Liberty Matters

Critical thinking applied to history, economics, and politics

We Americans are losing our liberty because we have neglected the lessons of history.  This site offers free books and essays in history and economics without propaganda or sideshow diversions.  The latest addition is "The Control and Manipulation of Money", a complete financial and economic history of the U. S.  Other subjects include the Articles of Confederation, The Constitution, the Federalist Papers, student loan debt, and the type of cautionary common sense that is no longer taught in the schools.  See also the "Solar Energy Estimator" to see if solar panels are economically viable in your area.

Recent Essays

A Summary of the Durham Report

The Open-Border Policy Rationale

                                                                Books

-  Reveals the historical context of the era through an extensive chronology of significant events from the pre-Revolutionary period through the ratification of the Constitution.-  Summarizes the main reason for the failure of the Articles of Confederation as a suitable federative government in the post war period-  Paragraph-by paragraph outline of the structure of the arguments presented by the authors of The Federalist Papers-  Full text of the Aricles of Confederation and the Constitution (as amended)-  Cross-reference between the Federalist and The Constitution-  Fully indexed

Download The Federalist Companion

Download the reprint of The Federalist Papers

This book reviews the various student loan programs, and describes a method by which the student can assess the affordability of a student loan based on the type of degree and type of occupation.  It contains initial income data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for many occupations.  A unique nomographic method shows both the monthly payments based on the amount borrowed and term, along with some rules for what fraction of the expected income should be devoted to repaying the  loan, including the effect of taxes. 

Download Can You Afford That Student Loan?

Download extra worksheets for Can You Afford That Student Loan?

Download Real World Graduation, Volume 1 (The Questions)

Download Real World Graduation, Volume 2 (The Answers)

NEW! Download the combined Q & A version of Real World Graduation in a single volume ( 1.22 Mb)

NEW: Second edition now available.  This book consists of two parts. Part one addresses  basic economics, including wealth, money, prices, labor, rent, capital, taxation, inequality, the banking system, the effects of monetary depreciation (inflation) with historical examples, and expansions and contractions.  Part two is a financial and economic history of the United States from 1775 to 2020, including money supply, the banking systems, U. S. government revenue and expenditures, U. S.  national debt, coinage, banking system condition statements, CPI, median income, and standard of living index, and significant monetary and financial legislation since 1787.  

Download the second edition of The Control and Manipulation of Money (5.2 Mb)