In eager anticipation of the immanent publication of the lost final fifth volume of economist/historian Murray N. Rothbard’s Conceived in Liberty: The New Republic: 1784-1791, I have been revisiting previous works which shaped my evolving understanding of the subject of Coups d’état in America
Since the early 1970s I have been fascinated with the historical period from the American Revolution to the ratification of the present US Constitution in 1789. There has been a plethora of primary and secondary source material published on this area of research, especially regarding the debates between the Federalists and the Anti-federalists. I want to share with you some of these items.
I particularly recommend your attention directed toward the following seminal works: Sheldon Richman’s America’s Counter-Revolution: The Constitution Revisited; Michael J. Klarman’s The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution; Gary North’s Conspiracy in Philadelphia: The Broken Covenant of the U.S. Constitution; John McConaughy, Who Rules America?: A Century of invisible Government; and most recently in Ivan Jankovic’s brilliant The American Counter-Revolution in Favor of Liberty: How Americans Resisted Modern State, 1765–1850,
The noted historian Dr. Gary North observed in his book, Conspiracy in Philadelphia: The Broken Covenant of the U.S. Constitution:
On May 25th, 1787, a group of 55 men gathered for a closed meeting in Philadelphia. Officially, it was being convened to discuss alterations to the then constitution of the United States of America: the Articles of Confederation. Some state legislatures had authorized their representatives to attend the meeting only on this basis, explicitly prohibiting them from considering a new constitution. To make certain that the general public did not find out about the nature of this conspiracy, the convention members swore an oath not to discuss any proceedings with the public…for the rest of their lives. The only first-hand accounts of the proceedings were published several years later after the death of the last survivor, James Madison, in 1836. The press was forbidden to attend. The meetings were held on the second floor of the building, so that would-be eavesdroppers could not hear anything. The new constitution would become the law of the land whenever nine state conventions ratified it. This was in explicit violation of the Articles, which required a unanimous vote for amendments. Thus did a group of men launch a coup-d’etat.
Constitutional Controversies and Debates (Amazon book list)
Our Libertarian American Revolution (Amazon book list)
“Old Republican” Opponents of Federal Tyranny (Amazon book list)
Anti-Federalist No. 74: The President As Military King
What The Anti-federalists Were For
Empire or Liberty: The Anti-federalists and Foreign Policy, 1787-1788
Did the Constitution Betray the Revolution?
The 1789 Coup d’état was not the only successful seizure of power in American history.
Historian Eric Foner Lets The Cat Outta The Bag
Coup d’etat and Assassination: Business as Usual in America (Amazon book list)
DEEP State and Continuity of Government (COG)
10:24 am on September 28, 2019
