Cato's Letters
Cato's Letters (1720-23) were English political essays that shaped Republicanism and had an enormous influence on the American Founding Fathers
The example of Roman hero Cato the Younger inspired English political journalists John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon to publish anonymously Cato's Letters" (1720-23). These were 138 letters or short essays that expounded on republicanism and which greatly influenced the American Founding Fathers.[1]
The Cato Institute is a prominent American libertarian think tank was founded in 1977 in honor of Cato's Letters" by Trenchard and Gordon.
Mitchell (2004) argues that Catos Letters fall squarely within a liberal republican tradition, embracing John Locke, Bernard Mandeville, and (later) David Hume, and Adam Smith and suggests that it was in this vein that they were read by the Founding Fathers.
Further reading
- Mitchell, Annie. "A Liberal Republican 'Cato'". American Journal of Political Science, July 2004, Vol. 48 Issue 3, p588-603, in EBSCO