A Short History of American Liberalism

41 Pages Posted: 22 Apr 2013 Last revised: 4 Mar 2014

See all articles by Roger D. Congleton

Roger D. Congleton

West Virginia University - Department of Economics; George Mason University - Center for Study of Public Choice

Date Written: March 4, 2014

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of the history of American liberalism. Its focus is on constitutional documents, laws, and speeches rather than books written by intellectuals, because that is where the clearest statements of liberalism, surprisingly, are found. The paper provides more excerpts from documents in the early colonial period than from later periods, because this is necessary to defend the hypothesis that liberalism in the United States was substantially home grown.

Keywords: liberalism, history, political science, law, economics, constitutional design

JEL Classification: B19, D60, D70, P10, P4

Suggested Citation

Congleton, Roger D., A Short History of American Liberalism (March 4, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2254647 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2254647

Roger D. Congleton (Contact Author)

West Virginia University - Department of Economics ( email )

PO Box 6025
Morgantown, WV 26506
United States

HOME PAGE: http://rdc1.net

George Mason University - Center for Study of Public Choice ( email )

4400 University Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
United States

HOME PAGE: http://rdc1.net

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