Elihu Palmer

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Elihu Palmer (1764-1806) was an American deist philosopher. He was trained as a Presbyterian minister, but ultimately rejected orthodox Christianity and formed the deistical New York Theistical Society. In 1801, Palmer published his major work, Principles of Nature; or, a Development of the Moral Causes of Happiness and Misery Among the Human Species, and sent a copy to Thomas Jefferson in 1802.^[1] No reply from Jefferson has been found. Jefferson's copy of this work is held at the Library of Congress.^[2]

- Jefferson Library Staff, 2008

Further Sources

18th Century Online Encyclopedia: Enlightenment and Revolution, s.v. "Palmer, Elihu" (by Jason Horn).
French, Roderick S. "Elihu Palmer, Radical Deist, Radical Republican: A Reconsideration of American Free Thought." Studies in Eighteenth-Century Culture, vol. 8 (1979): 90-91.
Palmer, Elihu. Principles of Nature; or, a Development of the Moral Causes of Happiness and Misery Among the Human Species. London: J. Cahuac, 1819.
Walters, Kerry. The American Deists: Voices of Reason and Dissent in the Early Republic. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992.

References

^ Palmer to Jefferson, September 1, 1802, in PTJ, 38:333, 38:333n. Transcription and editorial note available at Founders Online.
^ Sowerby, 2:24-25.

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