Slippery Slope Arguments in History: Edmund Burke

From his speech on Conciliation with the Colonies, Mar. 22, 1775:

Permit me, Sir, to add another circumstance in our colonies, which contributes no mean part towards the growth and effect of this untractable spirit….

In no country perhaps in the world is the law so general a study…. General Gage marks out this disposition very particularly in a letter on your table. He states, that all the people in his government are lawyers, or smatterers in law; and that in Boston they have been enabled, by successful chicane, wholly to evade many parts of one of your capital penal constitutions….

This study renders men acute, inquisitive, dexterous, prompt in attack, ready in defence, full of resources. In other countries, the people, more simple, and of a less mercurial cast, judge of an ill principle in government only by an actual grievance; here they anticipate the evil, and judge of the pressure of the grievance by the badness of the principle. They augur misgovernment at a distance; and snuff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze.

Comments

[apedad]

Smatterer: One who smatters; one who dabbles in or experiments with a little bit of everything, especially knowledge.

[Intelligent Mr Toad]

A slippery slope
From Alexander Pope:

“Vice is a monster of so frightful mien
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.”

[Dan Schiavetta]

Still waiting to hear from Jean-Claude Killy, who had years of experience with slippery slopes and knew how to negotiate them.

[Alan Vanneman]

So, the slippery slope here complained of is allowing common people to be aware of their legal rights? And the inevitable result is, the rightful authorities can't execute as many people as they wish?

Uh, weren't libertarians against capital punishment? Weren't they in favor of the "people" knowing their rights? Wow, I am one ignorant son of a bitch! Thanks for the enlightenment, Professor Volokh!

[Rossami]

No, yes, no, yes.
Now go re-read the article. (Hint - it's not a "complaint" about slippery slopes but an example of the use of that argument positively.)

[gormadoc]

You've completely missed the point. Burke was in favor of allowing Americans self-determination within the empire, particularly to avoid a fraternal war: his point was that the Americans wouldn't (and shouldn't) permit even a small tyranny to encroach on their rights.

[Ed Grinberg]

They augur misgovernment at a distance; and snuff the approach of tyranny in every tainted breeze.

The air is positively foul...
(No, I didn't watch the opening of The Insurrection Show.)