Lysander Spooner

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Lysander Spooner
Born	(1808-01-19)January 19, 1808 Athol, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 14, 1887(1887-05-14) (aged 79) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Entrepreneur, lawyer and writer
Nationality	American
Subject	Political philosophy
Notable works	The Unconstitutionality of Slavery (1845) No Treason (1867)
Philosophy career
Era	19th-century philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Iusnaturalism
Main interests	Abolitionism Right to property Mutual banking Tax resistance Natural law

Lysander Spooner (January 19, 1808 — May 14, 1887) was an American abolitionist, entrepreneur, lawyer, essayist, natural rights legal theorist, pamphletist, political philosopher, Unitarian and writer often associated with the Boston anarchist tradition.

Spooner was a strong advocate of the labor movement and is politically identified with individualist anarchism.^[1][2] His writings contributed to the development of both left-libertarian and right-libertarian political theory.^[3] Spooner's writings include the abolitionist book The Unconstitutionality of Slavery and No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority, which opposed treason charges against secessionists.^[4][5]

He is cited for his criticisms of the U.S. Constitution and is known for establishing the American Letter Mail Company, which competed with the United States Postal Service.