“I OUGHT NOT TO HAVE SUSPECTED YOU OF TREACHERY”: PAINE’S LETTER TO GEORGE WASHINGTON, 1802 BALTIMORE EDITION
PAINE, Thomas. Letter from Thomas Paine to George Washington. Baltimore: G. Douglas, 1802. Slim octavo, disbound; pp. 44.
Early American edition of Paine’s bitter public attack on George Washington.
Once a "staunch supporter of Washington" (Fruchtman, 350), Paine, who felt much abandoned by America during his imprisonment in Paris, "wrote a reproachful letter to Washington (22 Feb. 1795), which he suppressed at Monroe's request. On 20 Sept. he wrote another, calling upon Washington to clear himself of the charge of 'treachery'; and, having received no answer to this, he wrote and published a letter, dated 3 Aug. 1796. It is a long and bitter attack upon Washington's military career, as well as upon his policy as president" (DNB). Paine "was convinced that Washington had connived at his imprisonment, and published this violent diatribe, first in America in 1796, and shortly afterward in England" (Gimbel-Yale 104). Shaw & Shoemaker 2836. Contemporary owner signatures on title page.
Scattered foxing and soiling, two leaves dampstained. A very good copy.