Arbitrary Power: The Definition of Tyranny
“The curse and scandal of human nature.” That’s how James Otis, Jr. described arbitrary power. It wasn’t just a sign of tyranny, or a step toward it. It was the very definition of tyranny. It is power without right. And that principle pervades the Declaration of...
Tax Resistance and the Birth of the American Revolution
On April 18, 1689, eighty-six years and a day before the “shot heard ‘round the world” at Lexington and Concord, the people of Boston and surrounding towns rose up and overthrew the royal governor in a rebellion against taxation and arbitrary power. It was no mere...
Joseph Warren’s Final Oration: Against Standing Armies and Arbitrary Power
“Act worthy of yourselves.” That’s how the great patriot and Revolutionary War hero Dr. Joseph Warren urged the people to commemorate the Boston Massacre, which happened today in history – March 5, 1770. In the face of a standing army occupier – and...