"[308] He believed that the views expressed in the pamphlet were "so democratical, without any restraint or even an attempt at any equilibrium or counter poise, that it must produce confusion and every evil work."[309] What Paine advocated was a radical democracy with the views of the majority neither checked nor counterbalanced. This was incompatible with the system of checks and balances that conservatives like Adams would implement.[310] Some delegates urged Adams to commit his views to paper. He did so in separate letters to these colleagues. So impressed was Richard Henry Lee that, with Adams's consent, he had the most comprehensive letter printed. Published anonymously in April 1776, it was titled Thoughts on Government and styled as "a Letter from a Gentleman to his Friend."Many historians agree that none of Adams's other compositions rivaled the enduring influence of this pamphlet.[78]
Adams advised that the form of government should be chosen to attain the desired ends – the happiness and virtue of the greatest number of people. He wrote that, "There is no good government but what is republican. 