808 Sheet – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

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James Priestley suggested to him to apply for the position. Objections were raised that he was not a native and did not share the President's political views. Dr. Priestley considered such objections insignificant. He argued that if Mr. Adams intended to be the ruler of a nation and not merely the leader of a party, he would welcome the opportunity to demonstrate it. Consequently, Dr. Priestley wrote a letter to the President, presenting Cooper's name for the position. Cooper also sent a letter himself. However, the office was given to someone else, and no response to either letter was ever received. Cooper then established a newspaper, ardently supported the Republican cause, and opposed the administration of President Adams. A reader of a rival newspaper wrote a letter in which he criticized Cooper's tone, noting that while he had not added to the liveliness, he had retained the fiery spirit of the pamphleteer from 1795-1800. Cooper passed away in 1840 while revising the South Carolina statutes, a task assigned to him by the legislature. In addition to numerous tracts on politics, divinity, and metaphysics, he published a treatise on the bankrupt laws, a translation of Justinian, a treatise on political economy, a manual of chemistry, and a general compendium of useful information.

Joseph Priestley (1733-1804) was born in Bristol, England. On January 14, 1791, an angry Birmingham mob set fire to his house, destroying it along with all his books and apparatus. Smarting from his losses, Priestley gathered what property remained and sought refuge in the United States. Had he arrived a few years earlier or later, a brief mention in the Daily Advertiser would likely have sufficed. However, he landed in 1794, a time when the arrogance, injustice, and high-handed actions of British officials had driven the Republicans to various imprudent acts. That he was the greatest chemist of his time, had won the Copley Medal, discovered oxygen gas, carbonic acid gas, nitrous oxide gas, and sulfurous oxide gas, and proved that the red color of arterial blood is due to the oxygen in the air, was of little importance to the Republicans. What mattered greatly was that he had responded to Burke's "Reflections" and had been mistreated by an English mob. This provided a new opportunity to express their intense hatred toward England, which they eagerly seized. They hailed him as a martyr and showered him with attention. The Democratic Society addressed him, as did the Tammany Society. The Associated Teachers and the Republican natives of England and Ireland organized demonstrations in his honor. (McMaster, "History of the People of the U.S.," Vol. 2, p. 207.)