Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1804-10-13
FROM THE poLlrJcAL oDsERyAroRr.
OF JOHN ADAMS.


This gentleman has certainly made MAJ
ny correct remarks upon mankind. In
Iced his hremis , have never been DISPUTE
cd so much DIS the consegue noes he would
deduce from them. II is a serious truth,
hat here is ." natural aris.ocracy" in So
cletY, proud, artfuI, hostile to popular
tights, of immense influence. and seek
ins by every means to mouopolize AL pow
Grand every thing hat is valuable 90 them
selves. And 1t IS equally true Ito the dis
grace % many of our citizens) that there
are numbers among the common people
entirely devoted to these arisocrats, ready
20 go wherever they lead, to applaud what
ever they applaud, To reproba,e whatever
,hey reProbate, and tc support whatever
they are b'dden to support ii they have
mind Of their own" il is 10 act accor-
dine to the minds Of their leaders,
But because ,hese things are facts, shall
we yield thc cause ofpopular freedom, fall
'nio the current of submission and glide
voluntarily into she q CAIN Of despotism ?"
hank Heaven, majority Of Inc people
III THIS Country are not yet thus minded !:
And we may hope there are circums,an-
ces attending this nation which viii long.
preserve it from so dsgraceful course.
Every people before US truly have run this
mise. able Carser-F rance is now, after a
severe struggle for liberty, again TO be
added to the iGnumerable instances of
unsuccessful resist9nceto despotism. Ioie-
T7cdnS certainly are too enlightened and too
well taught in the theory of their rights
and the means of maintaining them, to
follow such a degrading course and throw
the mselveS into the arms of tyranny. In
Formation IS the only thing which distin-
cuisines us from the nations which have
gone before us, and il is the only thing
which can save us. The experiment is no -
making, the grea; question is ar this mo-
ment on trial, whether Information can
save a people from slavery and whether
oprs IS sufficient to save US. If it fail,
then may the ,heory Of Mr.. Adams be
Justified * adopted & he maybe pronounc-
Ell the greatest statesman who ever lived.
Are YOU ready. fellow citizens, 10 adopt
that theory This is a serious question.
You VIII ponder it IN your minds. II has
been laid plainly before you in the uuotati
lG1liitCHI
writings, and you see it in his celebrated
letter contained on The first and second pa
Be$ OF this paper.--As you cahnot UNDER
stand It too thoroughly, we will here pre-.
sent twooIher quotations from bis volumes
on the" American constitutions" IN which
his theory appears to be summed 40 in
as choice terms as perhaps can be found
IN any parts of his writings.
The frat contains bis description of
the natural ari8iocracy" existing in sll
communities. The second is his reD,edy
for that evil.
l. MS NATURAL ARIsTocRAcY.
CAis fakeH from his def.Hce II inner. Const.
Voi. 3. faye 457.1
The people in all nations are natu-
rally divided into two sorts, The GENTLE
MEN and SIMPLEMEN, word which is
chosen to signify the common people.
BY gentlemen are not meant the rich, or
the poor, the high born, or the low born,
the Industrious or the idle, but ali those
who have received liberal education. an
diornary degree of erudtion in the, libe-
rai arts and sciences, whether by birth
they are descended from magistrates or Of
heers OF government, or from husband