In print here for the first time is the dissertation of Douglass G. Adair, a classic work that-despite being formally unpublished since its writing in 1943-has had a profound influence on several generations of historians of American political thought. It is a masterpiece of exploration into and analysis of the sources of American republican thought.

The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy, available for the first time in this Lexington Books edition, is Douglass Adair's first major work of historical inquiry. Adair was a mentor to many of the nation's leading scholars and has long been admired for his original and profound observations about the founding of the American republic. Written in 1943, The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy has been praised widely as the seminal analysis of the origins of American democracy. The passage of time has not dulled Adair's arguments; instead, his critique of economic determinism, his emphasis on the influence of ideology on the Founders, and his belief in the importance of civic virtue and morality to good republican government have become ever more critical to our conception of American history. With judicious prose and elegant insights, Adair explores the classical and modern European heritage of liberalism, and he raises fundamental questions about the nature of democratic government. This book is for any serious reader interested in American intellectual history, political thought, and the founding of the republic.

Chapter 1 Introduction
Chapter 2 A Polemical Prologue
Chapter 3 The Constant and Universal Principles of Human Nature
Chapter 4 According to Aristotle
Chapter 5 The Desperate Debtor and the Hall of Mirrors
Chapter 6 The High Toned Government
Chapter 7 The Extended Republic
Chapter 8 The Virtuous Farmer
Chapter 9 Epilogue