The Works of John Adams, by Charles Henry Adams
Essays and Controversial Papers of the Revolution
The three Essays that follow, are the earliest printed productions known to have come from Mr. Adams. In a letter dated in 1819, he says, “There were many flickerings in the newspapers between Mr. Sewall and me, the precise dates of which I cannot recollect. Sewall wrote under the signature of Philanthropos sometimes, and at other times under the signature of a long J.; and I wrote under that of a great U., and, perhaps, other signatures that I do not remember. All these trifles of mine were printed in the Boston Gazette. There were several papers written by me on occasion of the assault of Colonel Murray upon General Brattle, on the council stairs of the old town house.”
The first and third papers relate to this event, which caused some excitement at the moment, and led to a legal prosecution that continued it. All three bear the peculiar mental and moral characteristics of the author, and are therefore preserved.
Editors Note: This is Volume 3 of the 10 Volume “The Works of John Adams”, (Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1856). The author, Charles Henry Adams is John Adams grandson. The copyright for the original text is in the Public Domain because its copyright has expired. The font, and formatting of this version of The Works of John Adams, as well as all other Americanist Library and Founders Corner selections are, unless otherwise specified, Copyright © 2011 Steve Farrell.
