- unitid
-
{"value"=>"1150025", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"circa 1787-circa 1789", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1787/1789", "certainty"=>"approximate"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Segments of essays on various political subjects"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"simple", "value"=>"These disbound pages of Yates's draft writings show evidence of previous attachment by stab-hole binding or pins, or both. Physical similarities indicate that segments 1, 2 and 5 were likely bound in the same volume at one time. Segments 1 and 2 appear to form continuous text, but segment 5 does not connect sequentially to either. Segments 3 and 4 form a separate continuous text, and physically resemble each other."}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>These incomplete autograph manuscripts form three groups of fragmentary draft writings, dated circa 1787-circa 1789, warning of the abuse of power and loss of liberty in the context of Federalist strategies to create a strong national government.</p> <p>Segments 1 and 2, continuous text, cover the period 1778-1783, beginning with the treaty with France in 1778 and the subsequent reorganization of the Treasury. The draft focuses on the concentration of fiscal authority in the executive Superintendent of Finance, Robert Morris; his efforts to establish Federal revenues and fund the public debt; and his dealings with Congress.</p> <p>Segments 3 and 4, continuous text, address the behavior of Federalist leaders before, during, and after the establishment of the Constitution; Yates reviews the means he believes they used to accomplish their goals.</p> <p>Segment 5 analyzes the Congressional resolution of October 20, 1786, ordering the reinforcement of the Continental Army in connection with Shay's Rebellion. It is the conclusion of a piece arguing that Americans were as capable as the British of abusing power in government.</p>"}
- bibliography
-
{"id"=>"aspace_175f73439e6c06704fcbca7ec1a486f7", "value"=>"<p>The historian Staughton Lynd (1929-2022) transcribed selected pages from a folder of loose writings in this collection for his 1963 journal article \"Abraham Yates's History of the Movement for the United States Constitution,\" <span class=\"title\">William and Mary Quarterly</span>, 3rd Ser., Vol. 20, No. 2 (April 1963), pages 223-245. The text is presented as a projected narrative history or pamphlet, with supplied section titles and commentary.</p> <p>Due to omissions and transcription problems within the published text, and the omission of related segment 3, the article is not a viable surrogate for the writings, but it should be consulted for Lynd's analysis and factual context. For reference purposes only, the segments are correlated here to their pagination in the journal article: Segments 1 and 2: pages 230-241; Segment 3: not published; Segment 4: pages 241-244; Segment 5: pages 244-45. The article was later reprinted as Chapter 9 in Lynd's 1967 book <span class=\"title\">Class Conflict, Slavery, and the United States Constitution</span> (New Edition, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009).</p> <p>The original manuscripts must be consulted for accuracy, and Yates' source citations supporting date attributions, and other internal evidence, require further analysis. Similarities with other drafts in the collection, especially pieces in the latter portion of the \"Rough Hewer\" manuscript, point towards publication for political purposes in serial form rather than a single historical narrative.</p>"}
- note
-
{"value"=>"This group of incomplete documents was previously known as \"Essays on various political subjects,\" a title supplied by the Manuscripts and Archives Division at an early date on a folder containing additional loose materials. Pages are now reordered, based on continuities in text and physical format, and in comparison with the transcription published by Staughton Lynd (see Publication/Citation note). The other segments previously located in this group have been removed to Yates' writings on the Northern and Western Inland Navigation Companies.Segments 1, 2 and 5 are dated circa 1787-circa 1789. Without precluding the 1789 attribution by Staughton Lynd, two citations in footnotes for segments 1 and 2 have earlier publication dates:In segment 1, Yates cites \"7 Hume 471\" (David Hume's History of England, volume 7, page 471). The Hume citation, referring to \"dark counsels\" of the \"Cabal\" in the reign of King Charles II, appears elsewhere in Yates' writings. It has since been identified as page 471 in the London 1767 edition, rather than page 461 in the London 1789 edition identified by Lynd. See footnote 13 for Yates' published \"Sidney\" essay of December 4, 1788 in DHRC; https://rotunda-upress-virginia-edu.i.ezproxy.nypl.org/founders/RNCN-02-23-02-0003-0002-0055; Original source: Ratification by the States, Volume XXIII: New York, No. 5.In Segment 2, Yates makes uncited reference to the surrender of Lord Cornwallis \"from which time says Dr. Ramsey [Ramsay] every thing tended to peace and an acknowledgment of our Independence.\" The phrase is found nearly verbatim in David Ramsay's History of the Revolution of South Carolina (Trenton 1785 edition, volume 2, page 328; Evans 19211), perhaps a likelier source than a similar statement in Ramsay's History of the American Revolution (Philadelphia 1789 edition, volume 2, page 306; Evans 22090), as cited in Lynd, page 238, footnote 32. Segment 5 contains no dated references aside from a Congressional journal. Segments 3 and 4 can be dated to 1789 or later, based on Yates' references to \"Barber's paper 24 May 1789;\" Yates' footnote citation [\"1 Ramsey (sic) 103, 147\"], conforming to David Ramsay's History of the American Revolution (1789); and Staughton Lynd's identification of 1789 legislative acts, all in the fourth segment."}
- date_start
-
1787
- keydate
-
1787
- date_end
-
1789
- date_inclusive_start
-
1787
- date_inclusive_end
-
1789