"Manning was a Billerica, Massachusetts farmer-tavern keeper who fought at Concord, . . . developed an interest in public affairs, and followed a career in local politics until 1788. . . . His principal essay {is} The Key of Liberty. . . . There are four versions extant of The Key. . . . {The} third version {from 1798} was chosen by the editors of this volume. Manning divided society into the Few and the Many. The Many, he said, were farmers, laborers, and mechanics who make a living by laboring. The Few were merchants, physicians, divines, lawyers, and the rich who lived without bodily labor. He believed that the destruction of free governments in society occurred because of 'unreasonable dispositions and combinations of the Few.'"(Choice) Index.