Freedom School

Background

Freedom School was a school promoting radical libertarian ideas. It was founded in Colorado in 1956 by the businessman and theorist Robert LeFevre. Charles Koch was a trustee of the sch ool and encouraged his three brothers and friends to attend. Koch also helped fund the school, according to Gus diZerega, a former friend.¹Jane Mayer. “Covert Operations,” The New Yorker, August 23, 2010. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/nZPhI ²Jane Mayer. “Who Sponsored the Hate?” The New Yoker, March 15, 2016. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/CwUdb

The school ran summer courses teaching the “libertarian philosophy of freedom from all institutional control and of men’s absolute rights,” according to an article in the Harvard Crimson. The same article claimed the school only accepted students who were “willing to be convinced” of the philosophy, reserving the right to “send home any incorrigibles.”³Michael S. Lottman. “Colorado’s Freedom School Preaches Absolute Rights of Individual Man,” The Harvard Crimson, December 17, 1959. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.vn/JKFCb

The school only admitted white students, with LeFevre explaining—as the New York Times reported—that “it might present a housing problem because some of his [LeFevre’s] students are segregationists.”⁴Donald Janson. “Conservatives at Freedom School to Prepare a New Federal Constitution,” The New York Times, June 13, 1965. Archived August 29, 2025. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/3HXIg According to the New Yorker, the Freedom School taught a “revisionist version of American history in which it was argued that the Civil War should not have been fought, the South should have been allowed to secede, and slavery was a lesser evil than military conscription.”⁵Jane Mayer. “Who Sponsored the Hate?” The New Yorker, March 15, 2016. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/CwUdb

A description from advertising materials and flyers retrieved from the Internet Archive via The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries describes a threat of communism:⁶“Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Internet Archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“It would be difficult today to find many Americans who sincerely give their support to communism. Of course, many seem to favor socialism, the growing power of government, more regulation of the lives of others. Curiously, while we seem to feel that others should be controlled, most of us rebel at efforts of others to control us.

“Since most of us apparently are opposed to communism, why is it that the threat of communism does not seem to abate? Why is there a growing realization that, at least for now, those who favor individual liberty, self-government and free enterprise are at a disadvantage in the overall scheme of things?

“If most of us don’t want communism, or even socialism, why does it appear that these collectivist movements are gaining, not losing strength?”

Guest lecturers at the school included Frank Chodorov, F. A. Harper, Leonard Read, Rose Wilder Lane, Hans Sennholz, and Roy Childs, according to the Cato Institute‘s Libertarianism.org website.⁷“LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu

Rampart College Years

By 1963, Freedom School had been renamed Rampart College.⁸“Freedom School,” Douglas County Colorado. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/dQn0D

According to Jane Mayer’s reporting for The New Yorker, a 1965 New York Times article described the school as so anti-government that it proposed getting rid of the original U.S. Constitution in favor of a version that limited the government’s authority to impose “compulsory taxation.”⁹Jane Mayer. “The Secrets of Charles Koch’s Political Ascent,” Politico, January 18, 2016. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DCcdC

Rampart College produced the Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, edited by Robert LeFevre. The Spring 1966 issue of the journal included essays by Harry Elmer Barnes and James J. Martin, historians well-known for Holocaust denial. Martin also ran the school’s history department. Barnes’s essay included the following passage:¹⁰Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, Vol. II No. 1 (Spring 1966). Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“Even if one were to accept the most extreme and exaggerated indictment of Hitler and the national socialists for their activities after 1939 made by anybody fit to remain outside a mental hospital, it is almost alarmingly easy to demonstrate that the atrocities of the Allies in the same period were more numerous as to victims and were carried out for the most part by methods more brutal and painful than alleged extermination in gas ovens.”

Libertarian economist Murray N. Rothbard, co-founder of the Center for Libertarian Studies, also contributed to the Spring 1966 issue of the journal.¹¹Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, Vol. II No. 1 (Spring 1966). Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

In his book Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement, author Brian Doherty contended that not everyone was converted to libertarianism by the school. According to Doherty, after the Rockford, Illinois Chamber of Commerce sent a group of local high school teachers to Rampart College, the teachers reported back that “we do not believe that the Chamber wants us to teach that there should be no government.”¹²Brian Doherty. “Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement,” Public Affairs, 2009.

In 1968, LeFevre was forced to close Rampart College due to flood damage dating back to 1965. He subsequently opened a “Rampart School” in California, which operated until 1975.¹³“LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu

Stance on Climate Change

The Freedom School does not appear to have any official statements on record regarding climate change.

Funding

Koch also helped fund the school, according to Gus diZerega, a former friend. The school also received funding from the writer Rose Wilder Lane, considered one of the founders of the American libertarian movement and the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie.¹⁴Jane Mayer. “Covert Operations,” The New Yorker, August 23, 2010. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/nZPhI ¹⁵Christine Woodside. “How ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Built Modern Conservatism,” Politico Magazine, September 11, 2016. Archived March 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/mReTV

The school was also supported by the Rockford, Illinois-based Ingersoll Milling Machine Company, according to Brian Doherty.¹⁶Brian Doherty. “Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement,” Public Affairs, 2009.

Tuition

The following is via advertising materials for the Freedom School:¹⁷“Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Archive.today internet archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

“Tuition

“Executive Session (one week only) $200.00
Comprehensive Course (two weeks) $275.00
Graduate Forum $275.00
Workshop $60.00

“NOTE Scholarships are available for the Comprehensive Courses only

“WHAT TUITION COVERS

“Whether the student pays his own tuition or obtains a scholarship, all tuitions listed are full-expense tuitions. There are NO extras required.
“Tuition includes transportation to the school from Colorado Springs, Colorado, and return to Colorado Springs. It includes all meals and lodging while at the school. It covers all costs of instruction and most recreation, including horseback riding.
“Students wishing to buy extra books, or photographs of the scenery, do so at their own expense. Students may wish to provide themselves with a permanent notebook before they arrive.”

“School Support

“To begin with, the school is not supported by tax money or by government handouts.
“Income comes from tuition paid by students. The school receives grants, contributions and benefactions from individual Americans.
“It has several scholarship funds which assist in providing tuition to students. It receives assistance from certain business and professional groups, and has been remembered in several last wills and testaments.
“Contributions to the Freedom School, Inc., are deductible in computing net income subject to federal income tax.”

Key Documents

The following is a collection of advertising materials and flyers for the Freedom School, retrieved from the Internet Archive via The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries:¹⁸“Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Archive.today internet archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Key People

According to a profile on the Cato Institute‘s Libertarianism.org website, Freedom School founder Robert LeFevre worked as an “assistant to a pair of charismatic American cult leaders in a religious movement known as the Mighty ‘I AM'” early in his career, before turning to political activism. In 1954, he became an editorial writer for the Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, part of the Freedom Newspaper chain run by the libertarian R. C. Hoiles.¹⁹“LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu

Hoiles’ son Harry was also a trustee of the Freedom School, along with Roger Milliken, the Republican-supporting CEO of Milliken & Company. Other trustees included Robert Baird, William Colson, Dr. James Doenges, William Grede, Roland Holmes, Ned Kimball, and Robert Love.²⁰UPI Archives. “Harry Hoiles, son of the founder of Freedom Newspapers…,” UPI, October 28, 1985. Archived April 9, 2024. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog. ²¹“Noted Industrialist New Freedom School Trustee,” Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, Page 13, July 6, 1964. Archived May 15, 2025. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog.

The college’s history department was run by the historian James J. Martin, a holocaust denier who was later on the board of the reportedly antisemitic, California-based Institute for Historical Review.²²“LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu ²³Nick Gillespie. “Did Reason Really Publish a ‘Holocaust Denial “Special Issue”‘ in 1976? Of Course Not,” Reason, July 26, 2014. Archived July 27, 2019. ²⁴“Institute Has No Credibility,” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1998. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/xA4JL

Faculty

James J. Martin: Historian and history department head James J. Martin²⁵“LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu was a holocaust denier who was later on the board²⁶Nick Gillespie. “Did Reason Really Publish a ‘Holocaust Denial ‘Special Issue” in 1976? Of Course Not,” Reason, July 26, 2014. Archived July 27, 2019. of the reportedly anti-Semitic, California-based Institute for Historical Review.²⁷“Institute Has No Credibility,” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1998. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/xA4JL

“Even if one were to accept the most extreme and exaggerated indictment of Hitler and the national socialists for their activities after 1939 made by anybody fit to remain outside a mental hospital, it is almost alarmingly easy to demonstrate that the atrocities of the Allies in the same period were more numerous as to victims and were carried out for the most part by methods more brutal and painful than alleged extermination in gas ovens.”

The economics department was run by William Hutt, an “Austrian School” aligned British economist who helped set up the free-market Mont Pelerin Society, according to the Mises Institute.²⁸“William H. Hutt,” Mises Institute. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/2w2lH

According to an entry by Butler Shaffer at LewRockWell.com (emphasis added for notable names):²⁹Butler Shaffer. “Sy Leon, R.I.P.” LewRockwell.com, September 11, 2007. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/OPXo3 ³⁰Butler Shaffer. “Sy Leon, R.I.P.” LewRockwell.com, September 11, 2007. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/OPXo3 ³¹“Butler Shaffer,” Mises Institute. Archived July 10, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/icgsa

“It was during these intellectually and politically turbulent years that I met Sy Leon. He and I were teaching at Robert LeFevre’s Rampart College in Colorado, one of a number of organizations devoted to broadening an understanding of individual liberty. LeFevre had been successful in getting men and women in all age groups to pay to spend one to two weeks in Colorado studying the philosophy of freedom. Such an effort took a great commitment of both time and energy from our students, an effort one finds, today, at Mises University in Auburn, Alabama.

“Sy and I, along with his wife Riqui and my wife Jane, thus found ourselves at one of the centers where libertarian thinking was being explored. Others who taught at Rampart at the time included the economist Bill Hutt, historian Jim Martin, and a gangly teenager by the name of Roy Childs. Others who came there to share their ideas included Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Harper, Frank Chodorov, Rose Wilder Lane, Bruno Leoni, Leonard Read, Gordon Tullock, and Milton Friedman. It was a vibrant place within which to develop one’s thinking.” (Emphasis added.)

Board of Directors, & Administrators³²“Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Internet Archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Harry Hoiles, son of libertarian R.C. Hoiles’ Freedom Newspaper chain,³³“Harry Hoiles, son of the founder of Freedom Newspapers…”, UPI, October 28, 1985. Archived April 9, 2024. Archive URL: http://archive.today/8aT9J. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog. was a trustee of the Freedom School, along with Roger Milliken, the Republican-supporting CEO of Milliken & Company. Other trustees included Robert Baird, William Colson, Dr. James Doenges, William Grede, Roland Holmes, Ned Kimball, and Robert Love.³⁴“Noted Industrialist New Freedom School Trustee,” Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, July 6, 1964, via newspapers.com. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

The following information for the Freedom School is credited to the Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries, and retrieved from the Internet Archive:³⁵“Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Archive.today internet archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Board of Graduate Fellows & National Fellows³⁶“Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from internet archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Actions

Spring 1966

The school produced an edition of the Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, edited by LeFevre, which included essays by Harry Elmer Barnes and James J. Martin, historians well-known for holocaust denial.³⁷Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, Vol. II No. 1 (Spring 1966). Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.

Related Organizations

• Center for Libertarian Studies — CLS founder contributed an essay to a 1966 edition of the Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought.³⁸Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, Vol. II No. 1 (Spring 1966). Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• Mont Pelerin Society — William Hutt helped set up the society.³⁹“William H. Hutt,” Mises Institute. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/2w2lH

Contact & Address

The Freedom School
Box 165
Colorado Springs, Colorado 

Resources

• 1
  Jane Mayer. “Covert Operations,” The New Yorker, August 23, 2010. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/nZPhI
• 2
  Jane Mayer. “Who Sponsored the Hate?” The New Yoker, March 15, 2016. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/CwUdb
• 3
  Michael S. Lottman. “Colorado’s Freedom School Preaches Absolute Rights of Individual Man,” The Harvard Crimson, December 17, 1959. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.vn/JKFCb
• 4
  Donald Janson. “Conservatives at Freedom School to Prepare a New Federal Constitution,” The New York Times, June 13, 1965. Archived August 29, 2025. Archive URL:https://archive.ph/3HXIg
• 5
  Jane Mayer. “Who Sponsored the Hate?” The New Yorker, March 15, 2016. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/CwUdb
• 6
  “Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Internet Archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 7
  “LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu
• 8
  “Freedom School,” Douglas County Colorado. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/dQn0D
• 9
  Jane Mayer. “The Secrets of Charles Koch’s Political Ascent,” Politico, January 18, 2016. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/DCcdC
• 10
  Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, Vol. II No. 1 (Spring 1966). Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 11
  Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, Vol. II No. 1 (Spring 1966). Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 12
  Brian Doherty. “Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement,” Public Affairs, 2009.
• 13
  “LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu
• 14
  Jane Mayer. “Covert Operations,” The New Yorker, August 23, 2010. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/nZPhI
• 15
  Christine Woodside. “How ‘Little House on the Prairie’ Built Modern Conservatism,” Politico Magazine, September 11, 2016. Archived March 30, 2025. Archive URL: https://archive.fo/mReTV
• 16
  Brian Doherty. “Radicals for Capitalism: A Freewheeling History of the Modern American Libertarian Movement,” Public Affairs, 2009.
• 17
  “Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Archive.today internet archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 18
  “Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Archive.today internet archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 19
  “LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu
• 20
  UPI Archives. “Harry Hoiles, son of the founder of Freedom Newspapers…,” UPI, October 28, 1985. Archived April 9, 2024. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog.
• 21
  “Noted Industrialist New Freedom School Trustee,” Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, Page 13, July 6, 1964. Archived May 15, 2025. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog.
• 22
  “LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu
• 23
  Nick Gillespie. “Did Reason Really Publish a ‘Holocaust Denial “Special Issue”‘ in 1976? Of Course Not,” Reason, July 26, 2014. Archived July 27, 2019.
• 24
  “Institute Has No Credibility,” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1998. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/xA4JL
• 25
  “LeFevre, Robert (1911-1986),” Libertarianism.org. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/sOszu
• 26
  Nick Gillespie. “Did Reason Really Publish a ‘Holocaust Denial ‘Special Issue” in 1976? Of Course Not,” Reason, July 26, 2014. Archived July 27, 2019.
• 27
  “Institute Has No Credibility,” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1998. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/xA4JL
• 28
  “William H. Hutt,” Mises Institute. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/2w2lH
• 29
  Butler Shaffer. “Sy Leon, R.I.P.” LewRockwell.com, September 11, 2007. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/OPXo3
• 30
  Butler Shaffer. “Sy Leon, R.I.P.” LewRockwell.com, September 11, 2007. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/OPXo3
• 31
  “Butler Shaffer,” Mises Institute. Archived July 10, 2020. Archive URL: https://archive.vn/icgsa
• 32
  “Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Internet Archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 33
  “Harry Hoiles, son of the founder of Freedom Newspapers…”, UPI, October 28, 1985. Archived April 9, 2024. Archive URL: http://archive.today/8aT9J. Archived .pdf available at DeSmog.
• 34
  “Noted Industrialist New Freedom School Trustee,” Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, July 6, 1964, via newspapers.com. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 35
  “Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from the Archive.today internet archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 36
  “Freedom School 0000,” University of Iowa, Libraries, and Microfilming Corporation of America. 1977. The Right Wing Collection of the University of Iowa Libraries [1918-1977 on Microfilm]. Glen Rock, N.J.: Microfilming Corp. of America. Retrieved from internet archive. Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 37
  Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, Vol. II No. 1 (Spring 1966). Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 38
  Rampart Journal of Individualist Thought, Vol. II No. 1 (Spring 1966). Archived .pdf on file at DeSmog.
• 39
  “William H. Hutt,” Mises Institute. Archived July 27, 2019. Archive.fo URL: https://archive.fo/2w2lH