Chapter Second Half of Eighteenth Century of Index by Simonds History of American Literature

The Constitution of the United States, adopted in 1788, which was described by Gladstone as "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man," owed its precise formulation largely to the labors of Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), the brilliant champion of the federal principle in national government which insists upon the centralization of authority, and the unity of the federal relation. Hamilton, therefore, is recognized as the first exponent of those ideas which are now represented theoretically in the present Republican party.

These men, the orators, the pamphleteers, the statesmen, of that generation were not unworthy contemporaries of Fox, Chatham, and Burke, the great English parliamentarians whose eloquence and statesmanship were matched with theirs. "When your lordships look at the papers transmitted to us from America, when you consider their decency, firmness, and wisdom, you cannot but respect their cause," said the Earl of Chatham, in 1775; and Edmund Burke, in his remarkable speech on Conciliation with America, pays a notable tribute to the legal knowledge of the colonists.

Journals and Letters.

Not to be overlooked by the student of this period are a few productions which are not so deeply colored by the political spirit of the time. Such are the collected Letters of Washington, of Jefferson, of John Adams and his wife, Abigail; the Farewell Address of Washington to his troops; and the Journal of John Woolman, a Quaker, -- which was beloved of Whittier,¹ and received the praises of Charles Lamb.