A Paris, Chez Favre, an IX (1801). (8), viii, 458, (2) pp. 8vo. Contemporary boards, spine gilt in compartments, red label with gilt lettering. Sabin 12166; Leclerc 845; Fay 40; Echeverria & Wilkie 801/4. First edition. This publication is one in a group which was typical of revived French-American fraternity in the early 19th century, dwelling on the similarities between the American and the French revolution, comparing Napoleon with Washington, and the struggle against the English. The work was therefore dedicated to Napoleon while the authors were careful to explain that American Liberty meant respect for the law, not license, and that the doctrine of the social contract and the principle of equality were not to be misinterpreted as signifying pure democracy or an unrestricted franchise (see at length: Echeverria, Mirage in the West, p. 255). Only after 1804 and the coronation of the Emperor, parallels between Washington and Napoleon were no longer politically desirable.
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