tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post725905326277021687..comments2024-03-27T18:18:11.525-06:00Comments on American Creation: Anti-Trinitarianism and the Republican Tradition in Enlightenment BritainBrad Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17669677047039491864noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1237087217187172116.post-41774659633026744332013-08-21T16:08:34.987-06:002013-08-21T16:08:34.987-06:00This may not have been Priestley’s idiosyncratic v...<i>This may not have been Priestley’s idiosyncratic view in 1790, but it was implied by the mix of anti-Trinitarianism, republicanism, and appreciation for the Glorious Revolution that could be found in a group of his contemporaries: Richard Price, John Jebb, Theophilus Lindsey, Samuel Rogers, Charles James Fox, one-time subjects of the crown like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, and so on.</i><br /><br />I see the point, but stretching opposition to monarchy into support for the "republican" French Revolution doesn't translate to America beyond Jefferson himself. That's a pretty sketchy line of association. Esp to Franklin, who had his doubts but wasn't <i>anti</i>-Trinitarian like Jefferson and John Adams. <br /><br />And Adams kept his unitarianism well-hid from public view! Besides, he was anti-French Revolution, so anti-Trinitarian is not synonymous with "republicanism."<br /><br />I do see the point, but the French Revolution was a line that could not be crossed in Britain, where they burned Priestley's house down and he was obliged to flee to America.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priestley_Riots<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><br />Tom Van Dykehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07121072404143877596noreply@blogger.com