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Smith orders unpublished manuscripts burned shortly before his death

In July 1790, shortly before dying, Smith had unpublished manuscripts burned, with Black and Hutton carrying out the instruction. In the causal graph this event weakens the driver Personal-Data Protection.

Read the full account

In July 1790, shortly before dying, Smith had unpublished manuscripts burned, with Black and Hutton carrying out the instruction. The dated destruction is not TMS sixth edition and not later student-note recoveries. Adam Smith’s documented role is: He instructed friends to destroy unpublished papers except a few items. Joseph Black and James Hutton executed the burning; the order is his. Destruction is the 1790 instrument. Later editors, printers, and excavators remain named where they appear. Adam Smith's documented role is: He instructed friends to destroy unpublished papers except a few items.

Context

He feared unfinished work circulating. Friends obeyed. Later jurisprudence notes from students are a different, unauthorised survival already stored as a gap row. Liberty Fund reconstructions are not a resurrection of the burned pile as his act. Named others on the file: Joseph Black, James Hutton, and unnamed household assistants share the burning. The public setting is the file around 1790-07-01. Contribution type is direct. The instrument stays Smith orders unpublished manuscripts burned shortly before his death. The setting of Smith orders unpublished manuscripts burned shortly before his death is the public file around 1790-07-01. Contribution type is direct. Driver personal-data-protection is attached because the significance names a mechanism from this act, not because a standing list needed coverage.

If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here.

Why it matters

Direct on the order. Welfare reading worsening. The attached mechanism is A dated destruction of manuscripts removed unpublished lectures and drafts from the public file. Lag to any modern indicator is not treated as zero. This path is attached because the mechanism is named from this act, not because a driver list needed coverage. The welfare reading on this path is worsening.

Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, museums, and adaptations are not converted into extra lifetime acts.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Adam Smith

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.32 · verified

    He instructed friends to destroy unpublished papers except a few items. Joseph Black and James Hutton executed the burning; the order is his.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactSmith orders unpublished manuscripts burned shortly before his death
    2. weakensDriverPersonal-Data Protection

    impact weight 0.3 · Effect from 1 July 1790 · verified

    A dated destruction of manuscripts removed unpublished lectures and drafts from the public file.

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Adam Smith’s Moral and Political PhilosophyStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Britannica — Adam SmithEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Britannica and SEP independently record the 1790 manuscript destruction. Official: Britannica — Adam Smith, death and destruction of papers (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adam-Smith (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica). Independent: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Smith, unpublished work destroyed (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/smith-moral-political/ (opens in a new tab); Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). The two URLs are different pages. Where the carrier is a later edition or a received narrative, that limit is stated rather than upgraded to an autograph. Official carrier: Britannica — Adam Smith, death and destruction of papers (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adam-Smith (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica). Independent carrier: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Smith, unpublished work destroyed (https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/smith-moral-political/ (opens in a new tab); Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

Established: 1790 burning of unpublished manuscripts. Not established: a complete inventory of what burned. Established: a sourced public record of Smith orders unpublished manuscripts burned shortly before his death under 1790-07-01.

The contribution type is direct. That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself.

Confidence is stated on the impact path, not hidden in adjectives. Destruction is the 1790 instrument. Mixed effects of Smith orders unpublished manuscripts burned shortly before his death are separate paths.

Shared responsibility is part of Smith orders unpublished manuscripts burned shortly before his death. Naming Adam Smith does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 1790-07-01 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorAdam Smith
  2. contributed toFactSmith orders unpublished manuscripts burned shortly before his death
  3. weakensDriverPersonal-Data Protection

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Smith orders unpublished manuscripts burned shortly before his death. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/asm-paper-burning-1790

https://factrail.ai/facts/asm-paper-burning-1790

Accessed 16 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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