← Home
BackStory · June 30, 2017 · 55m

Land of the Free? A History of American Freedom

What does 'freedom' mean in America? The hosts trace how the concept has been redefined by every generation — from freedom as self-governance to freedom as consumer choice — and how different groups have always meant different things by the same word.

Canon

The founding generation understood freedom as inseparable from civic responsibility — you were free because you participated in self-governance. Modern consumer freedom dropped the responsibility half of the equation.

Highlights

Americans agree on the word 'freedom' but not on what it means
Freedom has meant freedom from government, freedom from want, freedom to worship, freedom to own property, and freedom from discrimination. These definitions often contradict each other.