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''Cato's Letters'' were essays by British writers John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon, first published from 1720 to 1723 under the pseudonym of Cato (95–46 BC), the implacable foe of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
and a famously stalwart champion of Roman traditionalism (''
mos maiorum The ''mos maiorum'' (; "ancestral custom" or "way of the ancestors," plural ''mores'', cf. English " mores"; ''maiorum'' is the genitive plural of "greater" or "elder") is the unwritten code from which the ancient Romans derived their social no ...
'').


Purpose

The ''Letters'' are considered a seminal work in the tradition of the
Commonwealth men The Commonwealth men, Commonwealth's men, or Commonwealth Party were highly outspoken British Protestant religious, political, and economic reformers during the early 18th century. They were active in the movement called the Country Party. They ...
. The 144 essays were published originally in the ''London Journal'', later in the '' British Journal'', condemning corruption and lack of morality within the British political system and warning against tyrannical rule and abuse of power.


Publication

The ''Letters'' were collected and printed as ''Essays on Liberty, Civil and Religious''. A measure of their influence is attested by six editions printed by 1755. A generation later their arguments immensely influenced the ideals of the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
. According to Peter Karsten's ''Patriot-Heroes in England and America'', ''Cato's Letters'' were the most common holdings on the bookcases of the founding fathers.


Influence

These letters also provided inspiration and ideals for the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
ary generation. The essays were distributed widely across the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...
, and frequently quoted in newspapers from
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
to
Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...
. Renowned historian
Clinton Rossiter Clinton Lawrence Rossiter III (September 18, 1917 – July 11, 1970) was an American historian and political scientist at Cornell University (1947-1970) who wrote ''The American Presidency'', among 20 other books, and won both the Bancroft Prize ...
stated "no one can spend any time on the newspapers, library inventories, and pamphlets of colonial America without realizing that Cato's Letters rather than
John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism". Considered one of ...
's
Civil Government Civil authority or civil government is the practical implementation of a state on behalf of its citizens, other than through military units (martial law), that enforces law and order and that is distinguished from religious authority (for examp ...
was the most popular, quotable, esteemed source for political ideas in the colonial period." The
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Ind ...
, a Washington, D.C.,
think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-govern ...
founded by Edward H. Crane in 1977, takes its name from ''Cato's Letters''.Cato Institute
"About Cato"
undated, accessed January 2008.


Other pseudonymous "Cato letters"

Unrelated to the Trenchard and Gordon letters, two different letter-writers in eighteenth-century America also used Cato as a pseudonym in writing political letters for publication. One "Cato" wrote a series of essays arguing against American independence in the
Pennsylvania Gazette ''The Pennsylvania Gazette'' was one of the United States' most prominent newspapers from 1728 until 1800. In the several years leading up to the American Revolution the paper served as a voice for colonial opposition to British colonial rule, ...
, which were published in April 1776. According to
Thomas Paine Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
biographer Moncure D. Conway, this "Cato" was Reverend Dr. William Smith, an influential
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...
minister in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. His views were opposed in letters signed by "The Forester," apparently Paine. Cato was later used as a pseudonym in a series of letters to the ''New York Journal'' in 1787 and 1788 opposing
James Madison James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for h ...
's views and urging against ratification of the
United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...
(the view known as Anti-Federalism). Many historians attribute these letters to George Clinton, though their authorship has not been definitively proven.
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charle ...
published responses to these letters under the pseudonym "Caesar."


References


External links

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''Cato's Letters'' (Volume I)

''Cato's Letters'' (Volume II)

''Cato's Letters'' (Volume III)

''Cato's Letters'' (Volume IV)
{{authority control 1720s essays American Enlightenment British essays Essay collections Essays about politics Republicanism in the United Kingdom Works about British politics Cato the Younger