Adam Ferguson, Sir John Macpherson and the French Revolution: New evidence and perspectives

Ian Stewart*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract / Description of output

    This article examines thirty-six new letters and one essay on the French Revolution written by Adam Ferguson, and uses them to reconstruct a discussion carried on among Ferguson, Hugh Blair and Sir John Macpherson during the revolutionary 1790s. The new evidence from Ferguson casts doubt on his identification as a ‘civic humanist’, and shows that he never welcomed the French Revolution, even in its early stages. Remarkably, Ferguson also briefly supported a European union based on arms and commerce. The examination of John Macpherson—a little known but interesting figure—shows that he had a sophisticated view of commercial society and a unique theory about the dangers of systemic financial risk. Finally, the conversation contained here primarily pertains to commercial society, public credit and perpetual peace, and adds a new Scottish angle to our understanding of these major idioms in eighteenth-century political thought.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)367-393
    Number of pages27
    JournalScottish Historical Review
    Volume102
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2023

    Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

    • 18 century
    • Adam Ferguson
    • French Revolution
    • Scotland
    • Scottish Enlightenment
    • Sir John Macpherson

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