I. Logic
Studying logic text books used in Colonial education is a basic source for beginning to understand the content of the idea of reason presupposed by the U.S. Founders. Most of them were compatible with the general presentation and content of the Port Royal Logic and the logic of Isaac Watts. These were divided in four parts
1. Ideas:
Here they discussed concepts, meaning, definition, the symbolic function of words, the distinction between the imagination and intellect and the importance of coming to terms
2. Judgment:
Here they discussed the Judgment and distinguished between Facts (judgments about individual items) and Principles (general judgments). It is from judgment we begin to abstract our notion of truth.
3. Deduction, Induction and Reasoning
This part examined the relation of proposition to proposition by means of a middle term. In valid reasoning the middle term is properly distributed.
4. Order
Fallacies were usually treated in this place. It was also a collection of everything else. In some logics, this section was very long. In others it was short.