[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Imagine the government acting today the way Washington halted the Whiskey Rebellion. The good old days weren’t always. I am not a libertarian, which is to say, I believe limited government has a vital role to play in society so we can co-exist with a minimum of physical, mental and financial damage to ourselves & others. But I do believe government is best that governs least. I would like to get back to that. I just don’t want to delve into socialism.

I never knew of Capital punishment for interfering with the post office. That is interesting.

[Brugmansian]

Heard Robert Bork one day say the response to the Whiskey Rebellion made the 10th amendment a dead letter in American constitutional law. Perhaps he was being hyperbolic. Your point is correct. Imagine that today (guess Little Rock would be the last major example of a similar action but by that time everyone just knew there was no point resisting).

Found the death penalty for messing with the delivery of mail in the Annals of Congress. I believe it was the first or second Congress which passed that law.

Jim Kalb wrote a piece while at Yale on colonial law which I can no longer find on the internet. Fascinating. Pennsylvania had some draconian punishments. The punishment for homosexuality was worse than for rape. Flogging, then ten years and sometimes the death penalty as I recall. Rape was, again from memory, five years.