Thomas DiLorenzo

Thomas DiLorenzo
Thomas DiLorenzo at CPAC in February 2010.
Born	(1954-08-08) August 8, 1954
Nationality	United States
Academic career
Field	Economic history, American history
School or tradition	Austrian School
Influences	Henry Hazlitt, John T. Flynn

Thomas James DiLorenzo (born August 8, 1954) is an American economics professor at Loyola University Maryland Sellinger School of Business and Management. He identifies himself as an adherent of the Austrian School of economics. He is a research fellow at The Independent Institute, a senior fellow of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, and an associate of the Abbeville Institute. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Virginia Tech.

Scholarship

See also: Lincoln Unmasked and The Real Lincoln

DiLorenzo writes about what he calls "the myth of Lincoln" in American history and politics. He said, "Lincoln is on record time after time rejecting the idea of racial equality. But whenever anyone brings this up, the Lincoln partisans go to the extreme to smear the bearer of bad news." DiLorenzo has also spoken out in favor of the secession of the Confederate States of America, defending the right of these states to secede.

The publication of The Real Lincoln brought increased attention to DiLorenzo's views on President Lincoln and the U.S. Civil War. In a review written for DiLorenzo's employer, the Ludwig von Mises Institute, Institute Senior Fellow David Gordon noted DiLorenzo's arguments that the tariffs Lincoln put in place were the cause of the Civil War and that Lincoln was a "thoroughgoing dictator" who suppressed civil liberties. Regarding slavery, Gordon quotes DiLorenzo as writing: "[it] was already in sharp decline in the border states and the upper South generally, mostly for economic reasons".

In 2002, DiLorenzo debated Harry V. Jaffa on the merits of Abraham Lincoln's statesmanship before and during the civil war. Political scientists Michael M. Uhlmann and Thomas L. Krannawitter wrote that in the debate "DiLorenzo displayed new heights of ignorance about the most basic problems of constitutional government, as well as the basic history of America."

DiLorenzo is a frequent speaker at von Mises Institute events, and offers several online courses on political subjects on the Mises Academy platform.

League of the South controversy

In 2005, DiLorenzo wrote a piece on LewRockwell.com defending the southern nationalist League of the South, supporting the organization's views on economic and social issues and characterizing it as an organization that "advocates peace and prosperity in the tradition of a George Washington or a Thomas Jefferson". The League of the South Institute has listed DeLorenzo as an "affiliated scholar."

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) "Hatewatch" blog, by Heidi Beirich, characterized DiLorenzo as a "longtime activist" in the League of the South, which she described as a "hate group"; Beirich notes that the League advocates for a society dominated by whites, describes slavery as "God ordained", and defends segregation as necessary to maintain the "racial integrity" of blacks and whites. Beirich writes that DiLorenzo's gave lectures to the 2002 League of the South Conference and to its 2002 "Southern Heritage" conference and had written articles for other "Neo-Confederate outfits" and also for the Journal of Historical Review, a "Holocaust denial publication" (DiLorenzo says JHR published his article, which advocated the flying of the Confederate flag on the South Carolina Court House, without his consent).

On February 9, 2011 when DiLorenzo testified before the House Financial Services Committee at the behest of former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, Congressman Lacy Clay criticized DiLorenzo for participation in the League, which he described as a "neo-Confederate group" which advocates "a society dominated by European Americans". In a LewRockwell.com piece written in response, DiLorenzo attacked Clay as a "liar and bigot" and described his association with the League as limited to "a few lectures on the economics of the Civil War" he gave to The League of the South Institute about thirteen years ago.

Publications

DiLorenzo has authored several books, including:

• Organized Crime: The Unvarnished Truth About Government (2012). ISBN 9781610162562. OCLC 815625479
• Hamilton's Curse: How Jefferson's Arch Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution – and What It Means for Americans Today (2008). ISBN 9780307382849. OCLC 593712801
• Lincoln Unmasked: What You're Not Supposed To Know about Dishonest Abe (2006). ISBN 9780307338419. OCLC 67727894
• How Capitalism Saved America: The Untold History of Our Country, From the Pilgrims to the Present (2004). ISBN 9780761525264. OCLC 834478638, 56895316
• The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War (2003). ISBN 9780761536413. OCLC 716369332
• From Pathology to Politics: Public Health in America (2000)
• The Food and Drink Police: America's Nannies, Busybodies, and Petty Tyrants (1998). ISBN 9781560003854 OCLC 60213705
• CancerScam: The Diversion of Federal Cancer Funds for Politics (1997)

External links

• Mises Archive of DiLorenzo commentary Lectures by DiLorenzo at the Ludwig von Mises Institute.
• Archive of DiLorenzo commentary for The Independent Institute
• Archive of DiLorenzo commentary for LewRockwell.com
• The Real Abraham Lincoln – a debate between Thomas DiLorenzo and Harry V. Jaffa
• Critical review of The Real Lincoln by Thomas Krannawitter of the Claremont Institute
• DiLorenzo and his Critics by Clyde N. Wilson
• Interview with Thomas DiLorenzo in the " Southern Partisan."
• C-SPAN Q&A interview with DiLorenzo, about his two books on Abraham Lincoln, May 25, 2008
• The 2006 Steven Berger Seminar: Thomas DiLorenzo (10 videos)