The Best of the OLL No. 43: “The Habeas Corpus Act” (1679) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2013).

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list with links to HTML versions of the texts is available here. Parliament passed the Habeas Corpus Act in 1679 as part of a campaign against King Charles II led by the Earl of Shaftesbury who was attempting to exclude Charles II’s brother James from the succession to the throne of England because of his Catholic religious beliefs and the fear that he would rule in an arbitrary manner. The Act was designed to place limits on the arbitrary power of the monarch to imprison his political opponents by by-passing the courts.

The Best of the OLL No. 42: Sir Edward Coke, “Petition of Right” (1628) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2013).

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list with links to HTML versions of the texts is available here. The Petition of Right (1628) was an act passed by Parliament under Coke’s guidance in order to prevent King Charles I from using forced loans to fund his foreign wars. It became one of the foundation documents of English liberty and became a model for similar legal limits placed on the power of the Crown later in the 17th century and in 18th century America.

The Best of the OLL No. 44: “The English Bill of Rights” (1689) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2013).

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list with links to HTML versions of the texts is available here. The English Bill of Rights (1689) is part of a series of legal statements about the rights of Englishmen which were proclaimed during the 17th century. Others include the Petition of Right (1628), the Agreement of the People (1647, 1648), and the Habeas Corpus Act (1679). It was a clear statement of the primacy of Parliament in the British system of government and defined the legal limits of the power of the government over the citizens.

The Best of the OLL No. 46: David Hume, “The Progress of English Liberty” (1761) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2013).

This is part of “The Best of the Online Library of Liberty” which is a collection of some of the most important material in the OLL. A thematic list with links to HTML versions of the texts is available here. In vol. 2 of his History of England (the last to be published) Hume provides his final reflections on the successive English constitutions and also explains how the progress of the arts and sciences tied in with England’s constitutional development so as to produce the nation’s unique “system of liberty.” This eight-page conclusion not only sums up Hume’s historical account, but also stands as one of his most important philosophical statements on modern liberty and the forces that made it possible.

Liberty Matters: Bastiat and Political Economy (July, 2013) (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2013).

This online discussion is part of the series “Liberty Matters: A Forum for the Discussion of Matters pertaining to Liberty.” Robert Leroux discusses the work of the French political economist Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) with responses and comments by Donald Boudreaux, Michael Munger, and David M. Hart.