I should hav added another volum, had not recent experience convinced me, that few large publications in this country wil pay a printer, much less an author. Should the Essays here presented to the public, proov undezerving of notice, I shal, with cheerfulness, resign my other papers to oblivion.
The reeder wil obzerv that the orthography of the volum iz not uniform. The reezon iz, that many of the essays hav been published before, in the common orthography, and it would hav been a laborious task to copy the whole, for the sake of changing the spelling.
In the essays, ritten within the last year, a considerable change of spelling iz introduced by way of experiment. This liberty waz taken by the writers before the age of queen Elizabeth, and to this we are indeted for the preference of modern spelling over that of Gower and Chaucer. The man who admits that the change of housbonde, mynde, ygone, moneth into husband, mind, gone, month, iz an improovment, must acknowlege also the riting of helth, breth, rong, tung, munth, to be an improovment. There iz no alternativ. Every possible reezon that could ever be offered for altering the spelling of wurds, stil exists in full force; and if a gradual reform should not be made in our language, it wil proov that we are less under the influence of reezon than our ancestors.
Hartford, June, 1790.
CONTENTS.
No. I. On the Education of Youth in America. Page General Remarks. 1 Division of the Subject. Attention to the Dead Languages. 3 Study of the English Language necessary. 7 Use of the Bible in Skools. 8 Study of Mathematics. 9 Diversity of Studies in the same Skool. 10 Local Situation of Colleges and Academies. 11 On classing Students. 13 Of good Instructors. 15 Fatal Effects of employing Men of low Karacters in Skools. 18 What Books should be read in Skools. 23 On public Skools--their Importance in a free Guvernment. 24 On the Education of Females. 27 On a foreign Education. 30 The Tour of America, a necessary Part of a liberal Education. 35
No. II. Principles of Guvernment and Commerce.
Origin of Guvernment. 38 Of Representation. ibid. Of the Executiv and Judicial Powers. 39 Distinction between Laws and legislativ Grants and Contracts. 40 Of collecting Debts by Law, and of Money. 42 Of Public Justice. 43
No. III. On Bills or Declarations of Rights.
Necessity and Advantages of such Declarations in England. 45 Bills of Rights not necessary in America. 46
No. IV. On Guvernment.
Of the Distinction between a Convention and Legislature. 49
No. V.
The Subject continued, with a Consideration of Mr. Jefferson's Arguments in Favor of an unalterable Constitution. 59
No. VI.
The Subject continued. That the Freemen of a State hav no Right to bind their Representativs in Legisture by their own Instructions. 72
No. VII. Remarks on the Manners, Guvernment and Debt of the United States.
State of America after the War. 81 Causes of Public Unhappiness. 84 Pernicious Effects of Introducing foreign Manners. 85 -------------------------------- False Taste. 94 Force of Habit in Guvernment. 97 Fatal Effects of a Sudden Influx and fluctuating Value of Money. 105 Instability of Laws. 112
No. VIII.
On Paper Money. 119
No. IX.
On Redress of Grievances. 125
No. X.
The Influence of the Devil. 127
No. XI.
Desultory Thoughts on the Tranquillity of the Guvernment of Connecticut, Emissions of Paper Currency, Union of the States, and Popular Complaints respecting Lawyers. 132
No. XII.
Advice to Connecticut Folks. 137
No. XIII.
An Address to the Dissenting Members of the late Convention in Pensylvania. 142
No. XIV.
On Test Laws, Oaths of Allegiance, Abjuration and partial Exclusions from Office. 151
No. XV. Sketches of the Rise, Progress and Consequences of the late Revolution.
Ground of European Claims to North America. 154 Origin and Progress of the Controversies respecting America. 155 Causes of the late War, between Great Britain and America. 158 Massacre at Boston in 1770. 161 First Congress in 1774. 164 Battle of Lexington, and Progress of the War. 167 Appointment of General Washington to the Command of the American Armies. 169 Letter from General Washington, explaining the Circumstances which led to the Capture of Lord Cornwallis. 180 Treaty of Peace. 182 Consequences of the War. Defects of the Confederation. 183 Popular Tumults on Account of Half Pay to the Officers of the Army. 184 -------------- on Account of the Cincinnati. 186 Failure of Public Credit. 187 Insurrection in Massachusetts. 189 Regulation of Prices. 192 History of Paper Money. 194 State of Commerce. 198 Origin of the Convention in 1786. 199 Convention and new Form of Federal Guvernment. 200 Processions in Honor of the Constitution. 203 First Congress under the Constitution. ibid.
No. XVI.
Remarks on the Method of Burying the Dead among the Nativs of this Country, compared with that among the Ancient Britons. 205
No. XVII.
On the Regularity of the City of Philadelphia. 217
No. XVIII.
A Dissertation concerning the Influence of Language on Opinions, and of Opinions on Language. 222
No. XIX.
Effect of Music on Society. 229
No. XX.
On the Morality of Savage Nations. 233
No. XXI.
A Letter from Constantia, with the Answer. 239
No. XXII.
Letter on the Education of a Young Man, with an Answer. 245
No. XXIII. An Enquiry into the Origin of the Words Domesday, Parish, Parliament, Peer, Baron, with Remarks, new and interesting.
Etymology of Domesday. 250 Probable Etymology of Parish. 252 Etymology of Parliament. 258 -------- of Peer. 261 -------- of Baron. 268 Extract from Camden's Britannia. 291 ------ from Sir William Temple's Works. 297 Postscript, with Remarks on Juries after the Conquest. 299
No. XXIV.
The Injustice, Absurdity, and Bad Policy of Laws against Usury. 304
No. XXV.
The Grounds and Extent of Allegiance, Natural and Local. 317
No. XXVI.
Explanation of the Reezons, why Marriage iz prohibited between Natural Relations, designed to determin the Propriety of marrying a Wife's Sister. 322
No. XXVII. Miscellaneous Remarks on Divisions of Property, Guvernment, Education, Religion, Agriculture, Slavery, Commerce, Climate and Diseezes in the United States.
Connection between Property and Power. 326 Tenure of Lands in Europe. ibid. -------------- in New England--its Effects. 328 Causes which may in Future change our Governments. 332 Karacter of the First Settlers of New England--their Institutions--Support of Clergymen, Skools, Newspapers, Parish Libraries, &c. 332 to 339 Constitution of Connecticut--Origin--Excellencies and Defects. 340, 347 Remarks on the State of New York. 347 ---------------------- New Jersey--Territorial Controversy between East and West Jersey. 348 Pensylvania-Territorial Controversy between that State and Connecticut. 355 Maryland. 360 Virginia. 361 Carolinas and Georgia. 364 Agriculture--Influence of Slavery on this. 365 Climate of America. 368 Comparativ Temperature of the Wether in the Northern and Suthern States. 372