Existing comment:
A Summary View of the Rights of British America
In preparation for the First Continental Congress in 1774, Thomas Jefferson set out a list of grievances against George III in a short pamphlet titled A Summary View of the Rights of British America. In this strong opening volley of the Revolution, Jefferson complained about the punitive aftermath of the Boston Tea Party and asserted that the king and Parliament had no right to govern the colonies. The pamphlet was printed in Williamsburg by Clementina Rind (ca. 1740–1774), who continued editing and publishing the Virginia Gazette for a year between the time her husband died in 1773 and her own death in 1774. Clearly the pamphlet was never proofed by the author's astute editorial gaze at its printing, as it was later heavily annotated with corrections by Jefferson, an uncharacteristic gesture by someone who otherwise rarely marked his books.
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826). A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Williamsburg: Clementina Rind, 1774. |