London: Saunders and Otley, 1828. Second Edition. Half-Leather. Very Good / No Jacket. Item #2307962

Second edition (Sabin 43465). Armorial bookplate of George Tudor on front endpaper, boards rubbed, front hinge beginning to weaken.

ix, 343 pp. 8vo. Leather spine and corners, marbled paper over boards, marbled edges and endpapers. A history and analysis of the shift throughout British history from the dominance of the ruling/noble class to the rise of the middle class and public opinion as the driving force in the progress of society, and in particular economics. Mackinnon discusses the nobility, the reigns of various monarchs from the Restoration through Napoleon's abdication, wealth and the manipulation of currency, property, public opinion's influence in the Houses of Lords and Commons, and the state of public opinion in other countries throughout the world. The entry in Sabin seems to indicate that the section 'On the Present State of Public Opinion in the United States of North America' appears only in the second edition of this work. Mackinnon stresses 'the increase of [national] wealth, occasioned by the general use of machinery...' as an important factor in the growth of public opinion, and contends that this and other similar factors tend to make government more constitutional, with a greater concern for personal liberty.

Price: $175.00