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ADAMS, John (1735-1826)]. Thoughts on Government: Applicable to the Present State of the American Colonies. In a Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend. Philadelphia: John Dunlap, 1776. 8 o (162 x 113 mm). 28 pages. (A few pages evenly tanned.) Bound with six other contemporary works (see below) in one volume, contemporary half calf and marbled boards (extremities and boards slightly worn, joints a bit cracked), BUT IN FINE, UNSOPHISTICATED STATE. Provenance : Robert Patterson (1743-1824, signature on title-page). Patterson was professor of Mathematics at the University of Pennsylvania; president of the American Philosophical Society and one of the five men delegated by Thomas Jefferson to instruct Meriwether Lewis in preparation for his expedition with William Clark Thomas Jefferson later named him director of the U.S. Mint. ADAMS'S "THOUGHTS ON GOVERNMENT": THE FUNDAMENTAL PLAN FOR "THE WISEST AND HAPPIEST GOVERNMENT THAT HUMAN WISDOM CAN CONTRIVE," ISSUED THREE MONTHS BEFORE THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE A PROFOUND INFLUENCE UPON THE CONSTITUTIONS OF VIRGINIA (1776) MASSACHUSETTS (1780), AND ULTIMATELY, THE FEDERAL CONSTITUTION ITSELF Thoughts of Government , published in the same annus mirabilis as the more famous Common Sense , the Declaration of Independence, and Adam Smith's magisterial Wealth of Nations , undoubtedly constitutes one of the single most influential writings by an American on the subject of government. Based on several letters to fellow patriots, codifying ideas for new state governments, Thoughts on Government gives--in a mere 28 pages--a detailed, carefully thought-out plan for republican government. It came to exert a powerful effect upon the forms of government adopted by several of the newly independent states and, in due time, on the structure of government embodied in the U.S. Constitution. It also constitutes a great rarity: while many institutions hold copies, this belies its great rarity in private hands and not a single copy is listed in American Book Prices Current since at least 1975. Well before the Continental Congress declared Independence, it was evident that each colony had to institute new systems of government to replace that of the Crown. Provincial Congresses in three colonies--Massachusetts, North Carolina and Virginia--appealed directly to the Continental Congress for advice on ways to maintain the normal functions of government while in rebellion. On 10 May 1776, Congress formally recommended that each colony "adopt such government as shall...best conduce to the happiness and safety of their Constituents in particular, and America in general." Adams had by this date become one of the most influential and respected delegates in Congress and, more importantly, "the major proponent for the creation of new governments and constitutions for each colony" (Joseph Ellis, Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams , p. 41). Many delegates sought Adams's well-reasoned advice on these complex constitutional issues, among them Richard Henry Lee of Virginia, who visited Adams in Philadelphia on 14 November 1775. Lee was sufficiently impressed with Adams's suggestions to request a written copy of his thoughts, and Adams obliged the next day with an historic letter containing, in simple but quite specific terms, a "sketch" for a new form of government. Lee launched an industrious campaign to disseminate this in Virginia, where the new state constitution was already being formulated. In the meantime, others, including North Carolina's William Hooper and John Penn also sought Adams's advice and requested copies in manuscript. George Wythe of Virginia, having seen one of the circulating copies, requested one, as did George Dickenson Sargeant of New Jersey. In each case, Adams laboriously complied, carefully re-copying, improving and expanding his plan. Finally, Richard Henry Lee, having become aware of the later, augmented plan, solicited a copy of the new version of the plan