• "Well written, well researched, and the thesis put forth is well argued.... Woods has opened up an area of historical analysis that should invite further study."
    -Journal of American History

  • "During these times that challenge our freedoms there is no one more qualified to make U.S. history relevant to the fight against big government than Thomas Woods."
    -Barry Goldwater Jr.
    Former Member of Congress

  • "I strongly recommend Woods's work."
    -The Honorable Ron Paul,
    U.S. House of Representatives

  • "Written with great clarity and fluency, making the complex philosophical and theological concepts approachable."
    -Journal of American Studies

  • "A must-read."
    -Barron's

  • "An excellent reading source for anyone interested in financial markets, and much more so for anyone interested in learning about capitalism without all the misinterpretations being thrown about in the financial media."
    -Asia Times

  • "Provocative, well-written, and deserves to be read."
    -Catholic Historical Review

  • "An engaging and important contribution to scholarship on the history of American Catholicism."
    -Journal of the Historical Society

  • "Woods and [co-author Kevin] Gutzman appeal to both left and right in this constitutionalist jeremiad…. The authors' exegeses of the Constitution and court decisions, heavy on original intent arguments, are lucid and telling."
    -Publishers Weekly

  • "A marvelous read. Every chapter taught me something new and unexpected."
    -Tom Bethell, senior editor,
    The American Spectator

  • "The hottest book today is Meltdown, by my friend Tom Woods."
    -Judge Andrew Napolitano, senior judicial analyst,
    FOX News Channel

  • "Should be required reading."
    -Economic Affairs (London)

  • "Woods, one of the best classical liberal [libertarian] scholars of his generation, has once more placed us in his debt with this lucid and tightly argued book."
    -David Gordon, The Mises Review

  • "Tom Woods is one of my dearest allies in the struggle against wrong-headed and dangerous economic policy."
    -Peter Schiff

States Held in Unions Against Their Will?

In the forums at my Liberty Classroom, a subscriber asks faculty member Brion McClanahan:

Watching your lectures at Tom Woods’ Liberty Classroom and am seeking other examples of sovereign political bodies forced to remain in a union.  Khrushchev forced Hungary to remain in USSR in 1956 so I often ask others if he shouldn’t be heralded as a hero too, along with Lincoln, given that Lincoln’s stated purpose was to maintain the Union, not abolish slavery. A war waged by the U.N. to keep a departing member in that body is another (hypothetical) example. Are there any other examples you know of that might also help me make this point?

Brion gives him a heck of an answer.

Unlearn the Propaganda!

  • Franklin

    And it truly was an excellent answer.
    Further, there is implied pathos, as Mr. McClanahan reflects on the experiment’s roots, “…no American should champion imperialism at home or abroad. Simply put, imperialism and centralization are un-American.”

    How far we’ve sadly come. For the average man on the street residing in… oh, pick a country, the nouns would be synonymous with the nation today, with a few choice obscenities thrown in for good measure..

  • JT

    Wowzers.

  • Efrem

    One can look back at the wars of Independence in Latin America. Spain tried to hold on to its empire, but was too weak after it was occupied by Napoleon.

  • Jeremy

    Tom. You’re the man! Where would we be without you? Keep the great info coming.

    I just don’t see why people think succession is some horrible or evil act. I know they like to mention “slavery” and “neoconfederate” but why do they think a person MUST be racist to want to secede from tyranny? It’s just nuts.

  • Anonymous

    Careful, it’s “secession” not “succession”. Sorry for the nitpick, but better from me than a bad guy….

  • Jeremy

    Heh, yeah I know. My typing stinks anyway. Sometimes my fingers just do what they want. :P

  • Anonymous

    Funny that the Romans thought the Scots were barbarians because they couldn’t be conquered in the highlands. Strangely reminiscent of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Todd-Shoenfelt/100000327394374 Todd Shoenfelt

    Are there examples of women being forced to remain in marriages with an abusive husband…?