family fun and a bit of relaxation. At a convenient point during our family’s festivities, I’m going to pass around a copy of George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789. I would like my children, who are all now […]
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a TAC member’s blog. All members have access to submit posts and share their views anonymously, or publicly. We occasionally feature those posts here. Not a member yet? JOIN HERE. Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) truly understood governmental systems, power, and liberty. He served in the republic of Florence, being especially involved in…
No protesting the government? No freedom of the press? Lawmakers jailed? Is this the story of the Soviet Union during the Cold War? No. It describes the United States in 1798 after the passage of the Sedition Act. The History Channel describes it as one of the “most egregious breaches of the U.S. Constitution in…
“Judge Miller is an Old Granny and a miserable doughface. Be prepared to resist, even at the expense of life, the encroachment of this sum of all villainies.” This text is from a resolution passed by the city of Oakland Wisc. in 1855 after the jury found abolitionist Sherman Booth guilty of violating the Fugitive…
We must continue to be mindful of history to better understand what liberty truly is, and how we can defend our rights.
On May 21, 1855, a very important anti-slavery nullification law was signed into law in Massachusetts. Although mainstream history books typically glossed this important bill, it remains prescient in today’s world where federal overreach is at an all-time high. It is more important than ever to follow in the heroic footsteps of Massachusetts and other northern…
After an infamous Supreme Court opinion which claimed that the Federal Fugitive Slave Act precluded a Pennsylvania state law that prohibited blacks from being taken out of Pennsylvania into slavery, the state of Massachusetts passed a personal liberty law on May 21, 1855. This law made it illegal for any state or local government official to…
Most people don't realize that prominent abolitionists like John Greenleaf Whittier came out publicly as nullification supporters in the 1850s. This was in regards to the Fugitive Slave Act. Crushes the idea that nullification = racist, doesn't it? That's probably why the government schools will never teach you this.
In St. John’s Church, Henry made a bombastic speech in which he drew a stark line between liberty and tyranny. He ended his speech by announcing “I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”