Dress Rehearsal For Revolution

John Trenchard and Thomas Gordon were political writers who published in London during the early eighteenth century. Together they authored two serial sets of essays titled Cato's Letters and the Independent Whig. Trenchard and Gordon's works were well known in London and became popular in the British North American colonies. This study examines the use and influences of Trenchard and Gordon's works in eighteenth-century British America. More specifically, Professor Barry demonstrates that Trenchard and Gordon's works were taken out of context and taught colonists a mode of action, which set the groundwork for the American Revolution.

Heather E. Barry is Associate Professor of History at St. Joseph's College in New York. She received her Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a M.A. from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.