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David Ricardo collection

 Collection
Identifier: MS-HUT-006

Scope and Content Note

The collection consists of one holograph letter of March 29, 1822 by David Ricardo in which he explains his refusal to become a candidate for Member of Parliament from Liverpool. Apparently, Ricardo had been encouraged to stand for the Liverpool election. The letter cites the expense, anxiety, and future restraints on his time as reasons for declining and states his satisfaction with sitting for Portarlington, Ireland. The letter ends with remarks concerning options for paying duty by holders of foreign corn.

It is likely that this letter was written to David Hodgson, a Liverpool merchant. In a follow-up letter to Hodgson, dated March 30, 1822, Ricardo refers to a previous day's letter in which the content is essentially the same. This letter was published in Works and Correspondence of David Ricardo, Piero Scraffa, ed., 1952.

Dates

  • Creation: 1822

Creator

Use Restrictions

Access to the papers is unrestricted.

Permission to publish material from this collection must be requested in writing from the Manuscripts Librarian, Milton S. Eisenhower Library, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Md. 21218.

Biographical Note

David Ricardo, an English economist, was born in London in 1772. He became an independent stockbroker (1793-1814) and upon retirement, established himself as a country landowner. Ricardo's law of rent was probably his most notable discovery and this theory was analyzed in his work, Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817; rev. 3rd ed. 1821). His ideas remained dominant after his death and his work became the framework for economic science at least until the 1870's. Ricardo's economic theories served as an origin for those reformers attacking the agricultural aristocracy's political and economic privileges. Ricardo served as a Member of Parliament, 1819-23 from Portarlington, Ireland. He died in 1823.

Extent

0.5 Cubic Feet (1 page)

Language of Materials

English

Provenance

The letter was given as a gift to the Library by Henry Burke in 1981.

General Physical Description note

1 page

Title
Ricardo (David) 1772-1823 Letter (1822)Ms. Hut006
Author
Joan Grattan
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
The Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 N Charles St
Baltimore MD 21218 USA