John Adams’ highly contested Discourses on Davila was prompted by Jefferson’s firm declaration of “his faith in reason and democracy… as the sufficiency of human reason for the care of human affairs.” Alarmed by the fresh violence of the French Revolution, Adams disagreed, feeling that “the will of the majority, if out of hand, could lead to ‘horrible ravages’… Adams stressed the perils of unbridled, unbalanced democracy” (McCullough 420-421). (Though published anonymously, Adams was commonly known to be the author.)

We have recently obtained a rare association copy of Adams’ important Discourses from the library of David Humphreys, whose long friendships with Washington, Adams and Jefferson placed him at the center of the dispute surfacing in these pages. The volume is twice signed by Humphreys, who served as Washington’s trusted aide-de-camp during the Revolution and later, in Europe, worked closely with “Franklin, Adams and Jefferson, the old Revolutionary trio” (McCullough, 322). We are pleased to offer this copy, entirely uncut in original boards, with an exceptional association. Browse our current inventory.