You are on page 1of 3

Gordon wood radicalism of the american revolution review

Something it still is in the Western world today, generally speaking. Actually, he does rather more than that; for a slim summary of a big event there
is a great deal of synthesised analysis wound around his narrative. The most jarring message of the book was how disappointed the revolutionaries
were with what they had created. The decision did much more than resolve the fate of an elderly black man and his family: Lists with This Book.
Conspiracy and the Paranoid Style: Just a great read all around. Battle Cry of Freedom: No doubt the founders were wise enough to be
comprehensively concerned about a great many interests, but I found Beard's arguments unpersuasive. Yet, they utterly failed to think through
exactly how different the world they envisioned would be from the world they actually coveted. A History of the Early Republic, Volume 5:
More important than his productivity is the quality of his work, and its broad appeal to readers of the right, left and center a rare and happy
combination. At any rate, though the Founders obviously should have known better than to place their faith in human virtue, Mr. Retrieved from "
https: Wood uses many sources to explain and prove his thesis that republicanism was the basis for, and continuing effect of the American
Revolution and the United States Constitution. Rather, property had been considered in proprietary terms as part of a persons identity and the
source of his authority. They also question how the social changes relate to the creation of the new republic following the Revolution. On
September 4, The writer argues that the revolution wasn't strictly a change to the self-rule of democratic government but also a transformation of
society. All of the preceding applied of course only to white Americans. This is a fascinating book and one that makes me want to read a lot more
about our founding fathers and this critical period in U. Jefferson was frightened by the popularity of Andrew Jackson, regarding him as a man of
violent passions and unfit for the presidency. Wood points out in his introduction that few in the 18th century could conceive of a world where
society could exist independently of government. Sign up for email post alerts! The town--future home to Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne--
soon came to symbolize devotion to liberty, intellectual freedom, and the stubborn integrity of rural life. The freedom of the free, the growth of
freedom experienced in the American Revolution depended more than we like to admit on the enslavement of more than 20 percent of us at that
time. Interesting that what we would like to label conservative today was really radical and transforming then. Complete list
People interested in American History. Conservatives were people that feared change and wanted to maintain the status quo that was not the
Founders. Now on to the review proper. Its subject matter is interesting, but, alas, its writing lumbers and stomps around and makes the overall
reading experience less than enjoyable. As Steven Hahn demonstrates, rural African-Americans were central political actors in the great events of
disunion, emancipation, and nation-building.

The Radicalism of the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood


To their dismay, however, they discovered that their rhetoric unleashed all the latent entrepreneurial and egalitarian energies of American life, which
even the elaborate mechanism of the Constitution could not completely contain. This year he was awarded the National Humanities Medal. Aug
03, Brian Anton rated it liked it. Introducing the spoils system, Jackson recast patronage in the context of the modern political party. In it he
discusses the intense, nation-wide debate on the ratification of the constitution, stressing the continuities between that struggle over the foundations
of the national government and the original principles of the Revolution. Equality advanced to the point that everybody could participate and be
represented in government. I seriously get dewy-eyed at the idea of backwoods humanismat Cicero carried in a saddlebag, Tacitus piercing the
forests of New World. The Perspectives of Gordon S. It did not apply only to the upper class of ruling elites. They were there to meet the
demands of the rich. Paul Horgan David M. As self-interest replaced disinterest, it became the new adhesive holding society together. The
revolutionary leaders never intended to make a national revolution in any modern sense. Anyway, this is just a taste of the book. They have three
children: He explains the dramatic and unforeseen shifts in society that were mirrored by changes in government. But only if we measure radicalism
by violence and bloodshed can the myth be sustained; by any other measure the American Revolution was radical.. Oct 20, Scott rated it it was
amazing Recommends it for: Feb 04, Nathan rated it it was ok Shelves: Conversely, if a dressmaker had run out of work, her patrons recognizing
her reliance on them would typically place orders just to keep her solvent. They believed that only the educated elite would not be swayed by the
narrow interests of everyday commerce and thus be unbiased enough to hold together the new republic. To begin with, I don't want to diminish the
additional insight Gordon S. How did it diffuse throughout the population, eventually illuminating not only white male property holders but also
women, African slaves, and others? He uses sufficient support of his thesis to show that there was a depletion of social standards after the
Revolution but does not show how that digression directly led to it. No matter how deep, how far, and how much I swim in American History, I
always find something of interest and something new that informs my perspective and love for my nation's history. He is careful to calibrate
precisely what 'equality' meant at a time when blacks and women were essentially left out of it. The author quotes Thomas Paine: Rather, property
had been considered in proprietary terms as part of a persons identity and the source of his authority. Wood, who met Gingrich once in , surmised
that Gingrich may have approved because the book "had a kind of Toquevillian touch to it, I guess, maybe suggesting American exceptionalism,
that he liked". Aug 05, Lisa rated it really liked it Shelves: The American Revolution created this democracy, and we are living with its
consequences still. Perhaps this was because a monied salary came with an expanded purchasing power for the flux of goods that allowed one to
buy basic gentility, but white men also gained access to voting in unprecedented numbers, rejecting aristocratic pretensions to rule. The founding
fathers were well educated in the classics and classical ideals. Increasingly sons and daughters left home for new opportunities diminishing the role
of the traditional extended family. From to the population doubled from 1 million to two and doubled again in the next twenty years. It was
devotion to the commonweal. Unlike today where people identify and collaborate in horizontal groups such as teachers, blue collar workers,
homemakers, etc.
Review of Gordon Wood's The Radicalism of the American Revolution - localhost:81
In these definitions Wilentz recovers the beginnings of a discontenttwo starkly opposed democracies, one in the North and another in the Southand
radicslism wary balance that lasted until the election of Abraham Lincoln sparked its bloody resolution. No doubt the cost that America paid for
this democracy was high--with its vulgarity, its materialism, its rootlesness, its anti-intellectualism. Conspiracy and the Paranoid Style: The vast
democratization of society was something that the Founders did not anticipate, and would ensure that their like would not be seen again. Books by
Gordon S. We can only speculate--because the chance was missed and is unlikely to be offered again--about whether an American Republic
freed from the British Parliament but still subject to the Crown, and a strengthened Crown at that, might have proved more enduring. However,
even if altruistic disinterest was discarded as impractical, the concept of virtue was democratized. In The Radicalism of the American Revolution,
Wood is very clear and organized in supporting his thesis. Too bad that last bit, since Caveat: Wood sums up the vision of the Founders thusly.
Not all our books will perish, nor our statues, if broken, lie unrepaired; other domes and pediments will rise from our domes and pediments
Increasingly sons and daughters left home for new opportunities diminishing the role of the traditional extended family. Liberty was realized when
the citizens were virtuous--that is, willing to sacrifice their private interests for the sake of revifw community, including service in public office
without pecuniary rewards. Wordpress Hashcash needs javascript to work, but your browser has javascript disabled. With no space to go into
their background, famous names are fluently introduced in order to step forward and play their part. Topics History The Observer. Want to Read
Currently Reading Read. Also, radicakism was elevated in status, where people who would still be holding on to the old aristocratic ideas, were
more and more gordon wood radicalism of the american revolution review down upon. Woods begins his work by describing the highly
patriarchal social and economic gordon wood radicalism of the american revolution review of pre-Revolutionary America and how these, in
many ways, were actually more pronounced and deeply entrenched than those of England at the same time. It is a powerful story, told here for the
first time, and one that presents both an inspiring and a troubling ths on American democracy. Gordin a period of time, by effect the revolution
eliminated both extremes in the culture with a large middle-class group of white males that gained its voice, its own education and its own work
ethic, and the freedom and equality to act for their own independence, prosperity and happiness. Here as well are activists who are not so well
known today, men like Abraham Yates, who battled for democratic change, and Theodore Sedgwick, who fought to preserve the political and
social system of the colonial past. A disinterested member of the gentry was a man who was not dependent on anyone for his means, and so,
presumably, could be trusted to make decisions for the common good of the larger population that were not burdened by the need to pander to
any particular interest. Starting out as a heroic struggle for liberty against the nasty British Empire, it then became the providential fulfilment of the
American people's destiny. Sep 06, Eric gordon wood radicalism of the american revolution review it liked it Shelves: Feb 07, Sean rated it
really liked it. As yet there was no sense that loyalty to one's state or country was incompatible with such cosmopolitanism. He avoids questions
that cannot be answered by research, even questions of causation that engage most of his colleagues. Wood, who met Gingrich once insurmised
that Gingrich may have approved because the book "had a kind of Toquevillian touch to it, I guess, maybe suggesting American exceptionalism,
that he liked". He shows that those behind the Revolution were aware of the social ramifications that it should have and that they made an attempt
revolutioj create a more Republican society and attempted to break down the lines between the classes and create a society where girdon
Americans were members of the class of gentlemen. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Published March gordon wood radicalism of the
american revolution review by Vintage first published America had readily available land and far fewer tenant farmers, which predominated in
England under the control of the aristocracy. As the author explains: He also considers the immediate and long-range consequences of the
decision. As hard-headed and practical as they were, they knew that by becoming republican they were expressing nothing less than a utopian
hope for a new moral and social order led by enlightened and virtuous men. They thought republicanism would lead to a more enlightened society,
where each man would use his new freedom to become more informed gordon wood radicalism of the american revolution review more
sophisticated. He has no problem proving that, and does so thoroughly and consistently. Another book that earns its Pulitzer Prize and then some.
All these disruptive changes broke traditional ties gordon wood radicalism of the american revolution review values. They were there to meet
the demands of the rich. Other short pieces followed, and many appear together for the first time in this new volume. Wood "A republic, if you can
keep revview. Self interest was no longer taboo. He gives readers a revolution that transformed an almost feudal society into a democratic one,
whose emerging realities sometimes baffled and disappointed its founding fathers. Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail. In the new preface
Edmund S. Once deemed a necessity of plebeians, it was becoming a badge of rrview. He explains the dramatic and unforeseen shifts in society
that were mirrored by changes in government.

You might also like