Malthusianism in late eighteenth century america

Opinions tinctured with the Malthusian dictum, "population grows to the limits of sabsistence," were xpressed by Benjamin Franklin and writers influenced by him as well as b Madison, Jefferson, Ellsworth, and Adams. Franklin utilized his population doctrine to refute the arguments of those who favored the restriction of manufacturing by the colonists or opposed granting the American colonists the right to migrate westward or into Canada. Fraklin implied that in the long run population could neither be increased nor decreased by migration, that eventually population pressure would reduce wages and lead to the establish- ment and spread of manufacturing in the colonies. The American writers believed that ation could double every 20 or 25 years under favorable conditions. While they de poplaw of diminishing returns, the American writers believed that povrty, etc., ac nied population pressure. None specifically advocated moral restraint, hwever. Only Adams employed Malthusianism to attack radicalism.