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1776 JOSIAH TUCKER. Just Give the Americans the Country & Be Done with It! Benjamin Franklin Interest.

1776 JOSIAH TUCKER. Just Give the Americans the Country & Be Done with It! Benjamin Franklin Interest.

$550.00 USD
$550.00 USD
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A rather scarce work, published just in advance of the issuance of the Declaration of Independence. In it, Tucker argues the American Colonies were essentially a giant pain in the backside and that the best course for England was to just let them have the country [which Wesley calls the "untamed wilds"]. Tucker believed America had been nothing but a backwater drain on England economically and politically. It was a tad late.  

Tucker, Josiah. A Series of Answers to Certain Popular Objections, against Separating from The Rebellious Colonies, and Discarding Them Entirely. Glocester. Printed by R. Raikes for T. Cadell. 1776. 108pp. First and only edition. 

The present is the only edition issued of this important Revolutionary War tract. By the time it would have required a second edition, the War was in full bloom and all arguments of moderation were moot. In it, Tucker advocated for granting the colonies independence.  He argued that independence would save untold bloodshed, improve the British economy, and force the colonists to live with the expenses of governing themselves, as well as continue trading with Britain on terms favorable to Great Britain. 

The present work has been the source of some controversy regarding Benjamin Franklin. Tucker asserts in this pamphlet that Franklin had initially shown no hostility to the Stamp Act and had even tried to get "his man" appointed stamp agent by a direct request to the Crown. 

Removed from a sammelband, presumably signature clipped at the upper right, period notations regarding Tucker to the margin of the title. Else clean. Binding all but deteriorated. No copies on the market as of 9.30.2022

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