What Happened to “Peace” Officers?

Tags: The Police State

01/22/2014 Jeff Deist

Today when we use the term peace officer, it sounds antiquated and outdated. I’m sure most people under 40 have never heard the term actually used by anyone; we might as well be talking about buggy whips or floppy disks. But in the 1800s—and really through the 1960s—the term was used widely in America to refer generally to lawmen, whether sheriffs, constables, troopers, or marshals. Today the old moniker of peace officer has been almost eliminated in popular usage, replaced by “police officer” or the more in vogue “law enforcement officer.”

Recorded at the Mises Circle Southwest Regional in Houston, 18 January 2014. Includes an introduction by Lew Rockwell.

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