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59-663: The bookstore's ownership passed to the International Society for Individual Liberty in November 2007, and archival records prior to ISIL's ownership were preserved by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University . In March 2011, Agora Financial acquired Laissez Faire Books but began using the brand for other purposes. Laissez Faire Books was founded in New York City in 1972 by John Muller and Sharon Presley . Muller,

118-587: A civil engineer, came up with the idea of Laissez Faire Books. Muller found the location for the Laissez Faire Bookstore and Art Gallery on Mercer Street in Greenwich Village , New York City, late in 1971. With Presley, a graduate student in psychology at CUNY Graduate Center , Muller mailed their first flyer to about a thousand people whose names they had compiled from their contacts around the country. The official opening occurred on March 4, 1972, and

177-481: A climax when a libertarian YAF member held up his draft card and lit it on fire on the convention floor, causing a 30 minutes fracas of punching, shoving and hostility, which lead to membership purges of many libertarian leaders, including Karl Hess , hitting the California delegation especially hard, which included Dana Rohrabacher , Shawn Steel , Ron Kimberling, Rod Manis, Pat Dowd, and John Schureman, while revoking

236-538: A delegation of YAFers to bring national attention to a group called the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). NAMBLA members got quite a surprise at one of their events in Washington DC in 1996 when YAFers held banners warning the effects of 'deviant and un-natural sexual practices.' In 1997, Brian Park, National Director and state Chairman of California YAF, organized support for

295-508: A financial collapse, most of the older members went on to other things, while younger members dominated YAF. During this era, a new generation of liberal and radical activism was growing on college campuses, and members began focusing on opposing these movements. This growth was strongest in California, where members staged protests in favor of aid to the Nicaraguan Contras , in favor of Reagan's anti-communist policies and in opposition to

354-533: A meeting at the home of William F. Buckley in Sharon, Connecticut , on September 11, 1960. While the 1960s were its most successful years in terms of numbers and influence, YAF has experienced a resurgence in recent years, becoming active as a national organization with chapters on college and high school campuses throughout the United States. YAF's official publication is The New Guard . Historians have documented

413-649: A protest in Santa Monica in 1979, the YAF focused protests and a personal attack on Jane Fonda by hanging an effigy of her outside her house due to her opposition to the Vietnam War . YAF often made protests appearances at Fonda events, getting in physical altercations with her security guards and mocking her peace activism and acting career by holding up banners that read, " Barbarella bombed, why can't Nixon?" and "Shoot Fonda, not film!" A faction of YAF philosophically extended

472-546: A rallying point in 1979. YAF held a campaign to generate thousands of letters of encouragement to the hostages and pressed the Administration to take action. In 1980, Young Conservatives of Texas was formed by a group of YAF members in Texas that broke off to found their own organization. Since that time, YAF itself has never had a major presence in the state. That same year, YAF's long-time friend and advisor Ronald Reagan became

531-648: A staunchly conservative long-shot candidate. YAF supported Reagan's almost-successful bid to win the Republican presidential nomination in 1976 and his victorious race for the presidency in 1980 . The YAF targeted the Carter Administration, and YAF was active in opposing the Panama Canal and SALT treaties. The Iran Hostage Crisis focused public criticism on the Carter Administration and provided YAF

590-529: A three-pronged project, which included “The Draft—Keep It Dead,” “Justice in America—Crime without Victims,” and the “‘No War, No Welfare and No Damn Taxation’ Spring Offensive.” One of the noteworthy leaders affected by SIL activities was David Nolan , the main organizer behind the founding of the Libertarian Party in the United States. Nolan was involved with SIL as a campus leader, and first revealed

649-494: A variety of educational materials and member projects from its website, and has incorporated other libertarian entities such as Laissez Faire Books . The Society for Individual Liberty (SIL) was founded in 1969 by Don Ernsberger and Dave Walter, who became its directors, after libertarian activists were expelled or later defected from Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) during and after their 1969 convention in St. Louis, Missouri. During

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708-470: Is a conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960 as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians on American college campuses. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the chapter affiliate of Young America's Foundation . The purposes of YAF are to advocate public policies consistent with the Sharon Statement , which was adopted by young conservatives at

767-502: Is an association of individuals and organizations dedicated to building a free and peaceful world, respect for individual rights and liberties, and an open and competitive economic system based on voluntary exchange and free trade. Members and affiliated organizations pursue this goal through independent action, using their freely chosen strategies. The association exists to promote the exchange of information and ideas, to study diverse strategies and to foster fellowship. In 2016 ISIL adopted

826-428: Is maintained only through the draft, inflation, and government coercion through the tax system can in any way prove to be an example for positive antitotalitarian action.” Identifying with the merits of decentralization, SIL also developed into a clearing house for the student libertarian movement, whose leaders wanted to keep their autonomy but likewise wanted to “band together to destroy the far Left and Right as well as

885-530: Is still held annually in the DC area. On college campuses, YAF was more conservative and less partisan than the College Republicans . Members were willing to oppose liberal candidates and support conservative candidates regardless of party affiliation. During many local and national races throughout this era, YAF members were divided about whether to support a moderately conservative electable candidate or to support

944-578: The American Nazi Party . An unsubstantiated claim has been made that a YAF member was involved with the 'Welcome Mr. Kennedy to Dallas' ad placed in the Dallas Morning News (coincidentally on the morning of JFK's assassination), which accused him of ignoring the Constitution. Liberalism and radicalism dominated campuses from the mid-1960s until the early 1970s, primarily as a result of

1003-533: The International Society for Individual Liberty, Inc. or ISIL ) is a non-profit , libertarian educational and networking organization based in Dallas, Texas . It encourages activism in libertarian and individual rights areas through the 'freely chosen strategies' of its members. Its history dates back to 1969 as the Society for Individual Liberty , founded by Don Ernsberger and Dave Walter. The previous name (ISIL)

1062-486: The United Nations . The emphasis on campus activism gradually spread to all the states where YAF was still active. In 1989, an alliance of Californian and New York activists took over a majority of the seats on the national board. Though the presence of National YAF was lax during the 1990s as they were focusing on revitalizing and rebuilding the organization, there remained very active pockets of YAF activity throughout

1121-568: The civil rights movement and the Vietnam War . Though outnumbered, YAF went on the offensive against radical left-wing organizations by challenging and rebutting civil rights groups like the Afro-American Society and W.E.B. DuBois clubs , as well as antiwar groups like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and New MOBE in support of a U.S. victory in Vietnam. YAF members tended to hold similar opinions to their older compatriots within

1180-504: The 1992 Republican National Convention to continue strong support for conservative issues. At the 1995 Conservative Political Action Conference, YAF held a "Colloquium on Revolution." Young Americans for Freedom members rallied around speakers such as YAF founding elder Howard Phillips, Congressman Robert Dornan, Joseph Sobran, and other speakers motivating the young crowds to continue YAF's conservative charge to preserve freedom and individual liberty. In 1996, National chairman Jon Pastore led

1239-650: The 40th President of the United States. The election of Reagan ushered in the conservative decade. YAFers around the nation mobilized in support of Reagan's agenda. Many YAFers received appointments to the Reagan Administration. Reagan Administration officials and prospective appointees who were targeted by the radical left were strongly defended by YAF. YAFers rallied to the support of Labor Secretary Raymond Donovan , Interior Secretary James Watt , Circuit Court Judge Dan Manion , Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork , and NSC staff member Lt. Colonel Oliver North . By

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1298-581: The August 1969 YAF convention, traditionalists (trads) and libertarians (libs or rads) fought for control of the student organization. The libertarian faction lost. During the struggle and aftermath, the Anarcho-Libertarian Alliance, YAF Libertarian Caucus and two anarchist chapters of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) worked together, and eventually organized into a loosely knit association that became known as SIL. The factional infighting came to

1357-535: The Gault Hotel refused accommodations to Don Parker, an African-American delegate from Brooklyn. As word of this spread around the YAFers in attendance, a number of delegates and numerous others began gathering in the lobby of the hotel demanding that either the Gault Hotel allow all the black YAFers to stay and the hotel change its segregation policy or YAF would move the convention to another site. From that day on any person

1416-457: The ISIL years, Jarret Wollstein wrote 38 different educational pamphlets, where it has been estimated that over 5 million copies were distributed. Many of the pamphlets have been translated into dozens of foreign languages. During the 1990s, ISIL held several conferences in the former Soviet bloc , and provided scholarships for students and young leaders. Conference networking led to the formation of

1475-646: The Liberty English Camps, started in 1997 in Lithuania and spreading to over 30 countries. They also translated a number of books in various languages such as Ken Schoolland’s The Adventures of Jonathan Gullible: A Free Market Odyssey (57 languages as of 2022), Ayn Rand ’s Anthem (including in her native Russia), Karl Hess ’s Capitalism for Kids , Frances Kendall's Super Parents Super Children , and Mary Ruwart’s Healing Our World. ISIL Statement of Principles: The International Society for Individual Liberty

1534-669: The Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Young America's Foundation , Free Campus News Service, STOP-NSA Committee, and the National Student Committee for Victory in Vietnam. In 1974, YAF, along with the American Conservative Union , sponsored a modest and ambitious gathering called the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). CPAC has become the largest annual gathering of conservatives and

1593-587: The Soviet Bloc. As part of a wave of America First boycotts, YAF claimed that it stopped Firestone's attempt to build a synthetic rubber plant in communist Romania through letter-writing campaigns, boycotts, and demonstrations. YAF also claimed their plan to distribute 500,000 flyers at the Indianapolis 500 was key to the decision by Firestone executives to cancel their Romanian plans in April 1965. In September 1965,

1652-619: The United States") for the period 1959-2008 are stored at the Hoover Institution Library at Stanford University . Laissez Faire Books used to have a separate book-publishing arm: Fox & Wilkes Books, named after two eighteenth-century British classical liberals, Charles James Fox and John Wilkes . Fox & Wilkes published the works of contemporary libertarian authors and reissued classic libertarian books that were out of print. International Society for Individual Liberty Liberty International (the new public name of

1711-556: The United States, “two in Canada and one each in Sweden, India and Australia” by 1970. According to historian Jonathan Schoenwald “all student libertarian groups opposed both the Vietnam War and the draft," which prominently included SIL. From the start, SIL built a campaign on campus to abolish conscription, writing in one issue paper that “it is the height of folly to maintain that a war which

1770-480: The White House catalyzed YAF more than any other event in its history. Lee Edwards, former New Guard editor, said "Barry Goldwater made YAF, but YAF also made Barry Goldwater." Goldwater's massive defeat in the presidential election of 1964 demoralized many YAF members. In YAF's campaign to "STOP RED TRADE", IBM , Mack Truck , and Firestone Tire and Rubber were targeted for engaging in high visibility trade with

1829-603: The YAF announced plans to hold a memorial honoring three Russian Nazi collaborators from the Russian Liberation Army , who'd committed suicide on June 29, 1945, to avoid repatriation to the Soviet Union . The memorial was cancelled after protests by Ralph Plofsky, the commander of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America . YAF faced opposition from groups like the American Nazi Party because of

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1888-589: The active status of twenty-six YAF chapters. Don Ernsberger resigned from YAF, promised to continue working with SDS at Penn State and established an SIL headquarters in Philadelphia . The SIL was considered officially established by October 1969 when the Libertarian Caucus of YAF merged with Jarret Wollstein's Society for Rational Individualism (SRI), which had been a Randian organization based in Maryland It

1947-457: The banner of anti-liberalism. In September 1960, about 90 young people met at the childhood home of William F. Buckley Jr. in Sharon, Connecticut. They gathered to lay the groundwork for a new national conservative youth organization. It is here that Young Americans for Freedom was born and their statement of principles, the Sharon Statement , was drafted. The New Guard magazine made its debut as

2006-546: The campaign of Barry Goldwater for president. On March 7, 1962, a YAF-sponsored conservative rally filled Madison Square Garden in New York City, drawing 18,000 people. In attendance was Barry Goldwater . The event has been described as "the birthday of the conservative movement." The second national YAF convention was held in 1963 at the Gault Hotel in Florida. With over 450 voting delegates in attendance. Hotel management at

2065-511: The communist People's Republic of China , ceasing relations with Taiwan . YAF felt he was abandoning conservative principles so YAF publicly denounced the administration for these moves, becoming the first conservative organization to do so. A number of YAF projects were started as ad hoc committees and affiliated groups to address specific issues. These groups include Youth for the Voluntary Prayer Amendment, Student's Committee for

2124-405: The conservative movement, including members of their advisory board such as Strom Thurmond , John Tower , L. Mendel Rivers , and William Colmer . YAF began and continued a number of projects to support Vietnam veterans and their causes. "Project Appreciation" gave YAFers the opportunity to write, visit, and provide needed supplies to hospitalized veterans. YAF worked on various POW/MIA issues. In

2183-927: The country were showing support for the American effort against Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, many YAF leaders of the time were expressing opposition to the war effort. Thus, an opportunity to expand the organization's membership was lost. In August 1991, YAF held its 16th National Convention in Washington D.C. YAF members from around the country gathered to reaffirm its commitment to conservative principles and heard such speakers as William F. Buckley, Jr., Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney, and G. Gordon Liddy. The following year, YAF National Chairman Jeff Wright met with Vice President Dan Quayle and delivered over 40,000 petitions in support of his renomination as Vice President. YAF launched an Anita Hill Truth Squad and YAFers confronted Anita Hill on college campuses across America. YAF pushed

2242-418: The country, campus charters and statewide units that organized and operated on their own. California YAF continued as a strong conservative force on campuses and in that state's political arena. Many states like Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia and others still had very active individual campus chapters. By 1991, the national board of YAF contained a majority of Californians –

2301-550: The current version of his Nolan Chart in an article named "Classifying and Analyzing Politico-Economic Systems" in the January 1971 issue of SIL's The Individualist. Ed Clark , the 1980 U.S. presidential candidate, became involved in the libertarian movement through his attendance at a SIL conference in New York City . One of main reasons for SIL's merger into the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) in 1989

2360-559: The first time a single state had had a majority in the governing council. However, this new régime found itself unable to effectively run YAF as a financial and organizational entity. The strength of its activism was shattered by the Gulf War that began in January 1991. Most members considered President George H. W. Bush to be insufficiently conservative, and his rhetoric justifying the war – "a new world order " – to be dangerously utopian . While conservative-oriented students on campuses around

2419-440: The founding members of the Libertarian Party in 1971. In the 1970s, YAF became much older, demographically speaking. Rather than merely staging campus demonstrations, they focused on influencing national politics by lobbying and occasionally staging and publicizing small demonstrations. YAF went on the offensive when President Nixon enacted wage controls, price controls, abandoned the gold standard, and opened relations with

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2478-485: The group's traditional support of limited government in economic issues to social issues and a foreign policy of non-interventionism. This group came to be known as libertarians . A more serious and lasting challenge for YAF came from this group, those who believed in limited or even no government – radical libertarians and anarchists. YAF's Libertarian and Anarchist Caucuses were purged at the YAF's 1969 national convention in St. Louis, and members of this faction were among

2537-511: The legal problems with Proposition 5. In 1998 Cigar-Man was launched against President Bill Clinton . A YAFer dressed in a Cigar-Costume followed President Clinton to various fundraising functions to highlight Clinton's presidential achievements. At the 1999 Academy Awards in Los Angeles, YAFers rallied in support of the Academy of Motion Pictures decision to award famous director Elia Kazan with

2596-473: The mid-1980s, many of YAF's leaders were in their thirties and long out of college. Some of them held positions in government while continuing to run the organization as a lobbying and fund-raising group for conservative causes. At the same time, internal problems paralyzed the YAF hierarchy. The national board was controlled by lawyers and lobbyists who focused on fundraising. This era ended with financial problems which led to YAF losing most of its assets. After

2655-687: The movement in America's largest city, a place for any traveling libertarian to stop for company and succor..." On March 17, 2011, Agora Financial, LLC, a publisher of books and newsletters on economics and investments, announced that it had acquired Laissez Faire Books from the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL). By 2017, however, the LFB.org site was no longer offering books for sale. Laissez Faire Books' archival records ("correspondence, memoranda, financial records, catalogs, other printed matter, and photographs, relating to libertarianism and publishing in

2714-648: The official magazine of YAF in 1961. In the first four years of its existence, YAF grew rapidly on college campuses. Ronald Reagan joined the YAF National Advisory Board in 1962 and for 42 years served as the Honorary Chairman. In the 1960s, the Republican Party was divided between its conservative wing, led by Barry Goldwater , and its more liberal wing, led by Nelson Rockefeller . YAF members fell squarely on Goldwater's side and spearheaded

2773-416: The position of president, changing the name of the organization to the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) which had members in over 80 nations and hosted annual educational conferences across the globe. ISIL was organized as a non-partisan, tax-exempt outreach and educational organization, which as an umbrella organization, represented groups and individual members in some 80 nations. During

2832-519: The presence of Jews in the organization and its close relationship with Marvin Liebman . However, YAF did honor Senator from South Carolina Strom Thurmond , a segregationist, with its Freedom Award in 1962. Several YAF members campaigned for segregationist George Wallace for president in 1968, forming an auxiliary Youth for Wallace movement, which later became the National Youth Alliance and

2891-651: The public name Liberty International to avoid association with ISIL and added international board members, including Swedish Per Bylund, in 2019 Polish Jacek Spendel as president, and in 2022 Jose Cordeiro of Spain . 37°47′25″N 122°24′15″W  /  37.7903°N 122.4041°W  / 37.7903; -122.4041 Young Americans for Freedom Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other Young Americans for Freedom ( YAF )

2950-507: The public on American Indian Sovereignty issues and the measure passed overwhelmingly with bi-partisan support of 62.4% to 32.6%. Proposition 5 was eventually challenged in the courts and YAF filed a "Friends of the Court" brief (case number S074850) with the State Supreme court in 1999. Though YAF lost, its leg work assisted in a passage of Proposition 1A in year 2000 with no real opposition to fix

3009-504: The rights of American Indians when their tribal sovereignty was being encroached upon by Governor Pete Wilson . Full page newspaper ads centered on YAF's resolution to support tribal sovereignty were placed in every major newspaper across the state of California to pressure the Governor. The negotiations failed and the historic Proposition 5 was placed on the ballot in 1998. YAF made over 1 million voter contacts with direct-mail pieces to educate

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3068-542: The state.” In other activities, SIL embarked on a national program to “de-control America and restore our freedom”. They sponsored educational conferences, developed a large series of one-page issue papers, created a Libertarian Speakers Bureau, published a monthly newsletter Society for Individual Liberty News and a monthly magazine The Individualist , edited by Roy Childs , worked to charter campus chapters at major universities, and published books, including A Liberty Primer by W. Alan Burris in 1979. In 1971 SIL launched

3127-569: The volatility inside YAF during its early years as a coalition of conservatives and libertarians . Kenneth Heineman writes, "YAF itself suffered internal strife. In 1969 the organization split into competing, irreconcilable factions." Gregory L. Schneider states, "In the mid-1970s YAF suffered from weak leadership based on factions and personalities rather than ability". Jerome Tuccile writes, "The second faction of rebels consisted of radical libertarians or anarchists, most of them belonging to Karl Hess IV's Anarcho-libertarian Alliance. This contingent

3186-541: Was Don Ernsberger's withdrawal from SIL activities to become deputy chief of staff for Congressman Dana Rohrabacher . After his stint as a congressional staffer, he spent several years writing civil war books and nearly 40 years as a high school and college teacher. Dave Walter became involved in the Libertarian Party, climbing to the position of national chair from 1988–1991. In 1989 SIL merged with Libertarian International under leadership of Vincent Miller, who assumed

3245-680: Was adopted in 1989 after a merger with Libertarian International was coordinated by Vincent Miller , who became president of the new organization. The organization is chaired by Mary Ruwart with Jacek Spendel serving as current president. Board Members include Ken Schoolland, James Lark, Per Bylund, Lobo Tigre, Jose Codiero, and David Walter. The organization has members in over 80 countries. Liberty International sponsors an annual conference which attract libertarian, classical liberal , and other political speakers. Among others, these have included Nobel laureate Milton Friedman and President of Costa Rica Miguel Ángel Rodríguez . It has sponsored

3304-405: Was allowed into the Gault Hotel. However, Black membership has always been exceptional in YAF and many of the organization's national board members have been outspoken segregationists, including Strom Thurmond , William Colmer , and L. Mendel Rivers . By 1964, YAF was a major force in the campaign to nominate Goldwater, and then after his nomination, to elect him president. Goldwater's run for

3363-402: Was attended by local libertarian writers and thinkers including Murray Rothbard , Roy A. Childs Jr. , and Jerome Tuccille . From 1982 to 2005, LFB was headed by Andrea Millen Rich, who with her husband Howard Rich also developed its mail-order business. In Radicals for Capitalism , a history of the libertarian movement, Brian Doherty writes "The store became an important social center for

3422-445: Was more interested in splitting off from YAF entirely." Rebecca E. Klatch writes, "When one young libertarian burned his draft card on the convention floor, the crowd turned into an angry mob and, ultimately, purged all libertarians from YAF. One libertarian faction stormed out of the meeting." Lauren Lassabe Shepherd details how YAF coalitions of traditionalists, libertarians, and evangelicals were fragile and could only be united under

3481-642: Was the influence of Roy A. Childs Jr. who prompted the SRI to favor “ anarcho-capitalism ,” which later facilitated the merge with SIL. Although SIL encompassed a diversity of minarchists and anarchist libertarians, the organization adopted a black flag within a dollar sign to become its official symbol. The founding of SIL is considered the defining moment that witnessed the “birth of an autonomous libertarian movement.” Purged or disillusioned YAF chapters and members withdrew from YAF and joined SIL which claimed to have 3,000 members that had grown to 103 campus chapters in

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