Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis of Condorcet, known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher, political economist, politician, and mathematician. His ideas, including support for free markets, public education, constitutional government, and equal rights for women and people of all races, and a welfare state have been said to embody the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment, of which he has been called the "last witness", and Enlightenment rationalism. As he was a critic of the constitution proposed by Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles in 1793, the Convention Nationale - and the Jacobin faction in particular - voted to have Condorcet arrested. He died in prison after a period of hiding from the French Revolutionary authorities.
A paris ce 2 Xbre [1773] Voici, mon cher et illustre confrere, quelques questions que je prends la liberté de proposer à la Société philosophique de Philadelphie, et dont je…
Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Caritat, marquis de Condorcet, writes to Benjamin Franklin in 1783 to recommend a memorandum concerning a consular position for the United States at the port of Cette. He seeks Franklin's assistance in supporting merchants who are old friends of the Americans. Condorcet expresses his respect and attachment to Franklin throughout the letter.
Marie-Jean-Antoine-Nicolas de Condorcet expresses gratitude to Benjamin Franklin for a valuable gift to the academy and praises Franklin's role in the American Revolution as a defense of human rights. He also recommends the skilled children of M. Fauchet, a Paris mint official, as potential workers for coin production in America, offering to provide further information on their abilities and conduct.