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British and French Sources of American Constitutionalism

Guide to the Readings

Editions used:

• John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. Thomas Hollis (London: A. Millar et al., 1764).
• John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, Cato’s Letters, or Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious, and Other Important Subjects. Four volumes in Two, edited and annotated by Ronald Hamowy (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1995).
• Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, The Complete Works of M. de Montesquieu (London: T. Evans, 1777), 4 vols. Vol. 1.
• Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, The Complete Works of M. de Montesquieu (London: T. Evans, 1777), 4 vols. Vol. 3: Persian Letters.
• Thomas Paine, The Writings of Thomas Paine, Collected and Edited by Moncure Daniel Conway (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1894). 4 Vols. (Common Sense)
• David Hume, Essays Moral, Political, Literary, edited and with a Foreword, Notes, and Glossary by Eugene F. Miller, with an appendix of variant readings from the 1889 edition by T.H. Green and T.H. Grose, revised edition (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund 1987).

See also:

• Topic: American Revolution and Constitution
• Subject Area: Law
• School of Thought: 18thC Commonwealthmen
• John Locke
• John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon
• Montesquieu * David Hume

• Sessions I and II: John Locke

  Session I: John Locke on Ends of Politics and the Preservation of Liberty.

  • Chapter 1, pages 3–4;
  • Chapter 2, “Of the State of Nature,” pages 4–7;
  • Chapter 3, “Of the State of War,” paragraphs 16–21
  • Chapter 4, “Of Slavery,” paragraphs 22–24
  • Chapter 5, “Of Property,” paragraphs 25–51
  • Chapter 7, “Of Political or Civil Society,” paragraphs 52–76 and 77–95

  Session II: John Locke on Limited Government.

  • Chapter 8, “Of the Beginning of Political Societies” paragraphs 95–99 and115–122
  • Chapter 9, “Of the Ends of Political Society and Government,” paragraphs 123–131
  • Chapter 10, “Of the Forms of a Commonwealth,” paragraphs 132–133
  • Chapter 11, “Of the Extent of the Legislative Power,” paragraphs 134–142
  • Chapter 12, “Of the Legislative, Executive, and Federative Power of the Commonwealth” paragraphs 143–148
  • Chapter 13, “Of the Subordination of the Powers of the Commonwealth,” paragraphs 149–158
  • Chapter 14, “Of Prerogative,” paragraphs 159–168
  • Chapter 15, “Of Paternal, Political, and Despotical Power Considered Together,” paragraphs 169–174
  • Chapter 17, “Of Usurpation,” paragraphs 197–198
  • Chapter 18, “Of Tyranny,” paragraphs 199–210
  • Chapter 19, “Of the Dissolution of Government” paragraphs 211–230

  John Locke, Two Treatises of Government, ed. Thomas Hollis (London: A. Millar et al., 1764). Chapter: OF CIVIL-GOVERNMENT: BOOK II

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/222/16239 on 2008-02-07

• Session III: Trenchard and Gordon on Liberty, Law, and the Essentials of Free Governments (Readings 1)

  From volume 2:

  • Number 42, “Considerations on the Nature of Laws”
  • Number 45, “Of Equality and Inequality of Men”
  • Number 59, “Liberty proved to be the unalienable Right of all Mankind”
  • Number 60, “All Government proved to be instituted by Men, and only to intend the general Good of Men”
  • Number 61, “How free Governments are to be framed so as to last, and how they differ from such as are arbitrary”
  • Number 62, “An Enquiry into the Nature and Extent of Liberty; with its Loveliness and Advantages, and the vile Effects of Slavery”
  • Number 63, “Civil Liberty produces all Civil Blessings, and how; with the baneful Nature of Tyranny”

  John Trenchard, Cato’s Letters, or Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious, and Other Important Subjects. Four volumes in Two, edited and annotated by Ronald Hamowy (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1995). Vol. 2.

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1238 on 2008-02-07

• Session III: Trenchard and Gordon on Liberty, Law, and the Essentials of Free Governments (Readings 2)

  From volume 3:

  • Number 84, “Property the First Principle of Power. The Errors of our Prices who Attended Not to This”
  • Number 85, “Britain incapable of any Government but a limited Monarchy; with the Defects of a neighbouring Republick”

  John Trenchard, Cato’s Letters, or Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious, and Other Important Subjects. Four volumes in Two, edited and annotated by Ronald Hamowy (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1995). Vol. 3.

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1239 on 2008-02-07

• Session IV: Forms of Government: The Nature, Principle, and Laws of Republics, Monarchies, and Despotisms as Envisioned by Montesquieu.

  • Book II, “On Laws deriving directly from the nature of the government,” Chapters 1–5
  • Book III, “On the principles of the three governments,” Chapters 1–11
  • Book V, “That the laws given by the legislator should be relative to the principle of the government,” Chapters 1–14

  Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, The Complete Works of M. de Montesquieu (London: T. Evans, 1777), 4 vols. Vol. 1.

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/837 on 2008-02-07

• Session V: Montesquieu and Paine on the English Constitution (Reading 1 and2)

  From the Spirit of Laws, vol. 1 (listed above in Session IV) read:

  Book XI, “On the laws that form political liberty in its relation with the constitution,” Chapters 1–6 Book XIX, “On the laws in their relation with the principles forming the general spirit, the mores, and the manners of a nation,” Chapter 27

  Then read from The Persian Letters below, Letter 104 “On the principles of government in England”

  Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu, The Complete Works of M. de Montesquieu (London: T. Evans, 1777), 4 vols. Vol. 3. Chapter: LETTER CIV.: Usbek to the Same.

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/1338/74833 on 2008-02-07

• Session V: Montesquieu and Paine on the English Constitution (Reading 3)

  From Paine’s Common Sense read pages 65–71 and 76–81

  Thomas Paine, The Writings of Thomas Paine, Collected and Edited by Moncure Daniel Conway (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1894). Vol. 1. Chapter: XV.: COMMON SENSE.1

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/343/17023 on 2008-02-07

• Session VI: Hume’s View on the Principles of Government, Factions, the Ideal Commonwealth, and the True Sources of English Liberty.

  From Hume’s Essays read:

  • “Of the First Principles of Government”
  • “Of the Independency of Parliament”
  • “Whether the British Government inclines more to Absolute Monarchy, or to a Republic”
  • “Of Parties in General”
  • “Of the Parties of Great Britain”
  • “Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth”

  David Hume, Essays Moral, Political, Literary, edited and with a Foreword, Notes, and Glossary by Eugene F. Miller, with an appendix of variant readings from the 1889 edition by T.H. Green and T.H. Grose, revised edition (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund 1987).

  Accessed from oll.libertyfund.org/title/704 on 2008-02-07