• Marriott Library
  • About
  • Links We Like

OPEN BOOK

~ News from the Rare Books Department of Special Collections at the J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah

OPEN BOOK

Tag Archives: James Madison

The Risk of Being Less Free

04 Tuesday Jul 2017

Posted by rarebooks in Donations

≈ Comments Off on The Risk of Being Less Free

Tags

Alexander Hamilton, Articles of Confederation, Benjamin Warner, Charleston, Chief Justice of the United States, Constitution of the United States, Constitutional Convention, engravings, James Madison, John Jay, New York, New-York Packet, Philadelphia, portraits, President of the United States, Publius, Richmond, Ronald Rubin, Secretary of the Treasury, South Carolina, The Daily Advertiser, The Federalist, The Independent Journal, The New-York Journal, Virginia, war

JK154-1788-title
“The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.”
― Alexander Hamilton

The Federalist: A Collection of Essays…
Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), James Madison (1751-1836), and John Jay (1745-1829)
New-York: Printed and sold by J. and A. M’Lean, no.41, Hanover-square, M,DCC,LXXXVIII (1788)
First edition
JK154 1788

Although written for the purpose of supporting New York state’s ratification of the Constitution of the United States, these essays were eventually published together as The Federalist and were soon recognized for their brilliant commentary on the new republican charter. The use of The Federalist as a tool for interpreting the Constitution began before it was officially ratified and has continued to the present day. The Federalist is the fundamental document left by the framers of the Constitution as a guide to their philosophy and intentions.

Alexander Hamilton was the principal force behind the pro-ratification pamphlets, enlisting fellow New Yorker John Jay and Virginian James Madison as coauthors of the essays. The individual responsible for each essay is not clear. The first essay by “Publius” (the pen name for all three authors) appeared in the 27 October 1787 issue of The Independent Journal, and all or some of the subsequent numbers were also printed in the New-York Packet, The Daily Advertiser, and The New-York Journal. The first thirty-six Federalist essays were collected and published by the M’Lean brothers in March 1788 and the final forty-nine, along with the text of the Constitution, followed in a second volume in May. The last eight essays were printed in book form before they appeared in newspapers. In all, the essays represent one of the most important American contributions to political theory.

The first edition of the collection was of five hundred copies, fifty of which were purchased by Hamilton and sent to Virginia. The sale of the others was poor. The publisher complained in October 1788, long after New York had ratified the Constitution, that they still had several hundred copies unsold.


The Federalist, On the New Constitution, Written in 1778, by Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Jay, and Mr. Madison
Philadelphia: Published by Benjamin Warner, No. 147, Market street, and sold at his stores, Richmond, Virginia, and Charleston, South Carolina, 1818
Fifth Edition
KF4515 F4 1818

Despite the poor sales of the first edition, The Federalist was published again and nearly continuously to the present day. The fifth edition of The Federalist contains an appendix of the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States with Amendments, not found in the fourth edition. The Philadelphia imprint contains revisions by Madison, along with his claims of authorship of some of the essays previously attributed to Hamilton. This is the second single-volume edition printed, complete with full-page engraved portraits of Hamilton, Madison and Jay. It was published the same year as a Washington, D.C. imprint.

Federalist1818-JamesMadison

James Madison became the fourth President of the United States.

Federalist1818-AlexanderHamilton

Alexander Hamilton, who had represented New York at the Constitutional Convention, became the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury, holding the post until he resigned in 1795.

Federalist1818-JohnJay

John Jay became the first Chief Justice of the United States in 1789, stepping down in 1795 to become governor of New York, a post he held for two terms, until retiring in 1801.

Rare Books copy of fifth edition is gift of Dr. Ronald Rubin.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

On Jon’s Desk: A gift from Dr. Ronald Rubin serves as a patriotic reminder

12 Monday Sep 2016

Posted by Jonathan Bingham in Book of the Week, On Jon's Desk

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

American Revolution, Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key, Great Britain, James Madison, patriotism, printers, propaganda, Revolutionary War, S. Woodworth & Co., Star Spangled Banner, The Defense of Fort McHenry, The War. Being a Faithful Record of the Transactions of the War between the United States and their Territories and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United States, War of 1812

The War, Title Page

The War, Title Page

Title: The War. Being a Faithful Record of the Transactions of the War between the United States of America and their territories and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

Volume 1. Issue Numbers 1 -52, dated 27 June 1812 – 15 June 1813

Printed by: S. Woodworth & Co., New York

Pages: 218

The War, Vol. 1, No. 1, Page 1

The War, Vol. 1, No. 1, Page 1

James Madison has the unfortunate distinguishment of being the first President of the United States to ask Congress to declare war on another nation. In the early nineteenth century the United States struggled as a young nation against more powerful countries for legitimacy. Americans were mostly farmers and, having thrown off the chains of British oppression by winning the Revolutionary War, most returned to their plows. In succeeding in their worthy cause they wounded deeply the pride of the great lion across the Atlantic Ocean. For the British it was a stinging wound not easily forgotten. The American Revolution stopped many infringements in the former colonial states, but Britain continued to teach the traitorous Americans a “lesson” abroad.

In early 1812 the executive leader of the infant nation knew that without further action his country would continue to suffer under economic bondage resulting from Britain’s policies. After diplomatic solutions failed, President James Madison made a report to Congress on the continued abuses laid upon the country by Great Britain and requested the country declare war against the abusers. His request resulted in the War of 1812, a conflict that gave us our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner,” and ultimately culminated in greater legitimacy as a sovereign nation.

More than slightly ironic, the United States’ federal government itself at the time fought for legitimacy. The state governments were powerful and for most citizens the necessity for war with Great Britain ended with the winning of the Revolution. Public opinion precluded support for a war because if there is one aspect of war that is constant and unchanging it is that war is expensive. No one wanted to pay for a war. How then would the federal government generate the support necessary to successfully defeat another nation with arguably the most powerful navy of the period? The answer: information. People needed to know why it was important to once again challenge Great Britain and be educated on the stakes of not doing so.

Printers played a crucial role in accomplishing this. They printed and sold newspapers, generating support for the federal government’s decision to declare war on Great Britain. Historians refer to this as war propaganda.

S. Woodworth & Co., Printers

Printer’s Advertisement

The word “propaganda” holds many negative connotations, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and perspective matters. The act of uniting the United States would have been impossible without it. In the first issue of The War. Being a Faithful Record of the Transactions of the War between the United States of America and their territories and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland the editor tells the reader that the object, or purpose, of this publication includes: “To diffuse knowledge in the art of war, by communicating improvements calculated to render courage efficient against the enemy” and “To hand down to posterity the names of those heroes of America, who, by patriotism or courage, will signalize themselves in the present contest.”

The first issue of the publication provides the reader with a brief history in regards to the necessity of the American Revolution. The section ends with the conclusion that the United States’ quick recovery from that war led to its ability to economically compete with Great Britain and consequently caused that nation to become envious. The paper then offers two reports given by President Madison on the acts and injustices committed against the United States by Great Britain.

In issue number two the reader is confronted with examples of acts of patriotism and support. One section with the title “PATRIOTISM” offers an open invitation, almost a challenge, to the reader. One entry reads:

A Call for Patriotic Action

A Call for Patriotic Action

Support for the war did come from the nation’s citizenry and ultimately the United States succeeded in proving its sovereignty.

On September 12th, 1814 Frances Scott Key witnessed an attack on Baltimore, Maryland’s Fort McHenry from aboard a British ship. The next day he wrote a poem he titled “The Defense of Fort McHenry.” It was printed in newspapers. The United States’ victory at Fort McHenry in September 1814 turned the war in its favor. Frances Scott Key’s poem began to be sung set to a popular English tune (“To Anacreon in Heaven”) and in 1931 became our national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.”

Without support-generating propaganda such as The War, the United States may not have won the War of 1812 and we might be singing something other than “The Star Spangled Banner” at patriotic events. The War provides a glimpse into what the leaders of a young nation two hundred years ago needed from the country’s citizens in order to become the nation it is today.

 Contributed by Jon Bingham, Rare Books Curator

Editor’s note: Dr. Ronald Rubin has been a generous supporter of the Rare Books Department for years. For more about his donations see Dr. Rubin.

Thank you, Dr. Rubin!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Follow Open Book via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 172 other subscribers

Archives

  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • September 2011
  • April 2011

Categories

  • Alice
  • Awards
  • Book of the Week
  • Chronicle
  • Courses
  • Donations
  • Events
  • Journal Articles
  • Newspaper Articles
  • On Jon's Desk
  • Online Exhibitions
  • Physical Exhibitions
  • Publication
  • Radio
  • Rare Books Loans
  • Recommended Exhibition
  • Recommended Lecture
  • Recommended Reading
  • Recommended Workshop
  • TV News
  • Uncategorized
  • Vesalius
  • Video

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
  • RSS - Posts

Recent Posts

  • Book of the Week — Home Thoughts from Abroad
  • Donation adds to Latin hymn fragments: “He himself shall come and shall make us saved.”
  • Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment: “And whatever with bonds you shall have bound upon earth will be bound strongly in heaven.”
  • Books of the week — Off with her head!
  • Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment, Part D: “…of the holy found rest through him.”

Recent Comments

  • rarebooks on Medieval Latin Hymn Fragment: “Her mother ordered the dancing girl…”
  • Jonathan Bingham on On Jon’s Desk: Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, A Celebration of Heritage on Pioneer Day
  • Robin Booth on On Jon’s Desk: Pioneers and Prominent Men of Utah, A Celebration of Heritage on Pioneer Day
  • Mary Johnson on Memorial Day 2017
  • Collett on Book of the Week — Dictionnaire des Proverbes Francais

Proudly powered by WordPress Theme: Chateau by Ignacio Ricci.

 

Loading Comments...
 

You must be logged in to post a comment.

    %d bloggers like this: