cogency

Founding-era definition · Webster's 1828 American Dictionary

COGENCY, noun Force; strength; power of compelling; literally, urgency, or driving. It is used chiefly of moral subjects, and in relation to force or pressure on the mid; as the cogency of motives or arguments.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI

More founding-era words: liberty · virtue · republic · justice · providence · commerce · militia · arms · prudence · establishment · religion · usurpation · tyranny · citizen · unalienable · sovereign