JOHN ADAMS AND THE FEAR OF AMERICAN OLIGARCHY John Adams AND THE FEAR OF American Oligarchy LUKE MAYVILLE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS Princeton & Oxford COPYRIGHT © 2016 BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PUBLISHED BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 IN THE UNITED KINGDOM: PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW press.princeton.edu The quotation on page v is copyright © 2014 by Garry Wills and was first published in the New York Review of Books Frontispiece and jacket art from The New York Public Library Miriam and Ira D Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library “John Adams,” New York Public Library Digital Collections Accessed June 13, 2016 http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47da-2fd6-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Mayville, Luke, 1985– author Title: John Adams and the fear of American oligarchy / Luke Mayville Description: Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2016 | Includes bibliographical references and index Identifiers: LCCN 2016003613 | ISBN 9780691171531 (hardcover : alk paper) Subjects: LCSH: Adams, John, 1735–1826—Political and social views | United States—Politics and government—1783– 1809 | United States—Politics and government—1775–1783 | Oligarchy—United States Classification: LCC E322 M36 2016 | DDC 973.4/4092—dc23 LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2016003613 British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available This book has been composed in Adobe Caslon Pro Printed on acid-free paper ∞ PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 10 TO MY MOTHER The proof that we live in a plutocracy is not that the wealthy get most of the prizes in our society, but that majorities think that is how it should be —GARRY WILLS, New York Review of Books, January 2014 Or you suppose that the regimes arise “from an oak or rocks” and not from the dispositions of the men in the cities, which, tipping the scale as it were, draw the rest along with them? —SOCRATES, in Plato’s Republic The Distinction of property will have more influence than all the rest in commercial countries, if it is not rivalled by some other distinction —JOHN ADAMS, notes on Mary Wollstonecraft’s Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction ONE A Perennial Problem 23 TWO The Goods of Fortune 58 THREE Sympathy for the Rich 95 FOUR Dignified Democracy 124 CONCLUSION American Oligarchy 148 Notes 155 Bibliography 193 Index 205 Acknowledgments T possible by the generous support of many individuals and institutions I am especially indebted to the Yale University Department of Political Science, where I wrote the doctoral dissertation from which this project was adapted I must rst acknowledge my dissertation committee Special thanks to Steven Smith, who accepted me as a student for no good reason and who patiently ushered this project from a four-page proposal to its current form I am also deeply indebted to Bryan Garsten, who challenged me to think with historical texts and not just about them, and who rst suggested that my thoughts were worthy of book form Thanks also to Karuna Mantena, whose advice was indispensable at moments when my project lost focus Stephen Skowronek, David Mayhew, and Andrew Sabl read much or all of the manuscript and provided helpful advice for revision Other Yale faculty who supported the project or gave advice include Ian Shapiro, Danilo Petranovich, and Helene Landemore Many of my fellow graduate students also shaped this project directly or indirectly, including Lucas Thompson, David Lebow, Shawn Fraistat, Joshua Braver, Teresa Bejan, Lucas Entel, Travis Pantin, Celia Paris, Blake Emerson, Anurag Sinha, Matt Longo, Andrea Katz, Adom Getachew, Peter Verovsek, Navid Hassanpour, Lisa Gilson, Robert Arnold, Lionel Beehner, Stefan Eich, Umur Basdas, Brandon Terry, and Josh Simon Other scholars who supported this project were Joshua Cherniss, Prithvi Datta, Michael Lamb, Jim Wilson, Loubna El Amine, Je rey Green, John McCormick, Nadia Urbinati, Melissa Lane, Aziz Rana, Benjamin Ewing, Lisa Herzog, Daren Stalo , Michael Zuckert, David Grewal, Patrick Weil, Madhav Khosla, Aurelian Craiutu, Pratap Bhanu Mehta, and Je ry Burnam Special thanks to James Read and Alex Zakaras for reading entire chapters at a critical stage and providing invaluable comments I am deeply indebted to Danielle Allen, who provided me with a model of civicminded scholarship and who encouraged this project at a moment when its prospects were uncertain I am also very grateful for several conversations with Joseph J Ellis, who encouraged me to reach an audience beyond the academy and who paved the way for this book with his own scholarship on the theme of inequality in John Adams’s writings I am grateful to the Jack Miller Center and the Yale Center for the Study of Representative Institutions for creating an intellectual environment in which the study of American political thought can thrive I also owe a great debt of gratitude to the Political Theory Institute at American University, where I worked on this project as a postdoctoral fellow for the year 2014–2015 While at AU, I had the privilege of teaching two seminars, “American Political Thought” and “Inequality and Democracy,” both of which helped sharpen the concepts and arguments found in these pages I would like to thank the students of these seminars and also the many AU faculty who supported my HIS BOOK WAS MADE work, including Alan Levine, Thomas Merrill, Jeremy Janow, and Sarah Houser The nal stage of production was carried out with the support of Columbia University and the Columbia Center for American Studies, where I currently reside as a postdoctoral fellow Special thanks are due to Casey Blake, Andrew Delbanco, Tamara Mann Tweel, Angela Darling, Roosevelt Montás, and the unforgettable students in my 2015–2016 section of Contemporary Civilization I owe a special thanks to Rob Tempio, Gail Schmitt, Debbie Tegarden, Ryan Mulligan, Chris Ferrante, Doreen Perry, Jaime Estrada, and everyone else at Princeton University Press who helped produce this book Thank you to Nancy Gerth, my fellow Idahoan, for her careful indexing work Thanks also to the editorial sta at Polity and to anonymous reviewers who shaped and supported my rst published work on the political theory of John Adams I have been fortunate to share versions of the chapters that follow with many workshops and conferences, and I owe many thanks to the Georgetown Political Theory Workshop, the Yale Political Theory Workshop, the Penn Graduate Political Theory Workshop, the Princeton Graduate Conference in Political Theory, the Rothermere American Institute, the Association for Political Theory, the Northeastern Political Science Association Annual Conference, the New England Political Science Annual Conference, and the American Political Science Association Annual Conference This book is a rst for me, and so I would like to thank all of the teachers and mentors who encouraged me to think and write Special thanks to Jackie Hanna, Marianne Love, George Marker, Woody Aunan, Lou Goodness, Julie and Kim Keaton, Christa and Frank Faucett, Janet Whitney, Kerrie Trotter Henson, Dennis Gilbert, Lynn Tullis, Michelle Lippert, Jane Cramer, Craig Parsons, Gail Unruh, and Ken DeBevoise To my wife, Elena, for her love and her edits, I express my deepest gratitude I am also grateful for the support of my brother, Johnny, and for ongoing encouragement from Brian, Marguerite, Matthew, Davern, Nicole, Rick, and Father John P Du ell Finally, I dedicate this work to my mother, for nurturing my curiosity and for so much more 2010 Hamilton, Alexander The Papers of Alexander Hamilton Vol Edited by Harold C Syrett and Jacob E Cooke New York: Columbia University Press, 1962 Hamilton, Alexander, James 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Machiavelli and, 43; natural aristocracy and, 82; oligarchy and, 8, 27–28, 45, 98; republicanism and, 11; sympathy for rich and, 97–98, 114 See also Athens; Plato; Rome; Sparta Anglomanes (Anglophiles), 10, 20–21, 30–31, 35, 167n41 See also British system; Lally-Tollendal, Gérard de anti-court movement (Britain), 67, 176n21 Anti-Federalists: on executive power, 172n94; Jefferson’s election and, 85; on Madison’s Senate proposal, 66; on power of elites, 23–27, 65, 161n8; on republics and virtue, 188n21; titles and, 129 Anti-Federalist Writings of the Melancton Smith Circle (Webb and Zuckert, eds.), 161n8 Appleby, Joyce, 10, 12, 168n41 arche, 28 Arendt, Hannah, 10–11 aristocracy (elites): Adams’s definition of, 8, 42, 86–87, 178–79nn66 and 67; Adams on, 3–4, 6, 8, 12; as embodiment of public sentiment, 119–20; five pillars of, 115; history of, 170n69; Jefferson on, 2, 6, 61, 71–72; Montesquieu on, 30; revolutionary ideologues on, See also balanced government; classes, socio-economic; commercial societies; monarchy and kings; natural aristocracy; nobility; power (influence) of elites; representation; wealth aristocracy (rule by the few), 29 See also oligarchy Aristotle, 8, 79–80, 162n15 armies, standing, 47 artificial aristocracy, 82–83, 88 See also natural aristocracy Athens, 48–49 Augustine, 134 avarice (greed), 41, 54, 55, 98, 109–10, 112–13, 136, 139, 140, 142 See also wealth Bacon, Francis, 172n84 balanced government: ancients and, 28–30, 40, 46–47, 49; Defence on, 20–21, 28–29, 31–36, 54; De Lolme on, 37–38, 167n41; kings and, 38; on monarchy/kings, 35, 38, 168n56; Montesquieu on, 163–64nn18 and 19, 168n42; Polybius on, 29–30, 163n17, 166n38; popular sovereignty and, 82–83; sympathy/admiration for wealth and, 20–22; Thoughts on Government and, 166n38 See also bi-/unicameralism; British system; divided sovereignty; executive power; mixed constitutions; ostracism scheme; U.S Senate banks, 84, 92, 93, 178n62 beauty, 115–17, 134, 151, 185n48 Berger, Peter, 191n42 “A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge” (Jefferson), 69–70 birth, 58–59, 75–76, 80, 81–89, 93, 94, 121, 176n39 See also family lineages; goods of fortune; wealth bi-/unicameralism: balanced government and, 28–29, 32, 54; British model and, 29, 30–31; Defence on, 27, 45, 55–56; French Revolution and, 99–100; oligarchy and, 45, 49–50, 54–56; Stevens’s critique and, 34 See also ostracism scheme Blackstone, William, 163n17 Bodin, Jean, 31 Bolingbroke, 5, 67–68, 179n71 borough system (Britain), 48 Boston Massacre (1770), 6–7 Bowdoin, Madame, 92, 180n82 Brady, Henry E., 160n47 British system, 10, 28, 29, 30–31, 34, 35, 37, 47–48, 163n17 See also anticourt movement; balanced government Brooks, David, 117 Burke, Edmund, 10, 121, 139, 163n17 Calhoun, John C., 155n3 Callender, James, 60, 172n5 Calvinism, 171n84 Cassimer, John, 52 The Changing Political Thought of John Adams (Howe), 148 character, 59, 64, 101, 142 See also virtue Charles I (Britain), 163n17 Charles VII (France), 47 Charondas, 90 Cicero, classes, socio-economic (estates/orders/ranks): American exceptionalism and, 150; Anti-Federalists/Federalists and, 23–27; balanced government and, 31–32, 34; Machiavelli on, 43–44, 169n60; New England and, 7; republicanism and, 9, 10, 157n23; Rome and, 47; Tocqueville on, 150–51; virtue and, 79 See also aristocracy; representation; wealth commercial societies: distinctions of wealth and, 143–44; honors and, 146–47; power of elite and, 46; soft power and, 122–23; sympathy for rich and, 106, 114, 138, 140, 143–44; titles and, 125–26, 133–34 See also avarice (greed); speculation Commonwealth of Oceana (Harrington), 70–71, 81 commonwealths, 164n23 Complete Anti-Federalist (M Smith), 161n8 Condorcet, Nicolas de, 30, 34, 165n32 conscience, 112–13 See also morality conservatism, 10 See also Anglomanes Considerations on the Government in Poland (Rousseau), 124, 140–41, 177n47 Constituent Assembly of 1789 (France), 30–31, 34 The Constitution of England (De Lolme), 31, 37–40, 168n43 Continental Congress, 61 Creation of the American Republic (Wood), 12, 178n57 credit, 84–85 Dahl, Robert, 96 Davila, Enrico Caterino, 100 debtors, 84–85 declaration of independence, Declaration of Independence, “Declaration of Rights,” 174n8 Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America (Adams): Adams’s outlook and, 148; AntiFederalists and, 27; on aristocratic snobbery, 136; on balanced government, 20–21, 28–29, 31–36, 54; on bi/unicameralism, 27, 45, 55–56; contemporary perceptions of, 31–35, 82, 271; De Lolme and, 168n41; on education, 91; on equality/inequality, 55–56, 75–81; on executive power, 53, 55–56; on Hume, 90; on inequality, 75–81; on love of money, 120; Machiavelli and, 43–45, 169n62; on natural aristocracy, 81–89; on power of aristocracy, 6, 27, 45, 55–56, 72–81, 87–88; on public virtue, 136; on purchase of influence, 17; republicanism and, 2, 11, 36, 44–46, 89–93; on respect for betters, 111; on sympathy/admiration for rich, 17, 117–18; Taylor and, 19; on titles, 26, 125, 167n40; on virtue, 136 deference, 73, 133 De la législation (de Mably), 19, 119–20 De Lolme, Jean Louis, 31, 37–39, 164n21, 168nn41,42 and 43, 168n49 democracy: honorable institutions and, 21–22; modern, 159n35; monarchy and, 53; nobility and, 121; oligarchy and, 44–45, 55, 147, 149, 151–52; Polybius on, 29; power of elites and, 42, 50; wealth and, 118–23 See also equality/inequality; popular sovereignty; representation; United States democratic-republicanism, 9, 186n7 See also Anti-Federalists; balanced government; equality/inequality; legal (formal) privileges; republicanism; titles and dignities Democratic-Republican Party, 68 despots, 86, 120, 162, 168n54 Diggins, John Patrick, 13, 162n10, 171n84 dignities See titles and dignities Discourse on Inequality (Rousseau), 19, 76–78 Discourses on Davila (Adams), 1, 2, 95, 98–101, 114–15, 128, 130, 155n8 the disempowered, 101, 184n17 See also the poor; vassals disorder, 132–33 Dissertation on Political Economy (Rousseau), 176n47 Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law (Adams), 3, distinction and praise (fame) (glory) (honor): Calvinism and, 171n84; contemporary U.S and, 144–47; Discourses on, 130; executive power and, 188n22; goods of fortune and, 108–9, 108–13; King Jr on, 183n28; monarchy and, 134–35, 187n20; natural aristocracy and, 77–78; passion versus interest and, 112, 184n39; power of elites and, 134–35; premodern versus modern ideas of, 191n42; public good and, 158n27, 187n18; republicanism and, 183n30, 188n21; titles and dignity and, 136–37; Veblen on, 184n37; wealth and, 140 See also sympathy/admiration for the rich; titles and dignities districting, electoral, 48, 66 divided sovereignty, 29–33, 163n17, 164n23, 164n25, 166n38 See also balanced government division of government, 164n25 Dupont, Pierre, 34, 165n32 “economic interest,” 112 education: electorate and, 59, 90–91; family lineage and, 73, 108–9; Jefferson on, 69–71, 90–93; meritocracy and, 59, 69–71; New England and, 7; New Haven and, 96; power and, 25, 51, 181n6; power of beauty versus, 115; virtue and, 91–93; wealth and, 181n6 See also literacy Edward III, 189n20 egalitarianism, 22, 57, 72, 75, 79, 95, 114, 190n40 See also equality/inequality; inegalitarianism election of 1800, 60, 85, 172n3 elections: luxury and, 185n47; nobility and, 139–40; sympathy for rich and, 89–90, 185n47; wealth and, 17, 50–51, 97, 139, 181n6 See also districting, electoral; representation electorate, vigilante, 65–67, 89, 90–91, 181n6 elites, 149 See also aristocracy (elites); power (influence) of elites Ellis, Joseph J., 13, 162n10, 169n60, 172n2, 178nn61 and 62, 179n67 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 146 emulation, 110, 114, 120, 184n37 England See British system English Constitutional Theory (Weston), 163n19 enlightenment-rationalist worldview, 171n84 See also Scottish Enlightenment equality/inequality: Adams’s experience and, 148–49; aristocratic power and, 54; Defence on, 55–56, 75–81; desire for wealth and, 114, 120–21; economic/financial, 150, 190n40; exceptionalism and, 152; financial/economic, 84–85, 87–88; formal, 56–57, 80; material envy and, 111; natural aristocracy and, 75–81; natural versus moral, 79–80; oligarchy and, 11–12; of opportunity, 80; Rome and, 84–85; Society of the Cincinnati and, 192n33; Taylor and, 178n61; titles and, 24, 143; U.S contemporary culture and, 145, 152–53 See also classes, socio-economic (estates/orders/ranks); egalitarianism; family lineages; natural aristocracy; the poor; wealth Essay on Man (Pope), 100 estates See social classes/orders/ranks esteem See sympathy/admiration for the rich European influences, 25, 28, 76, 119, 137, 149 See also France; Germany; Montesquieu Examen du gouvernement de l’Angleterre (Condorcet and Dupont), 34 exceptionalism, American, 150–53 executive power (presidency): aristocracy and, 45, 46, 56, 84; De Lolme on, 167n49; honors and, 144; Hume’s scheme and, 90; Jefferson on, 56; monarchy compared, 32, 33, 35; popular sovereignty and, 37, 40–41, 169n57, 171n194; term limits and, 188n22; titles and, 37, 182n11; U.S Constitution and, 56; U.S Senate and, 52–54 See also balanced government; divided sovereignty; monarchy and kings fame See distinction and praise family lineages: American exceptionalism and, 151; ancients and, 73–74; Defence and, 6, 72–73; definition of aristocracy and, 87; education and, 73, 108–9; pride in, 109, 138–39; tyranny and, 161n8; virtue and, 93; wealth versus, 121, 138–39 See also hereditary power; nobility Farmer of Maryland, 161n8, 171n94 Farmer of New Jersey, 33, 161n8 Farrand, Max, 161n3 “fatal families,” 44, 50 Federal Convention, 161n3, 179n74 federalism, 188n16 Federalist Papers (Jay, Hamilton, Madison), 24, 65–66, 135, 168n56 Federalists, 13, 23–27, 32, 61, 85, 96, 129, 165n30 See also Federalist Papers (Jay, Hamilton, Madison); Gazette of the United States; Hillhouse, James Ferling, John, 13 feudal aristocracy, 83, 176n47 feudalism, 170n69 financial elite, 83–87 formal (legal) privileges, 9, 24, 50–51, 56, 58, 59, 62–63, 80 France, 30–31, 34, 127–28, 138, 146 See also French Revolution Franklin, Benjamin, 35, 72, 75 French Revolution, 13, 20, 22, 64, 99–100, 128, 139, 176n47 Garmon, Frank, 192n40 Gazette of the United States (semiweekly), 100, 128 Geneva, republic of, 50, 54 Germany, 143 Gibbon, Edward, 170n69 goods of fortune: American exceptionalism and, 150; defined, 81; desire for distinction and, 108–13, 136; education and, 69–71, 90–93; electoral vigilance and, 65–69, 89–90, 91, 93; equality and, 75–76, 79–80; goods of mind compared, 93, 115; natural aristocracy and, 19, 58–59, 62–65, 76–79, 81–87, 88–89, 94; power and, 34, 71–75, 80–81, 86–88, 94, 95, 138, 176n39 See also beauty; birth; nobility; sympathy/admiration for the rich; wealth goods of mind, 80, 81, 88, 91, 93, 95, 108, 115 See also talents (abilities); virtue; wisdom greed (avarice), 41, 54, 55, 98, 109–10, 112–13, 136, 139, 140, 142 Greek ideas See ancients Grewal, David, 187n18 Hacker, Jacob S., 160n47 Hamilton, Alexander: on aristocracy in America, 25–26, 27–28; on desire for distinction, 135; on executive power, 33, 168n56, 188n22; financial system of, 67, 82, 175n22 Handlin, Mary Flug, 156n8 Handlin, Oscar, 156n8 happiness, 16, 104 Haraszti, Zoltán, 155n3, 184n34 Harrington, James, 45, 70–71, 74–75, 81, 88, 177n55 Helvetius, 76 Hemings, Sally, 173n5 hereditary power: abolition of, 62, 93–94, 151; land and, 180n1; Maclay on, 127; magistracies and, 24, 50–51, 58; monarchy and, 2; natural aristocracy versus, 62, 65, 93–94; titles and dignities and, 58, 132, 140, 142; wealth and, 181n6 See also family lineages; wealth Hillhouse, James, 53 Hirschman, Albert O., 112, 184n39 “His Rotundity,” 128 Historia delle guerre civili di Francia (Davila), 100 An Historical and Moral View of the Origin and Progress of the French Revolution (Wollstonecraft), 22 History of Florence (Machiavelli), 44 History of the American Revolution (Warren), 132 Hobbes, Thomas, 31, 164n23 Hoekstra, Kinch, 164n23 hoi aristoi, 25 hoi oligoi/hoi polloi, honor See distinction and praise honorable institutions, 21–22 See also titles and dignities House of Commons (Britain), 38 House of Lords (Britain), 30, 33, 36, 37, 38 Howe, John, 148 human nature, 10, 57, 78, 89, 90–91, 94, 151 See also education; natural aristocracy; psychology, moral; sympathy/admiration for the rich Hume, David, 90, 98, 112, 179n74, 188n20, 188n22 Huntington, Samuel, 18 Hutcheson, Francis, 112 Idea of a Perfect Commonwealth (Hume), 90 inaugural ceremonies of Adams/Jefferson, 129, 186n9 “income defense industry,” 159n36, 160n48 industry, 114 inegalitarianism, 2, 76, 79, 80 See also egalitarianism influence See power of elites interests versus passions, 184n39 international relations, 122 Jacksonian ideology, 146, 178n62 James I, 40 Jay, John, 161n7 jealousy, 38, 53–54, 89 Jefferson, Thomas: A Adams and, 60; on Adams’s eloquence, 4; Adams-Jefferson letters, 19, 43, 59–61, 172n2, 173n6; anticourt ideology and, 175n21; on aristocracy, 2, 6, 61–62, 71–72; correspondents besides Adams, 172n3; on economic freedom, 151, 190n40; on education, 69–71, 90–93; on elections, 65, 93; on electoral vigilance, 67; equality and, 56; estrangement from Adams, 60, 174n6; on financial oligarchy, 67, 68, 69; on goods of fortune, 59, 62–63, 71–80, 88–89, 94; on Hamilton, 175n22; Harrington and, 80–81; inaugural of, 129, 186n9; on monarchy, 6; Montesquieu and, 190n21; on natural aristocracy, 59, 62–63, 65, 76, 81, 88, 94; as natural aristocrat, 129; oligarchy and, 195n8; on ostracism scheme, 41; on republicanism, 63–64; Rousseau and, 176n47; on titles and dignities, 125, 128–29; on U.S Constitution, 56, 61, 67, 174n8 See also election of 1800 John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty (Thompson), 11 Johnson, Junior, 190n39 Johnson, Samuel, 92, 112 Key Jr., V O., 181n2 king-jobbers, 67 King Jr., Martin Luther, 107, 183n28 kings See monarchy and kings Kirk, Russell, 10 knowledge, 90–91 laboring classes, 79–80, 85, 106, 110, 143 See also the poor Lally-Tollendal, Gérard de, 30–31 land See property Land Jobbers, 92, 93 land reforms, 69, 83 “language of signs,” 137–38, 189n26 See also titles and dignities Laski, Harold, 155n3 law and order, 6–7, 132–33, 134–35, 189n26 See also disorder Lee, Richard Henry, legal (formal) privileges, 9, 24, 50–51, 56, 58, 59, 62–63, 80 legislative authority, 31, 32, 33, 45, 47–48, 164n25, 185n47 See also balanced government liberalism, 11, 17, 192n8 liberum veto, 52 Lieberman, David, 168n43 literacy, 83, 90 See also education Livingston, William, 33, 34 lobbying, 15, 97, 159n36, 160n47 Locke, John, 171n84 Lovejoy, Arthur O., 99, 100 luxury, 40, 52, 110, 119, 120, 140–41, 180n1, 185n47 Lycurgus, 46 Mably, Abbé de, 119–20 Machiavelli, Niccolò, 39, 42–44, 170nn60 and 61, 170n74 Maclay, William, 126–28, 142–43, 147, 190n37 Madison, James: class-anonymous descriptions and, 156n23; on Defence, 28; on desire for distinction, 135; on electorate, 65–66, 89–90; on financial oligarchy, 67, 68; Jefferson and, 172n3; on majorities, 24; on mixed constitutions, 165n26; on popular derivation of offices, 165n26; Senate and, 180n74; Stevens’s critique and, 165n32; sympathy for rich and, 145; U.S Constitution and, 11, 161n3 majorities, 6, 24, 42, 68–69, 156n14 Malone, Dumas, 189n21 Manin, Bernard, 170n71 Massachusetts, 4, 45, 54, 58, 73, 91–92, 155n8, 157n19 See also Bowdoin, Madame; New England Massachusetts Convention of 1920, material dependency, 74–75 Mazzei, Philip, 165n32 McCormick, John, 157n23, 169n60 McCullough, David, 172nn3 and meritocracy: aristocracy and, 56–57, 64–65; education and, 59, 69–71; natural aristocracy and, 59, 62–63, 65, 76, 81, 88, 129, 179n71; natural aristocracy of, 56–57, 59, 62–63, 65, 76, 81, 88, 129, 179n71; popular sovereignty and, 64–66, 81; wealth/family versus, 56–57, 72–73 military, 142, 144, 164n23, 189n33 Millar, John, 101–2 Mills, C Wright, 9, 28, 101 Miroff, Bruce, 158n27, 189n26 “mirror” of the public, 46, 170n71 misfortune, 104 mixed constitutions, 166n15, 164n26 See also balanced government mob rule, 29 modernity, 14–22 monarchy and kings: balanced government and, 38, 168n56; Defence and, 2, 6, 28, 35; as defender of people, 40–41; De Lolme on, 39–40; democracy and, 53; Discourses and, 2; executive power (presidency) compared, 32, 33, 35, 168n56; honor and, 134–35, 189n20; Jefferson on Adams’ defense of, 2, 61, 62; nobility and, 40, 135, 168n54; Polybius on, 29; power of wealth and, 6, 67; sympathy for, 106, 183n26; U.S Constitution and, 56 See also balanced government; British system; Charles I and other monarchs; executive power (presidency); titles and dignities Monroe, James, 172n3 Montesquieu: Adams on, 5; De Lolme and, 37, 38; founders and, 43; on monarchy and honor, 134–35, 136–37, 187n20, 188n21; on monarchy and nobility, 168n54; Rousseau and, 34; on separation of powers, 30–31, 163nn18 and 19, 168n42; on virtue, 136 morality, 78–80, 86, 88, 105–6, 108, 112–13, 120, 138–39 See also equality/inequality; meritocracy; virtue moral philosophy, eighteenth-century, 112 Murray, Charles, 153 natural aristocracy: equality/inequality and, 75–81; M Smith on, 161n8; of talent, virtue and wisdom (meritocracy), 56–57, 59, 62–65, 76, 81, 88, 129, 179n71; U.S and, 95; of wealth and birth, 56–59, 81–89, 94 natural rights, 11 Nedham, Marchamont, 43, 177n55 New England, 7, 73, 150–51, 191n6 See also Massachusetts New Haven (CT), 96 Newton, Isaac, 60, 171n84 New York State Ratifying Convention, 25–26 Niebuhr, Reinhold, 151, 192n8 Niles, John Milton, 23 nobility: Defence on, 26; De Lolme on, 37; divided sovereignty and, 31–32; elections and, 139–40; Machiavelli on, 44; monarchy and, 40, 135, 166n54; moral character of nation and, 138–39; representation and, 49–50; U.S and, 121, 149–50; U.S Constitution and, 24, 25, 26 See also aristocracy (elites); family lineages; monarchy and kings; titles and dignities Notes on the State of Virginia (Jefferson), 70 Novanglus (pseudonym), Nye, Joseph, 15 Observations on Government (Farmer of New Jersey), 33 Oeuvres (Rousseau), 176n47 “oligarchic man,” 98 oligarchy: Adams on, 8, 14, 20, 27–35, 42, 45; Adams on according to historians, 9–13, 28; bi-/unicameralism and, 45, 49–50, 54–56; democracy and, 44–45, 55, 147, 149, 151–52; financial/economic, 67–69, 74–75, 80–85, 87–88; human nature and, 151; inequality and, 11–12; Jefferson on, 67, 68, 69, 192n8; mitigation of, 124–53; soft, 15–16; U.S Constitution framers and, 23–27 See also commercial societies; ostracism scheme; power (influence) of elites; sympathy/admiration for the rich; titles and dignities Oligarchy (Winters), 160n48 On Revolution (Arendt), 10–11 opportunity, equality of, 80 oppression, 40, 42–43, 161n8, 179n71 See also tyranny ostracism scheme, 35–42, 166n39, 169n60 Paine, Thomas, 6, 63–64, 128, 142, 147 Paley, William, 163n17 Palmer, R R., 12, 168n41 Parrington, Vernon, 155n3 passions versus interest, 112, 184n39 the people See classes, socio-economic; popular sovereignty; public good (public interest); sympathy/admiration for the rich philosophers, 19–20, 91, 115, 190n37 See also Aristotle; Condorcet; Hume, David; Locke, John; Machiavelli, Niccolò; Montesquieu; Plato; Rousseau, Jean-Jacques Pierson, Paul, 160n47 Piketty, Thomas, 146, 152 Pinckney, Charles, 150 Pitt, William, 36 Plato, 8, 71, 97–98, 116, 161n15 plebeians, 40 pluralism, 96, 181n2 Pocock, J.G.A., 11 Poland, 51–52, 55, 124, 140–41 political philosophy, 19–20 political science, 5, 11, 13, 14, 18, 149 Politics (Aristotle), 79–80 Polybius, 29–30, 163n17, 166n38 the poor: creditors and, 84–85; desire for distinction and, 107, 111, 113, 136; education and, 7, 71; material dependency and, 74–75, 111; as prerich, 118; as Roman Consuls, 141; sympathy for, 101, 114; sympathy for rich and, 102; U.S Constitution and, 25, 26 See also the disempowered; equality/inequality; laboring classes; oppression Pope, Alexander, 100 popular assemblies See bi-/unicameralism; majorities; representation; U.S Senate popular sovereignty, 27, 37, 40–41, 64–66, 81, 82–83, 169n57, 171n94 See also Rousseau, Jean-Jacques populism, 13 poverty See the poor The Power Elite (Mills), power (influence) of elites: Anti-Federalists on, 23–27, 65, 162n8; beauty and, 115–17; Defence on, 6, 27, 45, 55–56, 72–81, 87–88; formal (legal), 9, 24, 50–51, 56, 58, 59, 62–63, 80; goods of fortune and, 93; New England and, 7, 73; popular sovereignty and, 27; purchase of, 14, 15, 17–18, 97, 122, 182n6; right to, 98; soft, 122–23; withdrawal from public life and, 118–19, 181n1 See also aristocracy; balanced government; family lineages; goods of fortune; oligarchy; oppression; ostracism scheme; wealth praise See distinction and praise presidency See executive power Price, Richard, 99–100 priestly class, 7, 83 privileges, legal (formal), 9, 24, 50–51, 56, 58, 59, 62–63 progressivism, 12 property, 6, 77, 83, 140, 161n8, 180n1, 191n6 psychology, moral, 14, 16, 18, 97–101, 122, 149, 181n17 See also beauty; distinction and praise; human nature; sympathy/admiration for the rich public good (public interest), 45–46, 135–36, 137, 158n27, 179n71, 187n18, 191n26 See also commonwealth public opinion, 14, 18, 72, 97, 159n36 See also sympathy/admiration for the rich Pulteney, William, 36 Rakove, Jack N., 170n71 Rawls, John, 17 reactionary interpretations, 12, 32 reason, 112–13, 137, 171n84 rebellions, 40, 47 Reflections on the Revolution in France (Burke), 139 religion, 10, 138, 182n13, 191n6 representation, 23, 32, 37, 45–52, 54, 65, 90, 170n71 See also balanced government; bi-/unicameralism; elections; meritocracy; popular sovereignty Republic (Plato), 71, 74, 97–98 republicanism: Adams and, 1–2, 3–4, 4–5, 11, 155n8; balanced government versus, 29, 31–32; classes and, 10, 157n23; defined, 45; distinction and, 185n30, 190n21; education and, 91; meritocracy and, 62–65, 70–71; popular derivation of offices and, 165n26; power of elites and, 149; 17th century influences, 177n55; Thoughts on Government and, 3; titles and dignities and, 126, 128–29, 131–32, 142 republics: ambition and, 136; aristocracy and, 24, 42; democracies versus, 34; executive power and, 41; history of, 45; Machiavelli on, 44; majorities and, 24; oligarchy and, 8–9, 50; popular derivation of offices and, 165n26; titles and, 137; virtue and, 188n21 See also commercial societies; Rome respect, 77, 128, 133 See also distinction and praise (fame) (glory) (honor) reverence, 39 revolutionary cause, 3–4 Rights of Man (Paine), 142 Rights of Man (Paine), Jefferson’s preface to, 128, 131 right to power, 98 Robbins, Caroline, 177n55 Rochefoucauld, Franỗois de la, 34 Rome: desire for honor and, 134; economic inequality and, 84–85; plebeian force versus wealth and, 40, 47; sympathy for rich and, 114; titles/dignities versus wealth and, 137, 141, 143 Roosevelt, Theodore, 13 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 19, 31–32, 34, 76–78, 90–91, 124, 140–41, 164n25, 176n47, 188n21 royalty, 29 See also monarchy and kings; titles and dignities royal veto, 34 Rush, Benjamin, 19, 84, 119, 129–30, 133, 142, 173n6 Sabl, Andrew, 187n20 Sallust, 134, 187n18 Schlozman, Kay Lehman, 160n47 Schutz, John A., 149 Scottish Enlightenment, 14, 98, 101, 106, 122, 183n17, 183n17, 184n21 See also Hume, David self-deceit, 100–101 self-interest, 101, 103, 187n18 Seneca, separation of powers (divided sovereignty), 29–33, 163n19, 168n42 Shaftesbury, Lord, 112 Shakespeare, William, 130 Shays’ Rebellion, 2, 61 Sherman, Roger, 150 Shklar, Judith, 9, 12, 28 Sidney, Algernon, 177n55 Sieyès, Abbé, 49 slavery, 101, 178n61 Smith, Adam, 16, 101, 103–7, 109, 114–15, 182n26, 184n34 Smith, Melancton, 27, 160n8 snobbery, 152 Of the Social Contract (Rousseau), 176n47 social psychology, 100–101 See also psychology, moral social relations, 75 Society of the Cincinnati, 127, 189n33 soft oligarchy, 15–16 soft power, 122–23 See also sympathy/admiration for the rich Soviet communism, 192n8 Sparta, 46, 143 speculation, 85, 93, 121, 139 The Spirit of the Laws (Montesquieu), 30–31, 37, 43 Spurlin, Paul Merrill, 176n47 Staël, Germaine de, 64 Staloff, Darren, 170n69, 182n17 standing armies, 47 Stanislaus of Poland, 40 Stevens, John, 33–34, 149–50, 165nn31 and 32 stock-car racers, 190n39 stockjobbers, 67 Storing, Herbert, 161n8, 170n71, 188n21 Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 184n18 suffrage, Sunstein, Cass, 17–18 sympathy/admiration for the rich: commercial societies and, 106, 114, 138, 140, 143–44; desire for distinction and, 105–6, 106–13, 114, 115; desire for wealth and, 120–23, 140–41; versus for disempowered, 101, 183n17; ease of, 103–5; elections and, 89, 185n47; international relations and, 122; “language of signs” and, 138; power of wealth and, 14–22, 17, 75, 97–103, 113–22, 145; as psychological disposition, 97–98; representation and, 46; titles and dignities and, 133–34, 138, 141–42; U.S contemporary culture and, 144–47, 152 See also Bowdoin, Madame; distinction and praise; psychology, moral talents (abilities), 59, 62, 77–78, 93, 95, 166n39 See also goods of mind; meritocracy tax policies, 97 Taylor of Caroline, John, 19, 82–88, 94, 116, 179nn57, 61, and 62 The Tempest (Shakespeare), 130 term limits, 188n22 Theognis, 74 Theory of Moral Sentiments (A Smith), 16, 101, 103–7, 109 Theory of the Leisure Class (Veblen), 185n37 Thompson, C Bradley, 11, 162n10, 169n41, 171n84, 189n26 Thoughts on Government (Adams), 3–4, 46, 166n38 Thucydides, 163n15 titles and dignities: Adams on, 16, 40, 99, 124–26, 128, 129, 130, 137; American public and, 132; anti-oligarchic function of, 133–34; aristocracy of merit versus, 56–57; authority traded for, 51; commercial republics and, 125–26, 133–34; Constitution and, 24, 26; Defence on, 26, 125, 167n40; desire for distinction and, 136–37; desire for wealth and, 141; Discourses on Davila and, 128; equality and, 24, 143; executive power and, 37, 182n11; Federal Constitution and, 126; federalism and, 188n16; France and, 64; hereditary, 58, 132, 140; House of Lords and, 38; Jefferson on, 125, 128–29; law and order and, 132–33; Maclay on, 126–27, 142–43; Massachusetts and, 58; monarchy and, 39; oligarchy and, 126, 131, 133–34, 140, 146–47, 191n44; ostracism scheme and, 38–39; philosophers on, 190n37; public spirit and, 191n26; republicanism and, 126, 128–29, 131–32, 142; Taylor on, 83; U.S contemporary culture and, 146; U.S Senate and, 183n12; U.S states and, 187n16; U.S Constitution and, 25; Warren on, 132; wealth versus, 143–44 See also distinction and praise (fame) (glory) (honor); inaugural ceremonies of Adams/Jefferson Tocqueville, Alexis de: on equality in America, 148, 149, 150–53, 191n6; on wealth in America, 95–96, 113–14, 118–19, 120, 180n1, 191n6 “tory,” 61 tribunes, 47 Truman, David B., 180n2 Turgot, Anne-Robert-Jacques: on aristocratic power, 50, 56, 72; on bi-/unicameralism, 28–29, 30, 45, 49, 54, 55–56; on equality, 55, 56, 75 tyranny, 6, 29, 44, 53, 69–70, 161n8 See also oppression Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Stowe), 182n17 The Unheavenly Chorus (Schlozman, Verba, and Brady), 160n47 unicameralism See bi-/unicameralism United States See Tocqueville, Alexis de United States, contemporary, 144–47, 152, 189n22 U.S Constitution, 11, 23–24, 26, 53, 56, 125, 135 See also Anti-Federalists; balanced government; Federalists; Jefferson, Thomas; Madison, James; Monroe, James; popular sovereignty; representation U.S Senate, 32–33, 36, 37, 41, 52–53, 56, 66, 90, 165n30, 179n74, 182n12 See also bi-/unicameralism; ostracism scheme U.S states, 3–4, 29, 48–49, 88–89, 187n16 See also Massachusetts and others U.S Supreme Court justices, 144 vassals, 169n56 Veblen, Thorsten, 12, 145, 184n37 Venice, 51, 52, 53, 55 Verba, Sidney, 160n47 Virginia, 69, 88 Virginia Plan, 179n74 virtue: admiration for, 105; birth and, 93; Defence on, 136; distinction versus, 136; education and, 91–93; egalitarianism and, 95; emulation and, 120; equality/inequality and, 79–80; hoi aristoi and, 25; Jefferson on, 59; natural aristocracy and, 62, 65; public, 11, 136; republics and, 190n21; sympathy for rich and, 98; wealth versus, 138 See also character; meritocracy; morality voters, affluent, 159n35 votes, 86–87, 88 Walpole, Robert, 67–68 Walzer, Michael, 17 Warren, Mercy Otis, 131–32 Washington, George, 4, 129, 167n40 “We, the Plebeians,” 155n8 wealth: birth and, 58–59, 75–76, 80, 81–89, 93, 94, 121, 176n39; Defence and, 6; democracy and, 118–23; desire for, 106, 109, 111–15, 120–23, 140–41; dignity versus, 141; as distinction, 140, 143–44; education and, 181n6; elections and, 17, 50–51, 97, 139, 181n6; human psyche and, 57; legislatures and, 67; pluralism and, 96, 181n2; power of elites and, 14–22, 74–75, 97–103, 113–22, 159n35–36, 176n39; pride of, 109, 138–39; snobbery versus, 152; U.S and, 149–51; voting behavior and, 159n36 See also avarice (greed); classes, socio-economic; commercial societies; equality/inequality; family lineages; financial elite; goods of fortune; sympathy/admiration for the rich; Tocqueville, Alexis de Webb, Derek A., 161n8 Weston, Corinne Comstock, 163n19, 167n41 “whig,” 61 Wilentz, Sean, 156n14, 186n7 Wilson, James, 64–65 Winner-Take-All Politics (Hacker and Pierson), 160n47 Winters, Jeffry A., 15, 160n48 wisdom, 81, 105 See also meritocracy Wolfe, Tom, 145, 190n39 Wollstonecraft, Mary, 19, 22, 120 Wood, Gordon, 12, 178n57 Zuckert, Michael, 161n8 .. .JOHN ADAMS AND THE FEAR OF AMERICAN OLIGARCHY John Adams AND THE FEAR OF American Oligarchy LUKE MAYVILLE PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS Princeton &... England in 1636 A glimpse of the future statesman could be seen in Henry’s great-grandson and John Adams s father, the elder John Adams, who served the Braintree community as a deacon of the. .. fears of oligarchy, John Adams had begun work on his three-volume Defence of the Constitutions of Government of the United States of America The Defence was motivated by a variety of events and