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The Struggle for American Independence: The Constitutional Crisis

In this episode, I highlight how the American struggle for independence was in many ways a constitutional crisis. The continual clashes with Britain had indeed created two incompatible constitutional doctrines – the colonial Whig interpretation on one hand, and the Tory interpretation on the other. I focus on the written positions of several legal minds within Britain and the North American colonist that had forged coherent constitutional arguments about the controversial events taking place and discuss why the rift between the two doctrines continued to grow.

WATCH

Recommended Readings

-Joseph Warren, A List of Infringements and Violation of Rights

-Thomas Hutchinson, The Governor’s Speech, January 6, 1773

–Answer of the House of Representatives, January 26, 1773

-Samuel Adams, The Rights of the Colonists

–Murray Rothbard, Conceived in Liberty

-Dave Benner, Compact of the Republic: The League of States and the Constitution (Chapter 2)

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Tenth Amendment Center

The Tenth Amendment Center is a national think tank that works to preserve and protect the principles of strictly limited government through information, education, and activism. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of state and individual sovereignty issues, focusing primarily on the decentralization of federal government power as required by the Constitution. For more information visit the Tenth Amendment Center Blog.