Originally published in 1987. This book analyses what Englishmen understood by the term contract in political discussions during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It provides evidence for reconsidering conventional accounts of the relationships between political ideas, groups and practices of the period.

Preface Part 1 1. Introduction 2. Appeals to Contract in the Controversies over the Revolution Part 2 3. Constitutional Contract 4. William Atwood 5. Robert Ferguson Part 3 6. Philosophical Contract 7. John Locke Part 4 8. Integrated Contract 9. Algernon Sidney 10. James Tyrell Part 5 11. Conclusion