The Spur of Fame: Dialogues of John Adams and Benjamin Rush, 1805–1813

by John A. Schutz, Benjamin Rush, Douglass Adair (Editor)

John Adams and Benjamin Rush were two remarkably different men who shared a devotion to liberty. Their dialogues on the implications of fame for their generation prove remarkably timely—even for the twenty-first century. Adams and Rush championed very different views on the nature of the American Revolution and of the republic established with the United States Constitution; yet they shared one of the most important correspondences of their time. John Adams and Benjamin Rush met in 1774 as members of the Continental Congress—Adams from Massachusetts, Rush from Pennsylvania. In 1805, after Adams was defeated in his quest of a second term as the new republic’s second President, the two men self-consciously commenced an exchange of letters. Their recurring subject was fame. This emphasis on fame was crucial, Adams and Rush believed, because on the fame attached to individual leaders of the Revolutionary generation would depend the view of the Revolution and of the Constitution and republican government that would be embraced by generations to come, including our own. The new Liberty Fund edition of The Spur of Fame reproduces a text originally published by the Huntington Library. Douglass Adair (1912–1968) edited the William & Mary Quarterly from 1947 to 1955, and was a greatly influential professor and writer. Adair co-edited Origin and Progress of the American Rebellion with John A. Schutz in 1961.

Genres: History

343 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 1980

Reviews

[Joseph Adelizzi, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Spur of Fame by John A. Schutz provides a dispiriting glimpse into the post-Revolution psyches of two of the most principled actors in that conflict. So many of the letters exchanged between former President John Adams and Dr. Benjamin Rush discuss their frustration over the division and ugliness defining a new nation flush with profiteering and party politics, a frustration so deep as to lead Dr. Rush to go so far as to lament his signing of the declaration of independence. It would be easy to characterize the grumblings of these two gentlemen as the whinging of two men anticipating the short shrift posterity would be sure to give them, but doing so loses sight of the fact that these two saw the Revolution as so much more than a struggle for independence. For them the Revolution was a revolution in the fullest sense of the word - a complete rebuilding of government, society, humanity, and even individuals, a rebuilding which, to anachronistically quote President Lincoln, would bring us all closer to "the better angels of our nature."

[Joe Hilley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating dialogue between John Adams and Benjamin Rush, two delegates at the heart of the debate that produced the Declaration of Independence. Their candid discussion of others involved in the Revolution gives insight beyond the gloss of the typical "American myth." Great book.

[Jonathan]

None

[Craig Bolton]

"SPUR OF FAME, THE by JOHN A SCHUTZ (2001)"