Lysander Spooner
| Lysander Spooner | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
January 19, 1808 Athol, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | May 14, 1887 (aged 79) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Subject | Political philosophy |
| Notable works | No Treason, The Unconstitutionality of Slavery |
Lysander Spooner (January 19, 1808 – May 14, 1887) was an American individualist anarchist, political philosopher, essayist, pamphlet writer, Unitarian abolitionist, supporter of the labor movement, legal theorist, and entrepreneur of the nineteenth century.
Spooner's most famous writing includes the seminal abolitionist book The Unconstitutionality of Slavery, and No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority which opposed treason charges against secessionists. He is also known for competing with the U.S. Post Office with his American Letter Mail Company, which closed after legal problems with the federal government.
Spooner was born on a farm in Athol, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1808, and died on May 14, 1887, in Boston.
Spooner advocated what he called Natural Law – or the "Science of Justice" – wherein acts of initiatory coercion against individuals and their property were considered criminal because they were immoral while the so-called criminal acts that violated only man-made (arbitrary) legislation were not necessarily criminal.
Spooner's activism began with his career as a lawyer, which itself violated Massachusetts law. Spooner had studied law under the prominent lawyers and politicians John Davis and Charles Allen, but he had never attended college. According to the laws of the state, college graduates were required to study with an attorney for three years, while non-graduates were required to do so for five years.
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