The Patriot. Addressed to the Electors of Great Britain
- Samuel Johnson (author)
- Jack P. Greene (collection editor)
The Patriot (1774) is a political pamphlet by Samuel Johnson, written to influence an upcoming election and addressed directly to British voters. It serves as a critique of what Johnson viewed as false patriotism — arguing that many politicians who loudly proclaimed their love of country were motivated by self-interest, resentment, or ambition rather than genuine civic virtue. Published anonymously, the pamphlet was originally printed in only 500 copies, though its popularity drove three editions within a year; it remains one of Johnson’s most vigorous pieces of political prose.
Show more
The text of these 18th century pamphlets has been converted by machine from scanned PDFs of the original microfilm copies. While the text has been machine-proofed, transcription errors may still remain. For example, the 18th-century long S, ſ , may be rendered as “f,” some words may be incorrectly transcribed, and there may be repeated words or phrases.