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A Selected List of Political Writings by Americans Between 1760 and 1805 - Charles S. Hyneman, American Political Writing During the Founding Era: 1760-1805, vol. 2 [1983]

Edition used:

American Political Writing During the Founding Era: 1760-1805, ed. Charles S. Hyneman and Donald Lutz (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1983). 2 vols. Volume 2.

Part of: American Political Writing During the Founding Era: 1760-1805, 2 vols.

About Liberty Fund:

Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.


A Selected List of Political Writings by Americans Between 1760 and 1805

The following bibliography is based upon a comprehensive reading of the political literature of the founding era and is designed to assist those interested in the study of American political theory by identifying items worthy of attention. If the topic of the piece is not apparent from its title, the editors have, in most instances, provided annotation. If an item lacks annotation, as is the case with many sermons, this is because the content is either so broad as to defy easy categorization, or the content is so typical for such a piece that there is no point in repetitiously noting that fact. The information is sufficient for an investigator to be able to identify those pieces dealing with a specific topic he or she might wish to study. We enter no comment on the pieces printed in this collection.

The editors have roughly divided the items in the bibliography into three categories. If there is no asterisk, the piece is deemed of interest to someone studying American political theory, but the level of analysis is low. One asterisk identifies pieces with substantial theoretical content, and two asterisks indicate pieces that these editors feel are candidates for inclusion among the best theoretical writing by Americans during the founding era. Major bibliographies compiled by historians on some part of what is here defined as the founding era usually will be found to have a 20 to 30 percent overlap with the following bibliography. The items cited by such historians but not included below are not lacking in historical interest or importance, but simply do not have sufficient theoretical content or interest for inclusion here. A dagger at the end of a citation indicates a piece that is reproduced in these volumes.

A.

ITEMS WHERE THE AUTHOR IS KNOWN

B.

ITEMS WHERE THE AUTHOR IS DISPUTED OR UNKNOWN

  • 354The Address and Petition of a Number of the Clergy of Various Denominations . . . Relative to the Passing of a Law Against Vice and Immorality. Philadelphia, 1793. 13 pp.Proposes outlawing theatrical exhibitions, among other things.
  • 355An Address of the Convention for Framing a New Constitution of Government of the State of New Hampshire. Portsmouth, N.H., 1781. 64 pp.Why the old constitution is deficient.
  • 356 Aequus. From the Craftsman [London]. Massachusetts Gazette and Boston Newsletter, March 6, 1766.**†
  • 357 Agricola. [untitled essay]. Massachusetts Spy, October 22, 1772.**Very Lockian statement of basic principles on government.
  • 358 Agrippa [James Winthrop?] Massachusetts Gazette, November 23-February 5, 1788.Reproduced in Ford, ed., Pamphlets on the Constitution of the United States.
  • 359 Amendments Proposed to the Federal Constitution Proposed by the New York State Convention. Boston Gazette, August 18, 1788.*
  • 360 Amicus. To the Printer. Columbian Herald, Columbia, S.C., August 28, 1788.Anti-Federalist statement on the right of recall.
  • 361 Amicus Republicae. Address to the Public, Containing Some Remarks on the Present Political State of the American Republicks, etc. Exeter, 1786. 36 pp.**†
  • 362 [anon.] Address of a Convention of Delegates from the Abolition Society, to the Citizens of the United States. Philadelphia, 1794. 7 pp.
  • 363 [anon.] An Address . . . Respecting the Alien and Sedition Laws. Richmond, 1798. 63 pp.
  • 364 [anon.] An Address to the Inhabitants of the County of Berkshire Respecting Their Present Opposition to Civil Government. Hartford, 1778. 28 pp.*
  • 365 [anon.] The Alarm: or, an Address to the People of Pennsylvania, on the Late Resolve of Congress, for Totally Suppressing All Power and Authority Derived from the Crown of Great Britain. Philadelphia, 1776. 4 pp.**†
  • 366 [anon.] Ambition. City Gazette and Daily Advertiser, Charleston, June 6, 1789.*†
  • 367 [anon.] Boston Gazette, September 17, 1764**†
  • 368 [anon.] A Candid Examination of the Address of the Minority of the Council of Censors. Philadelphia, 1784. 40 pp.
  • 369 [anon.] Declaration and Address of His Majesty’s Loyal Associated Refugees, Assembled at Rhode Island. New York, 1779. 36 pp.
  • 370 [anon.] A Declaration of Independence Published by the Congress at Philadelphia in 1776 With a Counter-Declaration Published at New York in 1781. New York, 1781. 24 pp.The Tories declare their independence from revolutionary America.
  • 371 [anon.] Discussion of Revision of South Carolina’s Code of Law. City Gazette and Daily Advertiser, Charleston, February 3, 1789.
  • 372 [anon.] Dissertation Upon the Constitutional Freedom of the Press. Boston, 1801. 54 pp.
  • 373 [anon.] An English Patriot’s Creed, Anno Domini, 1775. Massachusetts Spy, January 19, 1776.*†
  • 374 [anon.] An Essay of a Frame of Government for Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, 1776. 16 pp.*Summary of Whig ideas, with specific proposals for a state constitution.
  • 375 [anon.] An Essay Upon Government. Philadelphia, 1775. 125 pp.**Origin of government; society, government, and property defined; authority and obligations of rulers; and the rights and obligations of citizens.
  • 376 [anon.] A Few Salutary Hints Pointing out the Policy and Consequences of Permitting British Subjects to Engross Our Trade and Become Our Citizens. Charleston, 1786. 16 pp.
  • 377 [anon.] Four Letters on Interesting Subjects. Philadelphia, 1776. 24 pp.**†
  • 378 [anon.] A Friend to the Judiciary. New York, 1801. 60 pp. Concerning the independence of the judiciary.
  • 379 [anon.] An Impartial Review of the Rise and Progress of the Controversy Between . . . Federalists and Republicans. Philadelphia, 1800. 50 pp.
  • 380 [anon.] A Letter from a Virginian to the Members of the Continental Congress. Boston, 1774. 31 pp.*A restrained, even-tempered plea for Congress to be patient and to seek accommodation with Britain.
  • 381 [anon.] Letter to a Member of the General Assembly of Virginia on the Subject of a Conspiracy of the Slaves. Richmond, 1801. 21 pp.
  • 382 [anon.] Letter to the Editor. Boston Gazette, July 22, 1765.*“No taxation without representation” applied to western Massachusetts towns vis-a-vis Massachusetts legislature.
  • 383 [anon.] Letter to the Editor. Massachusetts Spy, April 4, 1771.*The nature of government.
  • 384 [anon.] Letter to the Editor. Massachusetts Spy, August 22, 1771.The nature of government.
  • 385 [anon.] Letter to the Editor. Boston Gazette, December 31, 1787.*Short, pithy summary of views on education.
  • 386 [anon.] A Letter to the People of Pennsylvania, Occasioned by the Assembly’s Passing that Important Act, for Constituting the Judges of the Supreme Courts and Common-Pleas, During Good Behavior. Philadelphia. 1760. 39 pp.*Reproduced in Bailyn, ed., Pamphlets of the American Revolution.
  • 387 [anon.] A Memorial and Remonstrance Presented to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia . . . in Consequence of a Bill . . . for the Establishment of Religion by Law. Worcester, 1786. 16 pp.*
  • 388 [anon.] Northampton [Mass.] Returns to the Convention on the Constitution. 1780. In Oscar Handlin and Mary Handlin, eds. The Popular Sources of Political Authority (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966), pp. 572-587.*Comprehensive critique of the Massachusetts Constitution of 1780, especially interesting on property requirement in voting for lower house.
  • 389 [anon.] No Standing Army in the British Colonies. New York, 1775. 18 pp.
  • 390 [anon.] Number I and Number II. City Gazette and Daily Advertiser, Charleston, March 16, 17, and 18, 1789.Parliamentary privilege and freedom of the press.
  • 391 [anon.] On the Management of Children in Infancy. South Carolina Gazette, November 1, 1773.*Brief statement on child-rearing up to literacy at age seven.
  • 392 [anon.] The People the Best Governors: Or a Plan of Government Founded on the Just Principles of Natural Freedom. New Hampshire, 1776. 11 pp.**†
  • 393 [anon.] The Political Establishment of the United States of America. Philadelphia, 1784. 25 pp.*Inadequacy of the Articles of Confederation—a new constitution is required.
  • 394 [anon.] The Power and Grandeur of Great Britain Founded on the Liberty of the Colonies. . . . New York, 1768. 24 pp.**The British government does not impose taxes; the people make voluntary contributions for revenue.
  • 395 [anon.] Proposals to Amend and Perfect the Policy of the Government of the United States of America. Baltimore, 1782. 36 pp.*
  • 396 [anon.] Review [in two parts] of John Adams’s “Defence of the Constitutions . . . of America,” taken from the Monthly Review (in London) and reprinted in the New York Packet, September 25 and 28, 1787.
  • 397 [anon.] Rudiments of Law and Government Deduced from the Law of Nature. Charleston, 1783. 56 pp.**†
  • 398 [anon.] Serious Considerations on Several Important Subjects, viz. On War . . . Observations on Slavery . . . Spiritous Liquors. Philadelphia, 1778. 48 pp.
  • 399 [anon.] To the Printers. Boston Gazette, July 15, 1765.Americans are equal to the British at home.
  • 400 [anon.] To the Printer. Boston Gazette, December 2, 1765.*Succinct statement of general principles in response to the Stamp Act.
  • 401 [anon.] [two untitled essays]. The United States Magazine, January, Providence, 1779 vol. I, pp. 5-41, 155-159.*The first summarizes traditional attitudes toward government. The second outlines reasons for distaste for established religion.
  • 402 A. Z. Virtuous Pennsylvanians. South Carolina Gazette, November 29, 1773.
  • 403 Benevolus. Poverty. City Gazette and Daily Advertiser, Charleston, December 8, 1789.*†
  • 404 Berkshire’s Grievances. Statement of Berkshire County Representatives, and Address to the Inhabitants of Berkshire. Pittsfield, Mass., 1778.**†
  • 405Bills of Rights and Amendments Proposed by Massachusetts and Virginia [to the Proposed United States Constitution]. 1788.*Reproduced in Kenyon, ed. The Antifederalists, pp. 421-39.
  • 406 Bostonians. Serious Questions Proposed to All Friends to The Rights of Mankind, With Suitable Answers. Boston Gazette, November 19, 1787.*†
  • 407 Britannus Americanus. Boston Gazette, March 17, 1766.**†
  • 408 Brutus [Thomas Treadwell? Robert Yates?] Against the New Federal Constitution. Worcester Magazine, December, 1787.List of objections to the proposed constitution.
  • 409 Brutus [Thomas Treadwell? Robert Yates?] No. I: To the Citizens of the State of New York. New York Journal and Weekly Register, October 18, 1787.*Not reproduced in the volume edited by Kenyon (as are several of the other essays by Brutus), this one expresses the fears that under the new Constitution the government will be too far from the people, and the country too heterogeneous.
  • 410 Brutus [Thomas Treadwell? Robert Yates?] No. II. New York Journal and Weekly Register, November 1, 1787.*
  • 411 Brutus [Thomas Treadwell? Robert Yates?] No. IV: To the People of the State of New York. New York Journal and Weekly Register, November 29, 1787.*Not reproduced in Kenyon, this essay explores the relationship between the people and their representatives.
  • 412 Brutus [Thomas Treadwell? Robert Yates?] No. V: To the People of the State of New York, New York Journal and Weekly Register, December 13, 1787.*Not reproduced in Kenyon, it proposes that the Constitution is an original compact among the people dissolving other compacts, rather than an agreement among the states.
  • 413 Brutus [Thomas Treadwell? Robert Yates?] No. VI: To the People of the State of New York, New York Journal and Weekly Register, December 27, 1787.*Reproduced in Kenyon, ed., The Antifederalists. Will the states be absorbed?
  • 414 Brutus Junior. Letter to the Editor. New York Journal, November 8, 1787.
  • 415 By a Gentleman Born and Bred. Remarks on the Bill of Rights, Constitution and Some Acts of the General Assembly of the State of Virginia. Richmond, 1801. 35 pp.
  • 416 Cato. Discourse Upon Libel. Massachusetts Spy, April 19, 1771.
  • 417 Centinel [Samuel Bryan?] No. I & No. II: To the People of Pennsylvania. Maryland Journal, October 30, and November 2, respectively, 1787.A widely-read Anti-federalist. Reproduced in Kenyon, ed., The Antifederalists.
  • 418 Cincinnatus. Number I, Number II, Number V, and Number VI: To James Wilson, esq. New York Journal, November 1, 8, 29, and December 6, respectively, 1787.An Anti-Federalist response to James Wilson’s defense of the proposed Constitution. Number II especially notable on freedom of the press and trial by jury. Number VI speaks to taxation and public finance.
  • 419 A Citizen. To the Citizens of Richmond, Not Freeholders. Virginia Argus, Richmond, July 31, 1801.In favor of broad suffrage.
  • 420 A Citizen of Connecticut. An Address to the Legislature and People of Connecticut on the Subject of Dividing the State into Districts for the Election of Representatives in Congress. New Haven, 1791. 37 pp.
  • 421 Columbus. A Letter to a Member of Congress, Respecting the Alien and Sedition Laws. Boston, 1799.
  • 422 Common Sense. [untitled essay]. Massachusetts Gazette, January, 1788.Arguments in support of the proposed Constitution.
  • 423 A Constant Customer. Extract of a Letter from a Gentleman in the Country to His Friend. Massachusetts Spy, February 18, 1773.*†
  • 424The Constitution of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery . . . to Which are Added the Acts . . . of Pennsylvania for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery. Philadelphia, 1788. 29 pp.
  • 425 Continental Congress. Appeal to the Inhabitants of Quebec, October 26, 1774, Journals of the Continental Congress, vol. I, pp. 105-113.**†
  • 426 Council of Censors of Pennsylvania. Minority Report. To the Freemen of Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, 1784, 12 pp.Anti-constitutionalists in Pennsylvania list the failures of the 1776 Pennsylvania Constitution.
  • 427 A Countryman. Letter to the Editor. New York Journal, Dec. 6, 1787.*The social disruptions caused by the war.
  • 428 A Countryman. Letter II. New York Journal, Dec. 13, 1787.Discusses section in the Constitution on the importation of slaves. Confused by the terms Federalist and anti-Federalist.
  • 429 D.D. Extract from a Thanksgiving Sermon, Delivered in the County of Middlesex. Worcester Magazine, January, 1787.*Defense of the Massachusetts government against the charges by Daniel Shays.
  • 430 Deliberator. To the Printers. Freeman’s Journal, Philadelphia, February 20, 1788.In opposition to the proposed Constitution.
  • 431 Demophilus [George Bryan?] The Genuine Principles of the Ancient Saxon, or English[,] Constitution, Philadelphia, 1776. 46 pp.**†
  • 432 De Witte, John [pseud.] To the Editor. American Herald, Worcester, December 3, 1787.An Anti-Federalist essay.
  • 433 An Elector. To the Free Electors of This Town. Boston Gazette, April 28, 1788.**†
  • 434 F.A. A Letter to a Right Noble Lord. Boston Gazette, July 22, 29, August 5, 12, 26, and September 2, 1765.Six-part essay in response to a member of Parliament who defended the Stamp Act.
  • 435 A Farmer. To the Editor. Maryland Gazette and Baltimore Advertiser, March 7, 1788.The new Constitution will not abate war or prevent despotism.
  • 436 Farmer. To the Printer. Pennsylvania Packet, Philadelphia, November 5, 1776.*Exposition of Whig ideology in relatively concise form.
  • 437 A Federalist. Letter to the Editor. Boston Gazette, December 3, 1787.A general defense of the proposed Constitution.
  • 438 A Federalist. To the People of Pennsylvania. Maryland Journal, November 6, 1787.In response to Centinel.
  • 439 Form of Ratification of the Federal Constitution by the State of New York. Boston Gazette, August 11, 1788.*
  • 440 Freeborn American. To the Printers. Boston Gazette and Country Journal, March 9, 1767.The duties of a free press.
  • 441 Freeholders of Boston. Instructions to Their Representatives. Boston Gazette, May 28, 1764.*Summary of Whig ideas and values.
  • 442 Freeholders of Newbury-Port. Instructions to Their Representatives. Boston Gazette, November 4, 1765.Summary of basic values.
  • 443 Freeholders of Plymouth. Instructions to Their Representatives. Boston Gazette, November 4, 1765.
  • 444 Freeman, [Untitled essay reproduced from the June 6 issue of the New York Gazette]. Georgia Gazette, September 19, 26, and October 3, 1765.**Virtual representation, the nature of representation, and the relationship of the American people to the British people.
  • 445 Freeman. Another Letter from Freeman. Georgia Gazette, October 26, 1769.*In response to Libertas, supports the position that the people are sovereign and can withdraw support from a legislature that breaks the contract.
  • 446 Hamden. On Patriotism. South Carolina Gazette, November 29, 1773.Brief discussion of private interest versus public good.
  • 447 Hermes. The Oracle of Liberty, and Mood of Establishing a Government. Philadelphia, 1791, 39 pp.
  • 448 Historicus. Royal South Carolina Gazette, Charleston, March 28, 1782.An untitled essay laying out the Tory view of republican government.
  • 449 Homespun. A Countryman. South Carolina Gazette, October 31, 1774.*Brief discussion of how deliberation on public affairs should proceed, who should be allowed to deliberate, etc.
  • 450 Hortensius. An Essay on the Liberty of the Press, Richmond, 1799. 30 pp.*
  • 451 An Impartial Citizen. A Dissertation Upon the Constitutional Freedom of the Press. Boston, 1801. 54 pp.**†
  • 452 Instructions of the Town of New-Braintree to its Representative. Worcester Magazine, June, 1786
  • 453 J. Letter to the Printer. The Boston Evening Post, May 23, 1763, Supplement.
  • 454 J.B.F. To the Electors of Anne-Arundel County. Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser, February 23, 1787.In response to Samuel Chase’s piece in the same paper, J.B.F. attacks the practice of instructing representatives.
  • 455 The Journeyman Carpenters. An Address. American Daily Advertiser, Philadelphia, May 11, 1791.Justifies their strike and striking in general.
  • 456 Junius, Camillus. [untitled]. The Argus, or Greenleaf’s New Daily Advertiser, New York, March 15 and April 6, 1796.*Freedom of speech—the legislature has no “privilege” against criticism.
  • 457 A Landholder. For the New Federal Constitution. Worcester Magazine, December, 1787.
  • 458 Leonidas. A Reply to Lucius Junius Brutus’ Examination of the President’s Answer to the New Haven Remonstrance. New York, 1801. 62. pp.*Leonidas is attacking Brutus, a Federalist: topics range from the limits to majority rule to presidential power of appointment and removal.
  • 459 L.Q. To the Printers. Boston Gazette, May 16, 1763.A reply to T.Q., whose discussion on the separation of powers (prohibition on multiple office holding) appeared in the April 18 edition of the same paper.
  • 460 Majority and minority reports on the repeal of the Sedition Act. February 25, 1799. Annals of Congress, 5th Cong., 3rd Session, pp. 2987-2990, 3033-3014.*
  • 461 Medium. On the Proposed Federal Constitution. Worcester Magazine, December, 1787.
  • 462 A Member of the General Committee. To Freeman. South Carolina Gazette, October 18, 1769.Counters a critic of the Stamp Act.
  • 463A Memorial and Remonstrance Presented to the General Assembly of the State of Virginia . . . In Consequence of a Bill . . . for the Establishment of Religion by Law. Worcester, 1786. 16 pp.*
  • 464Memorial Presented to Congress . . . by Different Societies Promoting Abolition of Slavery. 1792. 31 pp.
  • 465 Monitor. No. VI, Massachusetts Spy, January 9, 1772.**A community has the right to reward every virtue and punish every vice. A list of virtues is included.
  • 466 Monitor. To the New Appointed Councellors of the Province of Massachusetts-Bay. Massachusetts Spy, August 18, 1774.**†
  • 467 Monitor. [untitled]. Massachusetts Gazette, October 30, 1787.Supports the proposed Constitution.
  • 468 M.Y. A Letter from a Son of Liberty in Boston to a Son of Liberty in Bristol County. Boston Evening Post, May 12, 1766.Defends lawyers as members of the legislature against those who would exclude lawyers from political office.
  • 469 A Native of this Colony. An Address to the Convention of the Colony . . . of Virginia, on the Subject of Government in General and Recommending a Particular Form to Their Attention. Virginia Gazette, June 8, 1776.**The basic principle underlying each form of government, with a good discussion of virtue (public versus private).
  • 470 Nestor. To the Publick. Worcester Magazine, December, 1786.**The blessings of civil society and the need for seeking the common good to remain a civil society (of the five essays, the first is best).
  • 471 Nov Anglicanus. To the Inhabitants of the Province. Boston Gazette, May 14, 1764.A response to the Stamp Act.
  • 472 An Observer. To the Editor. American Herald, Worcester, December 3, 1787.A rejoinder to Federalist paper number five.
  • 473 An Officer of the Late Continental Army. Against the Federal Constitution. Worcester Magazine, December, 1787.
  • 474 An Old Whig. To the Printer. Massachusetts Gazette, November 27, 1787.
  • 475 An Old Whig. To the Printer. Freeman’s Journal, Philadelphia, November 28, 1787.On constitutional conventions.
  • 476 An Old Whig. To the Printer. Maryland Gazette and Baltimore Advertiser, November 2, 1788.An opponent of the proposed Constitution predicts that the “necessary and proper” clause will be used to expand the powers granted Congress in Article I.
  • 477 One of the Subscribers. Letter to the Editor. New York Packet, September 21, 1789.*Propositions for reforming the system of public education in Boston, for both sexes.
  • 478 An Other Citizen. On Conventions. Worcester Magazine, September, 1786.*Opposed to the county conventions called by those opposed to the operation of Massachusetts courts. These conventions eventually led to Shays’s Rebellion.
  • 479 P. . . . To the Printers. New York Mercury, January 28, 1765.A typical response to the Stamp Act.
  • 480 Penn, William [pseud.] To the Printer. Independent Gazetteer, Philadelphia, January 3, 1788.An Anti-Federalist keying on the topic of presidential veto.
  • 481Personal Slavery Established by the Suffrages of Custom and Right Reason. Philadelphia, 1773. 26 ppA reply to a piece by Anthony Benezet, this essay outlines the standard arguments used in favor of slavery.
  • 482 Philadelphiensis [Benjamin Workman?] To the Printer. Freeman’s Journal, Philadelphia, February 6, 20, and April 9, 1788.An Anti-Federalist focusing on the executive branch.
  • 483 Philanthropos. [untitled]. Pennsylvania Gazette, Philadelphia., January 16, 1788.In support of the proposed Constitution.
  • 484 Philodemos. [untitled]. Boston American Herald, May 12, 1788.In support of the proposed Constitution.
  • 485 Philo Patriae [William Goddard?] The Constitutional Courant: Continuing Matters Interesting to Liberty, and No Wise Repugnant to Loyalty. Burlington, N.J. [?], 1765.
  • 486 Philo Publicus. Boston Gazette, October 1, 1764.*†
  • 487 Philo Publius [untitled]. New York Daily Advertiser, December 1, 1787.In support of the proposed Constitution.
  • 488 The Preceptor. Vol. II Social Duties of the Political Kind. Massachusetts Spy, May 21, 1772.**†
  • 489Proposed Amendments [to the Federal Constitution] Made by the Maryland Convention. Annapolis, 1788.
  • 490 A Republican. To the Printer. New Hampshire Gazette, Exeter, February 8 to March 22, 1783.*Summary of the Whig perspective.
  • 491 Republicus. To the Printer. The Kentucky Gazette, March 1, 1788.Against the proposed Constitution, especially the electoral college.
  • 492 Resolves of the Lower House of the South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal, December 17, 1765.*Resolutions in opposition to the Stamp Act; wording and logic very similar to that found in proposals by northern colonies.
  • 493 Resolves of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Boston Gazette, November 4, 1765.In opposition to the Stamp Act. Good summary of basic American political principles. See previous item.
  • 494 Rusticus. Letter to the Editor. New York Journal, September 13, 1787.In opposition to the proposed Constitution.
  • 495 Salus Populi. To the Freemen of the Province of Pennsylvania. South Carolina and American General Gazette, Charleston, April 3, 1776.Justifies breaking with England.
  • 496 [Several Quakers]. An Address to the Inhabitants of Pennsylvania by the Freemen of Philadelphia Who Are Now Confirmed. Philadelphia, 1777. 52 pp.
  • 497 Sidney. Letter to the Editor. New York Journal, September 13, 1787.In opposition to the proposed Constitution.
  • 498 Spartanus. Freemans Journal or New Hampshire Gazette, Portsmouth, June 15 and 29, 1776.*A strongly democratic statement.
  • 499 Theophrastus. A Short History of the Trial by Jury. Worcester Magazine, October, 1787.**†
  • 500To the Supporters and Defenders of American Freedom and Independence in the State of New York. New York, 1778.Urges no traffic with or toleration of Tories, loyalists, or collaborators with Britain.
  • 501 T.Q. On Separation of Powers: How Much Separation is Enough? Boston Gazette and Country Journal, April 4, 18, and June 6, 1763.*†See the piece by L.Q.
  • 502 The Tribune. No. xvii. South Carolina Gazette, October 6, 1766.**†
  • 503 Tribunus. Letters from Tribunus to Republicanus. Worcester Magazine, May, 1787.Two articles discussing public credit.
  • 504 Tullius. Three Letters on the Nature of the Federal Union, etc., Philadelphia, 1783. 28 pp.
  • 505 U. Boston Gazette, August 1, 1763.*†
  • 506 U. To the Printers. Boston Gazette, August 29, 1763.Diatribe against “private revenge.”
  • 507 Velerius. Massachusetts Centinel, Boston, November 28, 1787.Supports the proposed Constitution.
  • 508The Virginia Report of 1799-1800, Touching the Alien and Sedition Laws, Richmond, 1850.
  • 509 Virginiensis [Charles Lee?] Defense of the Alien and Sedition Laws. Philadelphia, 1798. 47 pp.
  • 510The Votes and Proceedings of the Freeholders and Other Inhabitants of the Town of Boston, In Town Meeting Assembled, According to Law. November 20, 1772, [Samuel Adams?].*Reproduced in Jensen, ed., Tracts of the American Revolution.
  • 511 Vox Populi. To the Printer. Massachusetts Gazette, Boston, October 30, 1787.Against the proposed Constitution, with a special concern for the dangers in congressional control of elections.
  • 512 The Worcester Speculator. No. VI. Worcester Magazine, October, 1787.**†
  • 513 Worcestriensis. To the Honorable . . . (No. II). Massachusetts Spy, August 14, 1776.*The importance of education to a republic.
  • 514 Worcestriensis. Number III. Massachusetts Spy, August 21, 1776.*The importance of religion.
  • 515 Worcestriensis. Number IV. Massachusetts Spy, September 4, 1776.**†

A LIST OF NEWSPAPERS EXAMINED

Anyone attempting to read comprehensively the newspapers published in America between 1760 and 1805 runs into several problems. First of all, a significant percentage of issues did not survive, and those that do are often available only on microfilm of poor quality and in various libraries. The Library of Congress has the most complete collection, but even there the problem is that few papers were published for as long as half the period under study. The strategy forced upon the researcher is to select judiciously from those papers available, with the aim of constructing a continuous set of newspapers over the period from each of the major cities and towns that generated the most activity. The problem is eased somewhat by the significant number of newspapers that did not usually publish political essays and letters, or if they did, tended to reprint essays from newspapers elsewhere. Most of the newspapers that were not read comprehensively, and are so indicated below, were in fact examined and determined to fall into this last category. An estimated four thousand political essays and letters were examined in the newspapers from the era. Because it was the practice in even the most sophisticated publications to reprint pieces from papers in other colonies, in some instances a political essay was encountered four or five times in various newspapers, from South Carolina to New Hampshire. In the list below, those newspapers that were consulted comprehensively for the period 1760-1805 are marked with an asterisk. The rest are listed to show which major papers were not so examined, and to help provide a reasonably complete list of newspapers for the period.

  • CONNECTICUT

  • American Mercury (Hartford)*
  • Connecticut Courant (Hartford)*
  • Connecticut Gazette (New London)*
  • Connecticut Journal (New Haven)
  • Middlesex Gazette (Middletown)
  • New Haven Chronicle
  • New Haven Gazette*
  • Norwich Packet
  • Spectator*
  • Weekly Monitor (Litchfield)

  • DELAWARE

  • Wilmington Courant
  • Wilmington Gazette

  • GEORGIA

  • Augusta Chronicle
  • Georgia Gazette (Savannah)*
  • State Gazette of Georgia (Savannah)*

  • MARYLAND

  • Maryland Chronicle (Frederick)
  • Maryland Gazette (Annapolis)*
  • Maryland Gazette and Baltimore Advertiser*
  • Maryland Journal (Baltimore)*
  • Weekly Museum (Baltimore)*

  • MASSACHUSETTS

  • American Herald (Worcester)*
  • Berkshire Chronicle
  • Boston Censor*
  • Boston Chronicle*
  • Boston Evening Post*
  • Boston Gazette*
  • Boston Gazette and Weekly Republican Journal*
  • Cumberland Gazette (Portland, Maine)
  • Essex Journal (Salem)
  • Hampshire Chronicle (Springfield)
  • Hampshire Gazette (Northhampton)
  • Hampshire Herald (Springfield)
  • Independent Chronicle (Boston)
  • Massachusetts Centinel (Boston)*
  • Massachusetts Gazette (Boston)*
  • Massachusetts Spy (Worcester)*
  • Post Boy and Advertiser (Boston)*
  • Salem Mercury
  • Western Star (Stockbridge)
  • Worcester Magazine*

  • NEW HAMPSHIRE

  • Freemans Oracle and New Hampshire Advertiser (Exeter)*
  • New Hampshire Gazette and General Advertiser (Exeter)
  • New Hampshire Mercury (Portsmouth)
  • New Hampshire Recorder and Weekly Advertiser (Keene)*
  • New Hampshire Spy (Portsmouth)

  • NEW JERSEY

  • Brunswick Gazette (New Brunswick)
  • New Jersey Gazette (Trenton)
  • New Jersey Journal (Elizabethtown)
  • Plain Dealer (Bridgetown)*

  • NEW YORK

  • Albany Gazette*
  • Albany Register
  • American Magazine (New York)
  • Goshen Repository
  • Hudson Gazette
  • Independent Journal (New York)
  • New York Daily Advertiser (New York)*
  • New York Gazette (New York)*
  • New York Gazette and Weekly Mercury (New York)*
  • New York Journal (New York)*
  • New York Mercury (New York)*
  • New York Museum (New York)
  • New York Packet (New York)*
  • Northern Centinel or Lansingburg Advertiser
  • Poughkeepsie Journal*

  • NORTH CAROLINA

  • North Carolina Chronicle (Fayetteville)
  • North Carolina Gazette*
  • State Gazette of North Carolina (Newberne and Edentown)*

  • PENNSYLVANIA

  • American Museum (Philadelphia)
  • Freeman’s Journal (Philadelphia)*
  • Independent Gazetteer (Philadelphia)*
  • Lancaster Journal*
  • Pennsylvania Evening Post and Daily Advertiser (Philadelphia)*
  • Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia)*
  • Pennsylvania Herald (Philadelphia)
  • Pennsylvania Journal (Philadelphia)*
  • Pennsylvania Ledger (Philadelphia)*
  • Pennsylvania Mercury (Philadelphia)
  • Pennsylvania Packet (Philadelphia)*
  • Pittsburg Gazette

  • RHODE ISLAND

  • Newport Herald
  • Newport Mercury*
  • Providence Gazette*
  • United States Chronicle (Providence)

  • SOUTH CAROLINA

  • City Gazette, or Daily Advertiser (Charleston)*
  • The Columbian Herald or the Independent Courier (Charleston)
  • Royal South Carolina Gazette (Charleston)*
  • South Carolina and American General Gazette (Charleston)*
  • South Carolina Gazette (Charleston)*
  • South Carolina Gazette and Country Journal (Charleston)*
  • South Carolina State Gazette and Timothy’s Daily Advertiser (Charleston)*
  • South Carolina Weekly Chronicle
  • State Gazette of South Carolina (Charleston)*

  • VIRGINIA

  • The Norfolk and Portsmouth Chronicle
  • Virginia Gazette (Winchester)*
  • Virginia Gazette and Petersburg Advertiser
  • The Virginia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser (Richmond)
  • The Virginia Herald and Independent Advertiser
  • Virginia Independent Chronicle (Richmond)*
  • The Virginia Journal and Alexandria Advertiser*

COLLECTIONS OF WRITING FROM THE FOUNDING ERA

There are a number of good, more-specialized collections that have proved to be very useful, and any student of American political theory would want to be at least familiar with their respective contents. In some instances we have drawn upon them for pieces found in this collection.

  • Almon, John, ed. A Collection of Papers Relative to the Dispute Between Great Britain and America, 1764-1775. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.
  • Bailyn, Bernard, ed. Pamphlets of the American Revolution. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 1965.
  • Borden, Morton, ed. The Antifederalist Papers. East Lansing, Mich.: Michigan State University Press, 1965.
  • Cooke, J. E., ed. The Federalist. Cleveland: Meridian Books, 1961.
  • Elliott, Jonathan, ed. The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1901.
  • Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1937.
  • Ford, Paul Leicester, ed. Pamphlets on the Constitution of the United States. Brooklyn: 1888.
  • Handlin, Oscar, and Mary Handlin, eds. The Popular Sources of Political Authority. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1966.
  • Hyneman, Charles S. and George W. Carey, eds. A Second Federalist. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1967.
  • Jensen, Merrill, ed. Tracts of the American Revolution, 1763-1776. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1978.
  • Kenyon, Cecilia, ed. The Antifederalists. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1966.
  • Levy, Leonard W., ed. Freedom of the Press from Zenger to Jefferson: Early American Libertarian Theories. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1966.
  • Lewis, John D., ed. Anti-Federalists Versus Federalists: Selected Documents. San Francisco: Chandler, 1967.
  • Mark, Irving and Eugene L. Schwaab, eds. The Faith of Our Fathers: An Anthology Expressing the Aspirations of the American Common Man, 1790-1860. New York: Octagon Books, 1976.
  • Padover, Saul K., ed. The World of the Founding Fathers. New York: A. S. Barnes and Company, 1977.
  • Pole, J. R., ed. The Revolution in America, 1754-1788: Documents and Commentaries. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1970.
  • Rudolph, Frederick, ed. Essays on Education in the Early Republic. Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press, 1965.
  • Smith, Wilson, ed. Theories of Education in Early America, 1655-1819. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1973.
  • Storing, Herbert, ed. The Complete Antifederalist. 7 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
  • Thornton, John Wingate, ed. The Pulpit of the American Revolution. Boston: Gould and Lincoln, 1860.

This book was set in Garamond Number 3, a typeface indirectly derived from the designs of Claude Garamont, a French punch-cutter who died in the mid-sixteenth century. Garamont worked for many printers in Paris, and in his lifetime his types were widely used. Because of their legibility and beauty, these types have been used as models by many contemporary designers.

This book is printed on paper that is acid-free and meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, Z39.84, 1984 (archival)

Book design by Betty Binns Graphics, New York, New York Editorial service by Harkavy Publishing Service, New York, New York Typography by Monotype Composition Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland Printed and bound by R. R. Donnelley and Sons, Crawfordsville, Indiana

CAROLINE ISLES.

Father Cantova, speaking of the Caroline Islands, says, “The principal occupation of the men is to make boats for fishing and to cultivate the earth.” Lettres edifiantes & curieuses. Tom. 15, p. 313.

FRIENDLY ISLES.

“The province alloted to the men is as might be expected far more laborious and extensive than that of the women: agriculture, architecture, boat building, fishing, and other things that relate to navigation are the objects of their care; cultivated roots and fruits being their principal support, this requires their constant attention to agriculture, which they pursue very diligently and seem to have brought to almost as great perfection as circumstances will permit.”

OTAHEITE.

In the account of the agriculture of Otaheite, Captain Cook seems in some measure to contradict himself. He says, “It is doubtless the natural fertility of the country, combined with the mildness and serenity of the climate, that renders the natives so careless in their cultivation that in many places, though overflowing with the richest productions, the smallest traces cannot be observed. The cloth plant, which is raised by seeds brought from the mountains, and the ava or intoxicating pepper are almost the only things to which they pay any attention.” Capt. Cook afterwards tells us that he supposes the inhabitant of Otaheite prevents the progress of the bread plant to make room for others, to afford him some variety in his food, the chief of which are the cocoanut and plantain, the first of which he says can give “no trouble after it has raised itself a foot or two above the ground; but the plantain requires more care.” Hence we may enumerate four species of vegetables cultivated at Otaheite, viz. the cloth plant, the ava, the cocoanut, and the plantain. But as the cocoanut and the plantain were the chief among other substitutes to the bread plant, here is a fair inference that some other species of vegetables were cultivated.

SANDWICH ISLES.

“What we saw of their agriculture furnished sufficient proofs that they were not novices in that art. The vale ground is one continued plantation of taro and a few other things which have all the appearance of being well attended to. The potato fields and spots of sugar cane or plantains on the higher grounds are planted with the same regularity and always in the same determinate figure, generally as a square or oblong, but neither those nor the others are enclosed with any kind of fence, unless we reckon the ditches in the low grounds such, which, it is more probable, are intended to convey water to the taro. The great quantity and goodness of those articles may also perhaps be as much attributed to skillful culture as to natural fertility of soil.” Cook’s last Voyage.