Back The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate: Volume 1, 1764–1772

The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate: Volume 1, 1764–1772

Edited by Gordon S. Wood

“Gordon S. Wood’s grasp of the dynamics of the Imperial debate that culminated in American independence is unsurpassed. By including all sides of the controversy Wood has created the most discriminating and revealing collection of sources we have on the emerging ideology of the Revolution.”—Richard D. Brown, author of Revolutionary Politics in Massachusetts: The Boston Committee of Correspondence and the Towns, 1772–1774

Overview
Table of Contents
Contributors

Overview

Story of the Week Joseph Warren, “The Bloody Tragedy of the Fifth of March, 1770”
March 5, 2020

Interviews Gordon S. Wood: How the American Revolution “infused into our culture our noblest ideals and highest aspirations”
March 31, 2016

Save $25 when you buy both volumes of American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate in a boxed set.

In 1763 Great Britain possessed the largest and most powerful empire since the fall of Rome, and its colonists in North America were justifiably proud of their vital place within it. Just thirteen short years later the empire was in tatters, and the thirteen colonies proclaimed themselves the free and independent United States of America. How had popular loyalties changed so quickly? Looking back in a letter to Thomas Jefferson in 1815, John Adams pointed to the political pamphlets of the era for an answer, famously suggesting that “the Revolution was in the Minds of the People, and this was effected, from 1760 to 1775 . . . before a drop of blood was drawn at Lexington.” From the more than a thousand pamphlets published on both sides of the Atlantic during the period, acclaimed historian Gordon S. Wood has selected thirty-nine of the most influential and emblematic to reveal as never before how this momentous revolution unfolded.

Here, in the first volume of a two-volume set, are nineteen works from the trans-Atlantic debate triggered by Parliament’s imposition of new taxes and regulations designed to reform the empire. What begins as a controversy about the origin and function of colonies—“Cato”, an anonymous English pamphleteer, wonders if they might in the end prove more a curse than a blessing—quickly becomes a deeper dispute about the nature of political liberty itself. As it progresses, Massachusetts lawyer James Otis makes a bold case for the colonists’ natural rights; London bureaucrat Thomas Whately defends the Stamp Act with the novel assertion that Americans are “virtually” represented in Parliament; Benjamin Franklin offers dramatic testimony against the Stamp Act before the House of Commons; John Dickinson calls for collective action in the famous Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, presented here in its entirety; patriot Joseph Warren remembers the Boston massacre in a fiery oration; and the so-called “Boston Pamphlet,” written by Samuel Adams and others, focuses the debate on the crucial question of sovereignty, setting the stage for the final crisis.

Prepared by the nation’s leading historian of the American Revolution, this volume includes an introduction, headnotes, biographical notes about the writers, a chronology charting the rise and fall of the first British empire, a textual essay describing the reception and influence of each work, and detailed explanatory notes. As a special feature, it also presents typographic reproductions of the pamphlets’ original title pages.

Gordon S. Wood is Alva O. Way Professor of History Emeritus at Brown University. His books include the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Radicalism of the American Revolution, the Bancroft Prize-winning The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787, The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin, The Purpose of the Past: Reflections on the Uses of History, and Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815, for the Oxford History of the United States. He writes frequently for The New York Review of Books and The New Republic. In 2011 Wood was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Barack Obama.

This Library of America series edition is printed on acid-free paper and features Smyth-sewn binding, a full cloth cover, and a ribbon marker.

Project support for this volume was provided by The Bodman Foundation.

The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate 1764–1772 is kept in print by a gift from Sidney and Ruth Lapidus to the Guardians of American Letters Fund.
Table of Contents

“Cato,” Thoughts on a Question of Importance Proposed to the Public, Whether It Is Probable That the Immense Extent of Territory Acquired by This Nation at the Late Peace, Will Operate Towards the Prosperity, or the Ruin of the Island of Great-Britain? London, 1765

Francis Bernard, “Principles of Law and Polity, Applied to the Government of the British Colonies in America. Written in the Year 1764.” From Select Letters on the Trade and Government of America; and the Principles of Law and Polity, Applied to the American Colonies. London, 1774

James Otis, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved. Boston, 1764

[Stephen Hopkins], The Rights of Colonies Examined. Providence, 1765

[Martin Howard Jr.], A Letter from a Gentleman at Halifax, to His Friend in Rhode-Island, Containing Remarks upon a Pamphlet, Entitled, The Rights of Colonies Examined. Newport, 1765

[Thomas Whately], The Regulations Lately Made Concerning the Colonies, and the Taxes Imposed upon Them, Considered. London, 1765

[Daniel Dulany], Considerations on the Propriety of Imposing Taxes in the British Colonies, for the Purpose of Raising a Revenue, by Act of Parliament. Annapolis, 1765

Richard Bland, An Inquiry into the Rights of the British Colonies, Intended as an Answer to the Regulations Lately Made Concerning the Colonies, and the Taxes Imposed upon Them Considered. In a Letter Addressed to the Author of That Pamphlet. Williamsburg, 1766

The Examination of Doctor Benjamin Franklin, Before an August Assembly, Relating to the Repeal of the Stamp-Act, etc. Philadelphia, 1766

[William Hicks], The Nature and Extent of Parliamentary Power Considered; in Some Remarks upon Mr. Pitt’s Speech in the House of Commons, Previous to the Repeal of the Stamp-Act: with an Introduction, Applicable to the Present Situation of the Colonies. Philadelphia, 1768

[John Dickinson], Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, to the Inhabitants of the British Colonies. Philadelphia, 1768

[Allan Ramsay], Thoughts on the Origin and Nature of Government. Occasioned by the Late Disputes Between Great Britain and Her American Colonies: Written in the Year 1766. London, 1768

[Silas Downer], A Discourse, Delivered in Providence, in the Colony of Rhode-Island, upon the 25th. Day of July, 1768. At the Dedication of the Tree of Liberty, from the Summer House in the Tree. Providence, 1769

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Present Disputes Between the British Colonies in America and Their Mother-Country; and Their Reciprocal Claims and Just Rights Impartially Examined, and Fairly Stated. London, 1769

[John Joachim Zubly], An Humble Enquiry into the Nature of the Dependency of the American Colonies upon the Parliament of Great-Britain, and the Right of Parliament to Lay Taxes on the Said Colonies. By a Freeholder of South-Carolina. Charleston, 1769

[William Knox], The Controversy Between Great Britain and Her Colonies Reviewed; the Several Pleas of the Colonies, in Support of Their Right to All the Liberties and Privileges of British Subjects, and to Exemption from the Legislative Authority of Parliament, Stated and Considered; and the Nature of Their Connection with, and Dependence on, Great Britain, Shewn, upon the Evidence of Historical Facts and Authentic Records. London, 1769

Edward Bancroft, Remarks on the Review of The Controversy Between Great Britain and Her Colonies. In Which the Errors of Its Author Are Exposed, and the Claims of the Colonies Vindicated, upon the Evidence of Historical Facts and Authentic Records. New London, 1771

Joseph Warren, An Oration Delivered March 5th, 1772. At the Request of the Inhabitants of the Town of Boston; to Commemorate the Bloody Tragedy of the Fifth of March, 1770. Boston, 1772

The Votes and Proceedings of the Freeholders and Other Inhabitants of the Town of Boston, in Town Meeting Assembled, According to Law. Boston, 1772
Contributors

Edward Bancroft
Francis Bernard
Richard Bland
“Cato”
John Dickinson
Silas Downer
Daniel Dulany
Benjamin Franklin
William Hicks
Stephen Hopkins
Martin Howard Jr.
William Knox
James Otis
Allan Ramsay
Joseph Warren
Thomas Whately
John Joachim Zubly

31.50 List Price: $42.50 (Save: 26%) Free shipping on orders $50 and over

Or buy from our partners

Buy the eBook

Phone orders: 1-800-964-5778 Request product #202806

ISBN: 978-1-59853-377-4 935 pages

LOA books are distributed worldwide by Penguin Random House

N° 265 Library of America Series

Subscribers can purchase the slipcased edition by signing in to their accounts.

Related Books

The American Revolution: Writings from the War of Independence 1775–1783 LOA N°123

James Madison: Writings LOA N°109

Benjamin Franklin: Silence Dogood, The Busy-Body, & Early Writings

John Adams: Revolutionary Writings 1755–1775 LOA N°213

The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate: Volume 2, 1773–1776 LOA N°266

Library of America

CURATOR

A champion of America’s great writers and timeless works, Library of America guides readers in finding and exploring the exceptional writing that reflects the nation’s history and culture.

Learn More

PUBLISHER

From poetry, novels, and memoirs to journalism, crime writing, and science fiction, the more than 300 volumes published by Library of America are widely recognized as America’s literary canon.

Browse our books Subscribe

NON-PROFIT

With contributions from donors, Library of America preserves and celebrates a vital part of our cultural heritage for generations to come.

Support our mission

The American Revolution: Writings from the Pamphlet Debate: Volume 1, 1764–1772

Related Books

Get 10% off your first Library of America purchase.