revolutionary forces and formed military encampments of private troops up and down the Mississippi River, which was then the western boundary of the United States. His plan was to start an insurrection and break away that portion of the country. Burr's activities came at about the time of the Louisiana Purchase which means that he was Burr was eventually arrested and put on trial. The Theistical Society was another subversive group that operated out of New York. It's existence was r4 x«rT 1 a discovered and publicized by John Wood, a Scottish cartographer and teacher. The head of the organization was Elihu Palmer a blind minister. Palmer was a deist who denied the existence of a personal God. William H. Mcllhany said this about the Society: Like its Bavarian origin, the Society promoted the distribution of publications attacking all religious belief and any form of government other than democracy. Most notable among these, in addition to Paine's Age of Reason, was Palmer's own Principles of Nature.” Theistical Society members advocated using a strategy of "patient gradualism" to accomplish then- goals. They also sought to finance and lead their own opposition in waging a public ideological crusade against them. This was done to give the Society the appearance of nothing more than the promoter of an idealistic campaign, thus obscuring their secret subversive program. This program, of leading your opposition, has 74 The Secret Side of History making a grab for an immense amount of territory. Aaron