Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith
“Ideologically, Americans went from Blackstone, to Coke, to Otis, to Paine, to the Declaration, to winning the war for independence (the latter two with Paine’s help). The undoing of this unprecedented victory for human liberty began in 1786 with the exploitation of a government-caused revolt called Shay’s Rebellion. Liberty has taken the hit ever since.” (06/29/26)
https://mises.org/mises-wire/july-4-will-you-be-celebrating-founders-or-status-quo