ARATOR, BEING A SERIES OF AGRICULTURAL ESSAYS, PRACTICAL AND POLITICAL

Petersburg [Virginia]: Printed by Whitworth & Yancey, for John Carter, 1818. Fourth Edition. 185 x 113 mm. (7 1/4 x 4 3/4"). 239, [1] pp.
Contemporary treated sheep, smooth spine with double gilt rules and a light brown morocco label with gilt lettering, speckled edges. Front pastedowns with several signature trials in pencil by Thomas Hersey. Sabin 94484. ◆Leather along joints a little worn (rear joint with a one-inch split at bottom), several light scratches and other minor imperfections to covers, text lightly browned and foxed due to paper quality, but a very good, unsophisticated copy with no real internal signs of use.

This is an important collection of essays in support of republicanism and the agrarian ideal, written by a political thinker whose writings were consulted by figures such as James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. The work first appeared as a series of short articles in a newspaper called "The Spirit of '76" from 1810-11. Writing under the name "Arator," our author covered such issues as slavery, overseers, militia, and the economy and political state of agriculture, as well as more practical matters such as orchards, ploughing, livestock, and the succession and cultivation of various crops. The articles were gathered and published in book form in 1813. According to ANB, "Taylor portrayed the natural interest in America as an agrarian one; he equated the welfare of American republicanism with the vitality of its agricultural sector. Consequently, he wished to strengthen America's natural interest and thus protect it from the oppression of artificial, or 'capitalist,' interests being created by discriminatory federal legislation." John Taylor (1753-1824) served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and in 1779 was elected to Virginia's general assembly. He became an important voice in arguments against Federalism and in support of Jeffersonian democracy and agrarian society. As ANB notes, "In a 1795 letter to Jefferson, Taylor admitted to 'a spice of fanaticism in my nature upon two subjects--agriculture and republicanism, which all who set in motion, are sure to suffer by.' These formed the touchstones of his life; indeed, he believed that the continued existence of the American republic depended upon the vitality of these two articles of faith. Consequently, he intended to devote his life to making agricultural improvements and to articulating proper republican principles." The work is commonly found in one edition or another; our copy is in nice condition and at a low price..