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 language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 367-393 |
Number of pages | 27 |
Journal | Scottish Historical Review |
Volume | 102 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2023 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- 18 century
- Adam Ferguson
- French Revolution
- Scotland
- Scottish Enlightenment
- Sir John Macpherson