Commentary
The previous installment in this series outlined the life and career of the Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero. It described how John Adams relied on Cicero’s work in the preface to the first volume of his survey of republican constitutions. Although Adams was in Europe when the Constitutional Convention met, his volume circulated among the delegates.
In one respect, however, Adams misrepresented Cicero, and so did Alexander Hamilton. This essay explains how and why. This essay also shows how those debating the proposed Constitution resorted to Cicero’s writings and reputation.
The Adams–Hamilton Error
Adams’s book accurately reported Cicero’s view that the best and most stable form of government mixes elements of kingship (a chief executive), aristocracy (a senate), and democracy (a house of representatives). Adams deduced that the best existing form of mixed government was that of Great Britain: It included a king who served as the chief executive, a House of Lords to represent the aristocracy, a House of Commons to represent the people, and an independent judiciary. Adams conceded that the British system had been corrupted, but he argued that “in theory” it was “the most stupendous fabrick of human invention … ”…