In his 1850 pamphlet, “A Defence for Fugitive Slaves,” Lysander Spooner gave us a strategy for how to stop unconstitutional acts: resist. But the philosophical foundation he built this on was nothing new under the sun. In fact, the famed anarchist was merely reaffirming the views of leading Founders.
The post Spooner’s Strategy to Stop Usurpation first appeared on Tenth Amendment Center.Most people’s political convictions resemble those of Captain Renault from the classic film Casablanca; it blows with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be not entirely hostile to states’ rights. But that will likely change. That’s why it’s important that the myths used to smear and tarnish a noble ideology by equating it…
Whenever states take action to resist federal laws, some condescending person is bound to say “This was settled in 1865. The nullifiers lost.” But they’ve got it backwards.
Northern states were so effective at nullifying the fugitive slave act of 1850, that they were successful even in the face of a threat to use the US military to stop them.
In 1850, President Millard Fillmore signed the “Fugitive Slave Act” into law, prompting abolitionist Northern States to attack this unjust law with nullification.
While many supporters of centralized power like to say that "nullifiers support slavery" - they've got it totally backwards. In the 1850s, Northern states nullified the federal fugitive slave act.
Written by the great American poet, Walt Whitman, TO THE STATES urged people, cities and states to RESIST. We call that nullification – something northern abolitionists did to great success in the 1850s. FULL POEM: To The States, or any one of them, or any city of The States, Resist much, Obey little, Once unquestioning…
In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about nullification, slavery and segregation. Opponents of nullification love to slap down the race card as a way to discredit Madison and Jefferson’s principles without having to actually engage in an intellectual debate. They call us “neo-confederates” and imply that we must harbor racist motives.…
“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…
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…