Books

he Rights of Man to Property! Being a Proposition to Make It Equal Among the Adults of the Present Generation. New York: Printed for the Author by Alexander Ming, 1829. 12mo. 172 x 104 mm . Contemporary calf, gilt titled top cover, redmorocco spine label. Worn and rubbed, front board detached and evidence of old repair; internally foxed. First and only edition. VERY RARE, Howes S-530; Sabin 8158 The FIRST AMERICAN BOOK TO HAVE THE TITLE STAMPS ON FRONT COVERS. The subscriber advertisement notes "the useful innovative upon book-binding, of stamping on the two covers IN LETTERS OF GOLD, the title of the work." "The Rights of Man to Property!" is a seminal early work in American progressive economic philosophy. It advocates radical ideas like property redistribution, workers' rights, and universal education. Authored by Thomas Skidmore (1790- 1832), a key >?gure in the early U.S. labor movement, it contributed signi>?cantly to the Working Men's Party's formation in 1829 and later the Agrarian Party in 1830. Skidmore's groundbreaking ideas, presented in this unique edition, were ahead of their era and challenged the established socio-economic norms of early 19th-century America. His self- >?nanced writings mirrored the rising discontent among workers and the call for fairer economic practices. However, his early death in the 1832 cholera epidemic limited the spread of his radical concepts, leaving his contributions largely unrecognized in the broader context of American political and economic thought. This book captures a critical moment of emerging radicalism and the quest for economic equality in the developing United States.