Throughout American history, there has always been a question about the nature of representation: do representatives represent only their constituents in their district or do they represent the entire people, as their actions impact the entire people? This debate played out in the years surrounding the American Revolution and continues today.
As the colonies went through the Revolution, it became clear that republicanism would take the place of English imperialism. Americans were aware that republicanism put “social and moral demands” upon the people, which would change how people lived. Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic: 1776-1787, 91.
The American Revolution was a consequence of more than just The Stamp Act of 1765 or the frustration that Americans felt with the British imperial system. But in fact, the “American Revolution was actually many revolutions at once.” Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic: 1776-1787, 75.
Sacrificing private interest for the public good is a noble virtue. It was an idea widely revered in the years surrounding the American Revolution. But despite the pervasiveness of that idea, some believed it was leading America down a path toward destruction. (more…)
In the earliest years of the American Republic, theories were abound about the proper structure of government to best balance equality and wise decision-making. John Adams stated, in his Thoughts on Government, that “a people cannot be long free, nor ever happy, whose government is in one assembly.” Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic: 1776-1787, 208-09 quoting John Adams, Thoughts on Government, Adams, ed., Works of John Adams, IV, 194, 196. These theories became tested throughout the young country, in each of the state’s constitutions.
At the time of the American Revolution, it was commonly believed amongst Americans that formulating the ideal government would require a different system than any previously conceived. The Founding Fathers had their own ideas.
As the American Revolution became more and more inevitable, states began contemplating the role and responsibilities of their legislatures. Those contemplations centered around curing the perceived ills and shortcomings of the English constitution.
The separation of powers in the government of the United States has “come to define the very character of the American political system.” Gordon Wood, The Creation of the American Republic: 1776-1787, 151. (more…)
Tyranny, one of the early Americans’ greatest fears, may seem to contemporary Americans an unjustified fear. Perhaps that is because the early Americans’ precautionary actions relegated the threat of tyranny to the 18th Century. Perhaps not. (more…)
At the birth of the Republic, the contrast with the European monarchies became clear. The ideals of the Republic represented a fundamental shift in the role of government in individuals’ lives.
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