''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 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

and a famously stalwart champion of Roman traditionalism (''

mos maiorum The ''mos maiorum'' (; "ancestral custom" or "way of the ancestors"; : ''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 norms. It ...

'').

Purpose

The ''Letters'' are considered a seminal work in the tradition of the Commonwealth men. They condemned corruption and lack of morality within the British political system and warned against tyrannical rule and abuse of power. For instance "all History affords but few Instances of Men trusted with great Power without abusing it, when with Security they could.”

Publication

The 144 essays were published originally beginning in 1720 within the ''London Journal'', later in the '' British Journal''. 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.

Influence

A generation later their arguments immensely influenced the ideals of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. 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. These letters also provided inspiration and ideals for the

ary generation. The essays were distributed widely across the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

, and frequently quoted in newspapers from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and 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 Brita ...

. Renowned historian Clinton Rossiter 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 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...

Civil Government In Portugal, the Civil Governments (, singular ') are the bodies of public administration that represent the Government of Portugal, central government at the Districts of Portugal, district level. Each Civil Government is headed by an ''administ ...

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 ...

, a

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

think tank A think tank, or public 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-governme ...

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 years leading up to the American Revolution, the newspaper served as a voice for colonial opposition to Kingdom of Great Britain, ...

, 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 ...

biographer Moncure D. Conway, this "Cato" was Reverend Dr. William Smith, an influential

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

minister in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. 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 (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

's views and urging against ratification of the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

(the view known as

Anti-Federalism The Anti-Federalists were a late-18th-century political movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. The previous constitution, called the Articles ...

). 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 Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

published responses to these letters under the pseudonym "Caesar."

References

External links

* *
''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