In the second half of the eighteenth century, our literature presents the vivid reflection of that momentous struggle for independence upon which the American colonies had entered. Fiery speeches, able arguments set forth in newspapers and in pamphlets, sharp and bitter satire served to give utterance to the thought and passion of men's minds. One feature of this activity must be emphasized: geographical lines were now forgotten; the literature of this period is no longer local; essayists, versifiers, orators were inspired by a common purpose and by a devotion to the interests of the country at large.

James Otis, 1725-83.

Greatest of the Massachusetts orators and conspicuous at the beginning of the struggle was James Otis. He was a graduate of Harvard, and a prominent lawyer in Boston. In 1761, following the accession of George III, in the previous year, there arose in Massachusetts a debate over granting the new Writs of Assistance to officers of the customs in that colony. In February of that year, Otis, in the council chamber at Boston, delivered an argument against the legality of these writs which is sometimes described as the prologue of the Revolution. Of this passionate address, no complete record exists, but John Adams, who reported it, declares that American independence was then and there born. "Otis was a flame of fire," Adams declares. "Such a profusion of learning, such convincing argument, and such a torrent of sublime and pathetic eloquence -- that a great crowd of spectators and auditors went away absolutely electrified." Three years later, Otis published a pamphlet, The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved -- one of the most acute and powerful among the many political papers of these years.

Political Essayists.

The historic events of the period came in quick succession. The Stamp Act, passed in 1765, was repealed in the following year; but taxes on tea, paper, glass, paints, and other articles were levied in 1767. Petitions, appeals, and resolutions were numerous. Pamphlets and essays appeared in great numbers. To these years belong the political papers of Franklin, who contributed vigorously to these discussions. Samuel Adams (1722-1803), tax collector of the town of Boston, was a voluminous essayist -- of whom a tory governor declared "every dip of his pen stings like a horned snake."

Both sides participated in this fierce debate, for there were not a few in the colonies who remained loyal to England throughout the struggle. Following the assemblage of the first Continental Congress, in 1774, there appeared in New York a series of four pamphlets dealing with the great questions of the time from the tory standpoint. These were signed "Westchester Farmer"; they were incisive, picturesque, witty, and readable. "If I must be devoured, let me be devoured by the jaws of a lion, and not gnawed to death by rats and vermin," declared the audacious pamphleteer. These papers aroused a storm of patriotic protest in the midst of which it is interesting to find a pamphlet entitled The Farmer Refuted, the essay of a youth of eighteen, young Alexander Hamilton, then a student in King's College. The "Farmer" was identified with the Rev. Samuel Seabury, and Episcopal clergyman of Westchester, New York, and was made to pay dearly for his bold utterances by some of the excitable patriots in his vicinity. He suffered many indignities, but after the close of the conflict resumed his position and ended his life in peace, honored by many of his former foes.

The Orators.

Chief among the orators of the South was Patrick Henry (1736-99), of whom Jefferson said: "He appeared to me to speak as Homer wrote." It was he who in the opening speech of the first Congress uttered the ringing declaration, "I am not a Virginian but an American"; and he who in the Virginia Assembly, March 23, 1775, delivered the address which ranks as one of the classics of American eloquence. Along with Otis, in the North, stands the familiar figure of John Hancock (1737-93). In the speech which he delivered in 1774, on the anniversary of the Boston Massacre, he expressed in characteristic phrases the fervor of the time: "Burn Boston and make John Hancock a beggar, if the public good requires." Joseph Warren (1741-1775), a Boston physician, in his address on the next anniversary of the Massacre, exclaimed: "These fellows say we won't fight; by Heavens! I hope I shall die up to my knees in blood." It was but a few weeks thereafter that the unconscious prophecy was realized at Bunker Hill. If much of this oratory was turgid, it nevertheless expressed the sincere sentiment of those who gave it voice. Such was the spirit of the time. Josiah Quincy (1744-75) spoke for many another as well as for himself when he declared: "If to appear for my country is treason, and to arm for her defense is rebellion -- like my fathers, I will glory in the name of rebel and traitor, as they did in that of Puritan and enthusiast."

The newspapers teemed with articles signed with symbolic names: Publius, Vindex, Candidus, Novanglus, etc.

Thomas Paine, 1737-1809.

In the flood of political papers, with which patriotic writers deluged the colonies, there was none which wrought such effect as the pamphlet entitled Common Sense, published by Thomas Paine. Paine was an Englishman of radical mind, who, after an unpretentious career in his own country, came to America in 1774, equipped only with a note of introduction from Benjamin Franklin. Catching the spirit of the hour, and seeing the logical issue of events as few, if any, of the colonists had done, in 1776, he sent forth his epoch-making work. He first pointed out that the present struggle must lead to national independence. His literary style was not impressive, the logic of his argument was not invincible, but the effect of his paper was electric. One hundred and twenty thousand copies were sold within three months. In France, and even in England, its power was felt. The authorship of the pamphlet, which was anonymous, was ascribed to Franklin. It carried conviction in America, and made the issues of the conflict clear. During the war, Paine published a series of papers called The Crisis, the opening sentence of which -- "These are the times that try men's souls," became a proverbial phrase. Later he went to France, and in his enthusiasm for the cause of Revolution there, wrote The Rights of Man (1791-92), a reply to Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution. In The Age of Reason (1794-96), a bitter attack on Christianity, Paine's radicalism appears in its extreme form; it is an unpleasant work and does not discover the earlier power or skill of its author.

The Federalist, 1787-88.

After the conclusion of the war, during that critical period which preceded the adoption of a constitution, there appeared at intervals a very notable series of papers which were designed in their entirety to set forth the fundamental principles of government. These appeared as articles contributed to various New York newspapers. There were eighty-five in all, and their authorship was concealed under the pseudonym of "Publius." In 1788, these papers were collected and published under the name of The Federalist -- a collection which ranks as our chief political classic. Of these famous papers, five are attributed to John Jay, twenty-nine to James Madison, and fifty-one to Alexander Hamilton.

The Declaration and the Constitution.

Two other great state documents -- eloquent products of this exalted time -- demand a place in the record of our nation's literature. The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), a Virginian. Its sonorous sentences need not be subjected to depreciation by the colder literary criticism of to-day. Its lines were written by men who were intensely stirred by the spirit of their deeds. "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Thomas Jefferson was a fluent writer and a statesman who left a lasting impress on the political thought of his country. An exponent of the principles of popular government and a champion of individual freedom, he is the great representative of democracy in America, and is looked upon as father of the ideas embodied in the Democratic party. He published Notes on Virginia, wrote a compact Autobiography, founded the University of Virginia, and established in that institution a chair of English -- the first in America.

The Constitution of the United States, adopted in 1788, which was described by Gladstone as "the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man," owed its precise formulation largely to the labors of Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), the brilliant champion of the federal principle in national government which insists upon the centralization of authority, and the unity of the federal relation. Hamilton, therefore, is recognized as the first exponent of those ideas which are now represented theoretically in the present Republican party.

These men, the orators, the pamphleteers, the statesmen, of that generation were not unworthy contemporaries of Fox, Chatham, and Burke, the great English parliamentarians whose eloquence and statesmanship were matched with theirs. "When your lordships look at the papers transmitted to us from America, when you consider their decency, firmness, and wisdom, you cannot but respect their cause," said the Earl of Chatham, in 1775; and Edmund Burke, in his remarkable speech on Conciliation with America, pays a notable tribute to the legal knowledge of the colonists.

Journals and Letters.

Not to be overlooked by the student of this period are a few productions which are not so deeply colored by the political spirit of the time. Such are the collected Letters of Washington, of Jefferson, of John Adams and his wife, Abigail; the Farewell Address of Washington to his troops; and the Journal of John Woolman, a Quaker, -- which was beloved of Whittier, and received the praises of Charles Lamb.