Cato's Letters

They condemned corruption and lack of morality within the British political system and warned against tyrannical rule and abuse of power.

According to Peter Karsten's Patriot-Heroes in England and America, Cato's Letters were the most common holdings on the bookcases of the founding fathers.

[4] Renowned historian Clinton Rossiter stated "no one can spend any time on the newspapers, library inventories, and pamphlets of colonial America without realizing that Cato's Letters rather than John Locke's Civil Government was the most popular, quotable, esteemed source for political ideas in the colonial period.

One "Cato" wrote a series of essays arguing against American independence in the Pennsylvania Gazette, which were published in April 1776.

According to Thomas Paine biographer Moncure D. Conway, this "Cato" was Reverend Dr. William Smith, an influential Anglican minister in Philadelphia.