1770-1789

The boxes of manuscripts in this category include Bentham's earliest works: the easiest documents to transcribe. During this period Bentham anonymously published A Fragment on Government (1776), which was an attack on William Blackstone's Commentaries. He also produced An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation (printed in 1780 and published in 1789), which expounded his ideas on the principle of utility as a basis for government and legislation. Meanwhile Bentham developed his plan to codify the law and produce a pannomion. He wrote on the role of the penal code and the significance of punishment and reward, while also offering a critique of English Common Law. At the end of this period Bentham produced a draft constitution for France which recommended universal suffrage. See a time-line of Bentham's life.

Though material from Box 115 was written just after this period, a number of folios in this box are in the hand of one of Bentham's scribes, and are somewhat easier to read. New users or those wishing to familiarise themselves with the language of the period and the text-encoding system may wish to select a manuscript from this box.

Boxes in this category:

• Box 14
• Box 27
• Box 28
• Box 32
• Box 47
• Box 50
• Box 51
• Box 70
• Box 71
• Box 72
• Box 73
• Box 75
• Box 79
• Box 95
• Box 96
• Box 97
• Box 98
• Box 100
• Box 115
• Box 143
• Box 159

Subjects in this category:

• Crime & Punishment
• Law
• Moral Philosophy
• Political Economy
• Religion

Select another time period:

• 1790-1809
• 1810-1832

Search instead for manuscripts categorised by Subject; Difficulty Level; Box Number; or Folio Number.