Frederick Douglass and Barack Obama

Damon W. Root | July 6, 2009

At National Review, historian Jonathan Bean has a very provocative article celebrating the ideas and achievements of the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass, tied to the 157th anniversary of Douglass' justly celebrated "Fourth of July Oration." As Bean argues:

Douglass unfailingly opposed any man's exercising control over another, and he would be appalled, his writings suggest, by the new spirit of dependency and control ushered in with the Age of Obama. Douglass championed limited constitutional government, colorblind law, capitalism, hard work, and self-help. His principles are not the stuff of "New New Deals" but rather a brief for a "New Independence Day" based on small-government principles.

Read the rest here. I celebrate Douglass' libertarian legacy here.