I wonder but what, through the centuries of man's existence, he could traverse from one country to the another as free as a bird. He could choose his country, and move there, with no king objecting.
Restrictions on the freedom to live where you want appear to be a modern-day thing. Through most of history, it was pack your bags and cross into another country if you were of a desire to do so. Grant it, it was harder to move back then. Perhaps the ease of movement -- the inventions and improvements in transportation -- contributed to the rise of rules limiting immigration.
So, even at the same time the world has moved from monarchies to democracies -- giving people greater freedom -- it has also moved from open borders to restricted ones, -- taking away a freedom. If you were to list the ways the world is freer and the ways it is less free, freedom to move from one country to another would stand out as one of the few losses of freedom.
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