Louis Hartz proposed that America possesses a liberal tradition that works toward a Lockean equality for all people. I argue that Hartzs' theory is still applicable to America even though illiberal institutions have and do exist. My contention is that it is the paradox of liberalism that allows for this. Slavery is the quintessential illiberal institution, yet liberal concepts allowed it to exist in America for over 200 years. It is my contention that abortion is another illiberal institution that is being promoted by the paradox of liberalism. With the use of John Rawls theory of distributive justice abortion can be eradicated from American society while upholding the American liberal tradition.
","abstract_html":"<p>Louis Hartz proposed that America possesses a liberal tradition that works toward a Lockean equality for all people. I argue that Hartzs' theory is still applicable to America even though illiberal institutions have and do exist. My contention is that it is the paradox of liberalism that allows for this. Slavery is the quintessential illiberal institution, yet liberal concepts allowed it to exist in America for over 200 years. It is my contention that abortion is another illiberal institution that is being promoted by the paradox of liberalism. With the use of John Rawls theory of distributive justice abortion can be eradicated from American society while upholding the American liberal tradition.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ladd, Mark A."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Political Science","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Philip Abbott"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:59:04Z","subjects":["Abortion, Liberalism, Slavery","Political Science"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/416","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Philip Abbott"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ladd, Mark A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2011-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Political Science"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Abortion, Liberalism, Slavery","Political Science"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/416"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Louis Hartz proposed that America possesses a liberal tradition that works toward a Lockean equality for all people. I argue that Hartzs' theory is still applicable to America even though illiberal institutions have and do exist. My contention is that it is the paradox of liberalism that allows for this. Slavery is the quintessential illiberal institution, yet liberal concepts allowed it to exist in America for over 200 years. It is my contention that abortion is another illiberal institution that is being promoted by the paradox of liberalism. With the use of John Rawls theory of distributive justice abortion can be eradicated from American society while upholding the American liberal tradition.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Slavery and abortion: the paradox of american liberalism"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Philip Abbott"],"dc:creator":["Ladd, Mark A."],"dc:date.available":["2011-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Louis Hartz proposed that America possesses a liberal tradition that works toward a Lockean equality for all people. I argue that Hartzs' theory is still applicable to America even though illiberal institutions have and do exist. My contention is that it is the paradox of liberalism that allows for this. Slavery is the quintessential illiberal institution, yet liberal concepts allowed it to exist in America for over 200 years. It is my contention that abortion is another illiberal institution that is being promoted by the paradox of liberalism. With the use of John Rawls theory of distributive justice abortion can be eradicated from American society while upholding the American liberal tradition.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/416"],"dc:subject":["Abortion, Liberalism, Slavery","Political Science"],"dc:title":["Slavery and abortion: the paradox of american liberalism"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Political Science"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:59:04Z"}