This article addresses several recurring questions regarding the study of the history of political thought. It does so through theoretical explora tion and practical application. First, conceptual history, a recent sympa thetic alternative to the "Cambridge School" of Quentin Skinner, J. G. A. Pocock, and others, is drawn on in order to outline a general theory of the actual conditions and processes through which politically significant conceptual transformation takes place. Second, by examining concrete examples-especially that of James Rivington, an early American news paper publisher and Tory leader-the study focuses on the role of contra dictions and contextual shifts to suggest how we might begin to better understand the interrelationships between an author, a wide variety of contexts, and the causal force of these contexts.
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