This is a classic that I read in graduate school and recently came back to. The problem with it is that it presents the new England version of republicanism as the American version of republicanism. That problem aside, its an interesting look into the political philosophy of the founding generation.

Wood shows: (i) the American revolution was rooted in republicanism, not liberalism or democracy; and (ii) the constitution drew on a reactionary elitism.

Classic work!!

One of the seminal works on the American Revolutionary era. Wood attempts to refute previous scholarship which focused primarily on the economics of the era, giving emphasis to the role of ideas and public conceptions of politics and the role of government.

An intellectual tour-de-force. I have learned more about the development of American political theory by reading this book than by any other. The founders understood that people were by nature self-interested and could not design a system reliant upon virtue for its success. "America would remain free not because of any quality in its citizens of spartan self-sacrifice to some nebulous public good, but in the last analysis because of the concern each individual would have in his own self-interest and personal freedom" (612).

American political theory at the time of the ratification of the Constitution grew out of necessity. Its source was diverse, varied, and based upon self-interest. The government that arose from this new and revolutionary theory was a part of a Lockean conception of the social contract formed by "the individuals of the society with each other, instead of a mutual arrangement between rulers and ruled" (601). This concept was revolutionary political science at the time.

Wood does a remarkable job of tying together the patchwork of thought that led to the political theory underlying the federal constitution. Of course, in undergoing this type of analysis, the author will most certainly rely on those sources which support his position. Wood is no doubt guilty of this throughout the book. He sometimes overemphasizes minor movements and under-emphasizes mainstream thought. But as a history of the development of thought from 1776 to 1787, I have not read a more compelling argument regarding the nature of that development and the ramifications of that development in our democratic republic.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the origins of American Political Theory.

This book definitely assumes a certain familiarity with the subject matter (a background in law wouldn't hurt either). I really have neither of these prerequisites but still found the book to be extremely informative and thought provoking. I just couldn't read more than 15-20 pages in a day if I hoped to retain and fully understand what I had read.

Gordon Wood defined a new concept of understanding early American political history with this brilliant book. He literally wrote the book on republicanism, a concept fashioned out of the bits and pieces of previous ideologies as well as contemporary issues in post-revolutionary America.

Just some weekend reading.

One of the most enjoyable works to read about those years essential to the formation of the Republic, despite the factional rivalries that were already well-established (and continue to characterize American society). Many authors are too technical or just plain dry when writing about the Constitutional era, but this is a lovely exception.

Preface

The Americans of the Revolutionary generation had constructed not simply new forms of government, but an entirely new conception of politics, a conception that took them out of an essentially classical and medieval world of political discussion into one that was recognizably modern. (p. viii)

Wood's study examines the changes in assumptions about politics that happened between 1776 and 1787. Acknowledging his debt to Bernard Bailyn, he launches on a study of ideological transformation in the crucible of Revolution.

Part One: The Ideology of Revolution

Chapter I: The Whig Science of Politics

In sections entitled "History and Reason," "The English Constitution," "Power Against Liberty," "English Corruption," "The Pattern of Tyranny," and "Preservation of Principles," Wood cover much of the same ground that Bailyn has already covered in Ideology. Like Bailyn, he believed that as the colonists approach rebellion, the believed that they lived in "a peculiar moment in history when all knowledge coincided, when classical antiquity, Christian theology, English empiricism and European rationalism could all be linked." (p. 7) With a deep and abiding respect for the English Constitution, it would be in the name of this constitution that they would rebel. Focusing upon the "court-country" split in British politics, Wood also sees the Whig ideology powerfully at work. Unheeded in their own country, the country Whigs found a ready audience in America. They viewed politics as a matter of balancing power, as power was inherently tempting and corrupting. Crown, aristocracy and the commoners worked to check each other's power. Britain's court party was corrupting the government and therefore Britain was headed down the same path as had Rome. Seeing this corruption as the result of a conspiracy, the colonists saw the hand of conspiracy in many of the events which lead up to the break with England. "It seemed increasingly evident that the forces of tyranny, rapacious as they were, were not content with the conquest of Europe, but now cast their "jealous eye on this new world" and "threatened to involve it in the miseries of the old." (p. 42) The colonists saw the workings of conspiracy in the stationing of troops, the use of admiralty courts, the re-invigoration of the Anglican establishment and the Quebec Act. In resisting this tyranny, they saw themselves as fighting in defense of the English Constitution.

Chapter II: Republicanism

The Americans were to emerge from the Revolution as "A New People for a New World." Wood starts with a scene at the Court of Versailles in 1788, where the younger Thomas Shippen is made to feel slighted by courtly Paris. He was ill at ease at court, as he was a different king of person now. He was a republican. he colonists felt "The Appeal of Antiquity" very strongly. They read ancient history and learned of the virtues of "restraint, temperance, fortitude , dignity, and independence." Upon the basis of their readings of the classics, they formed their understanding of moral and social underpinnings of politics. Focusing upon decline and decadence they became obsessed with the degeneracy that lead to the fall of the Roman Empire. It was the pursuit of luxury that lead to Rome's fall. n the pursuit of "The Public Good," republicans would rise above divisive faction to advocate the needs of the public at large. Factions were not to be reconciled, they were to be transcended. Ideal republicanism was selfless, liberty was not license. Because there was no coercive force the republic was clearly founded on the "The Need for Virtue," that value which we now call patriotism that is in essence the willingness to sacrifice one's own interest for the good of the community. "Equality," meant equality of opportunity but it also could mean equality of station. Indeed, the leveling of artificial aristocracy would lead to an aristocracy of talent. "Whig Resentment" resentment against the courtier of the metropolis formed a cohesive element that indeed overcame faction. The clearly visible examples of the crown creating positions of prestige and power for its appointees in the New World rankled and built common resentment amongst the republicans. "The Pennsylvania Revolution" displayed the most socially radical approach of all the colonies. Yet even it was not a popular uprising.

Chapter III: Moral Reformation

"The Easy Transition to Republicanism" made by the Revolutionary generation puzzles us even today. How could these men assume the mantle of republican virtue so easily? The truth is that they did not, they were in fact compelled by their own anxiety over the lack of virtue to fight for its triumph. "The Debate Over the Genius of the People" which was ignited by Thomas Paine's Common Sense showed the tensions within American society. Many who criticized Paine found in his calls to unseat the aristocracy a dangerously democratic clarion call. Many feared that the republican remedy was a call to anarchy. Yet in the minds of the Europeans of the enlightenment, America was different -- in the soil of the New World there grew "Republicans by Nature." People were quick to point out that American colonial society was particularly egalitarian, with almost all white males being freeholders. There is a sense that the snub of the colonial was met with the equally cocky reply that American colonial simplicity was all about republican virtue. Anxiety over "American Corruption," decline into luxury and vice was a constant theme of republican rhetoric. The presence of placemen put there by the crown, living the life of the courtier was ever present. To the clergy it would be necessary to repent and reform least virtue be lost. "Revolution, republicanism, and regeneration all blended in American thinking. In the words of Samuel Adams, the colonies would have to become "A Christian Sparta." The Revolution would purge the American people of their vices and a "Republican Regeneration" would thus be both the engine and the result of republican strivings.

I might come back to this in the future, but I've hit a road block at 288. This is a super academic book about the beginning of the American government. Wood goes into super detail about the more minute and specific things, which takes a lot of research and thought, but it was a struggle. If you really want to understand the entire discussion and back and forth on why we have a Senate, how the Senate gets elected and why it's elected that way, this is a super great book. It's interesting but I'm not sure the majority of people need to know the basis. I guess I should have known what this book is by the title as it's literally a book about the creation of everything that is the US government. I love Wood so I might come back, but for now, DNF at 288.

Reading the Century Project. 1969