A companion to Murray N. Rothbard’s book

Conceived in Liberty

A Companion in Paintings

Explore authority, belief, and resistance in colonial America, the Revolution, and the early republic, 1619–1788.

For high school, introductory college, and interested adults.

5 scenes · about 15 minutes reading · 25 minutes optional discussion
No prior reading of the book. Know that a colony is a settlement governed under an outside authority; unfamiliar institutions are explained in each scene.

Browse all scenes · Read the original book

The first Virginia General Assembly · Modern AI-assisted reconstruction

A question to carry through the scenes

Who may exercise power, and how can people challenge it? Follow that question through local government, religious dissent, independence, and constitutional debate.

Rothbard’s libertarian history emphasizes individual liberty and resistance to coercive government. These short explorations invite you to examine his arguments through paintings, historical context, and discussion.

Selected explorations

Men in dark doublets and white collars stand bareheaded in wooden pews inside a small timber church, heads bowed, while a seated man at the far end faces a minister in a white surplice, daylight slanting through small windows.

Who gets to govern?

Compare elected representation, religious authority, imperial resistance, independence, and constitutional procedure through five selected scenes.

5 scenes · 15 min reading · 25 min discussion

A lone man in a heavy dark cloak and wide hat leans into a snowstorm, trudging knee-deep through bare winter woods with a staff, a line of his footprints trailing behind him.

Who may speak and believe?

Examine religious dissent and printing through four conflicts over who controls public expression.

4 scenes · 11 min reading · 25 min discussion

In a plain timber room, a farmer in a brown coat raises one hand in argument at the end of a table, facing a grave man in black seated behind it with other magistrates, while his neighbors stand behind him.

What makes resistance legitimate?

Compare a tax refusal, a town’s administrative resistance, and an army mutiny by examining grievances, methods, and consequences.

3 scenes · 8 min reading · 30 min discussion

Read alongside the book

Each scene links to its source volume and chapter. Use Read with the book to follow Rothbard’s chapter order, or open the original text and downloads.

Teaching use

Use one exploration for independent reading, homeschool discussion, or an introductory seminar. The Teaching guide includes preparation time, content notes, and student and instructor print packets.

About the companion

This AI-assisted adaptation draws on Conceived in Liberty and additional historical sources. Each scene cites its sources and labels whether the narration combines them or presents Rothbard’s account separately from added context.

The paintings reconstruct historical events, with poses, expressions, lighting, and composition chosen by the artist. Scene pages explain known uncertainties.

Reuse paintings and companion additions under CC BY 4.0 with credit to freecapitalists.org. Book volumes and external sources have their own terms. Reuse details · Historical notes about the source book