To live honestly is to hurt no one, and give to every one his due.”-Lysander Spooner
Lysander Spooner was a Boston legal scholar and philosopher during
the nineteenth century. What makes this man of Massachusetts valuable to
the legacy of the Southern tradition is that Spooner was a consistent
proponent of Jeffersonian Classical Liberalism*. There are two
characteristics that are the most prominent to Lysander Spooner and his
works. The first is his strong individualist personality. The second is
his uncompromising dedication to the use of reason and evidence in the
formation of his conclusions. Spooner would never shy from controversy
in the name of defending morals or logic, and this dedication makes his
works stimulating and often enjoyable for anyone of any degree of
interest in studying them. Lysander Spooner was indeed a great
philosopher and scholar both in his and our time.
Spooner published writings on nearly every subject, from economics,
to religion, to copyright law. He even set out on an entrepreneurial
venture of a private mail company to compete with the United States Post
Office. To chronicle Spooner’s career in its entirety is beyond the
scope of this work. This work will focus on two of Spooner’s posi
tions, his position on slavery and his position on the war between the North and South.
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