James J. Martin
Encyclopedia
James J. Martin was an American
historian
. He was educated at the University of New Hampshire
and the University of Michigan
, earning a Ph.D. in history in 1949.
He is best known for his work on the history of American individualist anarchism
, Men Against the State, first published in 1953. His 1964 book American Liberalism and World Politics, 1931–1941 is also well known. Harry Elmer Barnes
called it "unquestionably the most formidable achievement of World War II Revisionism."
and individualist anarchist
. He was also an egoist
influenced by Max Stirner
, and rejected the natural rights
views held by some other libertarians. His work was praised by New Left historian William Appleman Williams
, libertarian theorist Murray Rothbard
, and others.
After a teaching career at Northern Illinois University
, San Francisco State College, and Deep Springs College
, he took a job teaching at Robert LeFevre
's Rampart College
, assuming it would be a full-time job. This was not the case as Rampart College was not yet really a college but only a series of workshop/lectures on libertarian political economy. This led to an eventual falling out between Martin and LeFevre when Rampart College went out of business three years after Martin was hired, with Martin charging LeFevre with a breach of his five year contract.
, at first to publish Harry Elmer Barnes: Learned Crusader. Ralph Myles also reprinted Men Against the State, published a new book by Lawrence Dennis
, reprinted a history of American anti-militarism
by Arthur Ekirch, and brought several World War I
revisionist books and a series of classic anarchist
writings back into print, most notably No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority by Lysander Spooner
and In Quest of Truth and Justice by Harry Elmer Barnes. Martin also was the author of books on anti-war
subjects including Revisionist Viewpoints and The Saga of Hog Island, both of them collections of anti-World War II
essays, and An American Adventure in Bookburning, a history of censorship
in the United States during World War I.
(IHR), a Holocaust denial
group, writing for the IHR journal, The Journal of Historical Review. Brian Doherty
notes in Radicals for Capitalism
: "Martin, in his attempt to adjust standard historical understandings of war and war guilt, shifted into questioning the veracity of standard anti-German atrocity stories, including the standard details of the Holocaust", calls it an "unfortunate shading over into Hitler apologetics", and that Martin stated as early as 1976 "I don't believe that the evidence of a planned extermination of the entire Jewish population of Europe is holding up." One of his last books was The Man Who Invented Genocide: The Public Career and Consequences of Raphael Lemkin
published by IHR in 1984.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
. He was educated at the University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, earning a Ph.D. in history in 1949.
He is best known for his work on the history of American individualist anarchism
Anarchism in the United States
Anarchism in the United States spans a wide range of anarchist philosophy, from individualist anarchism to anarchist communism and other less known forms. America has two main traditions, native and immigrant, with the native tradition being strongly individualist and the immigrant tradition being...
, Men Against the State, first published in 1953. His 1964 book American Liberalism and World Politics, 1931–1941 is also well known. Harry Elmer Barnes
Harry Elmer Barnes
Harry Elmer Barnes was a prominent American historian in the 20th century. A "progressive who had some classical liberal impulses," he was associated for virtually his entire career with Columbia University.-Early career:...
called it "unquestionably the most formidable achievement of World War II Revisionism."
Teaching career
Martin was a close associate of historian Harry Elmer Barnes. Martin's own views were libertarianLibertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
and individualist anarchist
Individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a...
. He was also an egoist
Egoist anarchism
Egoist anarchism is a school of anarchist thought that originated in the philosophy of Max Stirner, a nineteenth century Hegelian philosopher whose "name appears with familiar regularity in historically orientated surveys of anarchist thought as one of the earliest and best-known exponents of...
influenced by Max Stirner
Max Stirner
Johann Kaspar Schmidt , better known as Max Stirner , was a German philosopher, who ranks as one of the literary fathers of nihilism, existentialism, post-modernism and anarchism, especially of individualist anarchism...
, and rejected the natural rights
Natural rights
Natural and legal rights are two types of rights theoretically distinct according to philosophers and political scientists. Natural rights are rights not contingent upon the laws, customs, or beliefs of any particular culture or government, and therefore universal and inalienable...
views held by some other libertarians. His work was praised by New Left historian William Appleman Williams
William Appleman Williams
William Appleman Williams was one of the 20th century's most prominent revisionist historians of American diplomacy, and has been called "the favorite historian of the Middle American New Left." He achieved the height of his influence while on the faculty of the Department of History at the...
, libertarian theorist Murray Rothbard
Murray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
, and others.
After a teaching career at Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
, San Francisco State College, and Deep Springs College
Deep Springs College
Deep Springs is a private, all-male , alternative college in Deep Springs, California, in the United States. A two-year college, the institution currently aims for a student body size of 26, though the number is occasionally lower...
, he took a job teaching at Robert LeFevre
Robert LeFevre
Robert LeFevre was an American libertarian businessman, radio personality, and primary theorist of autarchism.-Early life:...
's Rampart College
Rampart College
Rampart College was a libertarian educational institution established by Robert LeFevre in Colorado, United States in 1956. The college was an unaccredited four-year school for classical liberals and individualist anarchists...
, assuming it would be a full-time job. This was not the case as Rampart College was not yet really a college but only a series of workshop/lectures on libertarian political economy. This led to an eventual falling out between Martin and LeFevre when Rampart College went out of business three years after Martin was hired, with Martin charging LeFevre with a breach of his five year contract.
Ralph Myles Publisher
In 1968 after Rampart College folded and Harry Elmer Barnes had died, Martin founded the small Ralph Myles Publisher in Colorado SpringsColorado Springs, Colorado
Colorado Springs is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of El Paso County, Colorado, United States. Colorado Springs is located in South-Central Colorado, in the southern portion of the state. It is situated on Fountain Creek and is located south of the Colorado...
, at first to publish Harry Elmer Barnes: Learned Crusader. Ralph Myles also reprinted Men Against the State, published a new book by Lawrence Dennis
Lawrence Dennis
Lawrence Dennis was an mixed raced American diplomat, consultant and author. He advocated Socialist fascism in America after the Great Depression, arguing that capitalism was doomed.-Life:...
, reprinted a history of American anti-militarism
Militarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
by Arthur Ekirch, and brought several World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
revisionist books and a series of classic anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
writings back into print, most notably No Treason: The Constitution of No Authority by Lysander Spooner
Lysander Spooner
Lysander Spooner was an American individualist anarchist, political philosopher, Deist, abolitionist, supporter of the labor movement, legal theorist, and entrepreneur of the nineteenth century. He is also known for competing with the U.S...
and In Quest of Truth and Justice by Harry Elmer Barnes. Martin also was the author of books on anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
subjects including Revisionist Viewpoints and The Saga of Hog Island, both of them collections of anti-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
essays, and An American Adventure in Bookburning, a history of censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
in the United States during World War I.
Holocaust denialism late in life
Starting in 1979 Martin began to associate with the Institute for Historical ReviewInstitute for Historical Review
The Institute for Historical Review , founded in 1978, is an American organization that describes itself as a "public-interest educational, research and publishing center dedicated to promoting greater public awareness of history." Critics have accused it of being an antisemitic "pseudo-scholarly...
(IHR), a Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial
Holocaust denial is the act of denying the genocide of Jews in World War II, usually referred to as the Holocaust. The key claims of Holocaust denial are: the German Nazi government had no official policy or intention of exterminating Jews, Nazi authorities did not use extermination camps and gas...
group, writing for the IHR journal, The Journal of Historical Review. Brian Doherty
Brian Doherty
Brian Doherty may refer to:* Brian Doherty , Chicago alderman, former amateur boxer* Brian Doherty , senior editor, Reason magazine* Brian Doherty , drummer from They Might be Giants...
notes in Radicals for Capitalism
Radicals for Capitalism
Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement is a book by American journalist and Reason senior editor Brian Doherty. It is about the history of libertarianism in the 20th century. It traces the evolution of the movement, as well as the life stories...
: "Martin, in his attempt to adjust standard historical understandings of war and war guilt, shifted into questioning the veracity of standard anti-German atrocity stories, including the standard details of the Holocaust", calls it an "unfortunate shading over into Hitler apologetics", and that Martin stated as early as 1976 "I don't believe that the evidence of a planned extermination of the entire Jewish population of Europe is holding up." One of his last books was The Man Who Invented Genocide: The Public Career and Consequences of Raphael Lemkin
Raphael Lemkin
Raphael Lemkin was a Polish lawyer of Jewish descent. He is best known for his work against genocide, a word he coined in 1943 from the root words genos and -cide...
published by IHR in 1984.
Works
- Men Against the State: The Expositors of Individualist Anarchism in America, 1827–1908. Adrian Allen Associates, DeKalb, IL, (1953; online e-book). Republished by Ralph Myles (1970), the Ludwig von Mises InstituteLudwig von Mises InstituteThe Ludwig von Mises Institute , based in Auburn, Alabama, is a libertarian academic organization engaged in research and scholarship in the fields of economics, philosophy and political economy. Its scholarship is inspired by the work of Austrian School economist Ludwig von Mises...
(2009), and CreateSpace (2010). - American Liberalism and World Politics, 1931–1941. Devin-Adair, New York, 1964.
- Revisionist Viewpoints: Essays in a Dissident Historical Tradition. Ralph Myles, Colorado Springs, CO, (1971; online e-book).
- Watershed of Empire: Essays on New Deal Foreign Policy, edited by James J. Martin and Leonard LiggioLeonard LiggioLeonard Liggio is a classical liberal author, research professor of law at George Mason University, and executive vice president of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation in Fairfax, Virginia, USA.-Present positions:...
. Ralph Myles, Colorado Springs, CO, 1976. - The Saga of Hog Island and Other Essays in Inconvenient History. Ralph Myles, Colorado Springs, CO, 1977.
- Beyond Pearl Harbor: Essays on Some Historical Consequences of the Crisis in the Pacific in 1941. Plowshare Press, Little Current, ON, 1981.
- The Man Who Invented 'Genocide' The Public Career and Consequences of Raphael Lemkin. Institute for Historical Review, Torrance, CA, 1984.
- An American Adventure in Bookburning: In the Style of 1918. Ralph Myles, Colorado Springs, CO, 1988.
External links
- James J. Martin, 1916–2004 by Jeff Riggenbach, Antiwar.comAntiwar.comAntiwar.com is a website devoted to opposing aggressive war, imperialism, and assaults on freedom associated with both. The editors describe their politics as libertarian. Their stated motiviation is, "to show how the imperialistic tendencies of the American government lead to a loss of civil...
- "A Beginner's Manual for Apprentice Bookburners", 1954 essay by James J. Martin on unorthodox books
- Profiles in History: James J. Martin by Richard A. Widmann (Holocaust denial website)
- Brief profile of James J. Martin (Holocaust denial website)