On May 24, 1854, federal marshals arrested Anthony Burns, kicking off one of the most famous fugitive slave - and nullification - cases in U.S. history. (more…)
Read morePodcast: Hero of Liberty; Charles Langston and the Oberlin-Wellington Rescue
In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I tell the story of a hero for liberty and the rescue of a fugitive slave. Northern abolitionists who defied federal law to assist accused runaway slaves demonstrated the kind of courage we need today. They weren’t deterred by [insert horrible thing the feds will do here]...
Read morePodcast: National Power: A Tool for Slavers
In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I explain how centralized, national power institutionalized and perpetuated slavery in America. The recent controversy over the rebel flag and other Confederate symbols has propelled the issue of slavery into the spotlight. Conventional wisdom inextricably ties the idea of "state rights" to slavery. Most Americans think southerners..
Read morePodcast: Nullification, Slavery and Segregation; Not what You Think
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...
Read moreSubmit to the Law…Always?
In the decades prior to the Civil War, hundreds of men and women risked their own lives and freedom to help blacks escape slavery in the South. I used to consider the people who organized and ran the Underground Railroad heroic, but apparently I was wrong. They were merely lawbreakers who deserved nothing more than..
Read morePulling History Out of the Orwellian Memory Hole
In the dystopian world created by George Orwell in 1984, inconvenient truth disappeared down a memory hole. The Ministry of Truth frequently updated history to coincide with the messaging of the day. Whenever the official story changed, all evidence of the previous incarnation of truth was systematically destroyed. In the walls of the cubicle there..
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