The
Ideological Origins of the American Revolution by Bernard Bailyn is an
essential book for anyone interested in the American Revolution or in the
history of government in general. First published in 1968, this book is
profoundly important in understanding the key intellectual roots and issues
related to the Revolution and the founding of the American State and Federal Governments.
The version of the book that I read had more recent material added by the
author. Folks who I know in academia tell me that this book is required reading
for many history students. There is good reason for this.
To comprehend
the basis of this work, it is important to understand the role that
pamphleteers played in the intellectual conversation and discourse of Seventeenth
and Eighteenth Century English and Colonial societies. Pamphlets, ranging from
a few pages to dozens of pages long, were essentially essays that were
circulated throughout English and Colonial society.
Bailyn
writes,
“These pamphlets form part of the vast body
of English polemical and journalistic literature in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth
centuries to which the greatest men of letters contributed”
These
tracts were produced in droves by English and Colonial writers. They covered
social, religious and political issues. They ranged from serious analyses of
issues, to biting parody, to scathing personal attacks. The author goes on to
describe them,
“Explanatory as well as declarative, and
expressive of the beliefs, attitudes, and motivations as well as the professed
goals of those who led and supported the Revolution, the pamphlets are the
distinct literature of the revolution.”
The
writers varied from common middle class folks to some of the greatest minds of
the time including David Hume, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and Thomas
Paine, to name just a few. Some pamphlets themselves were famous, Paine’s Common Sense being a notable example. Pamphleteers
would often engage in “conversations” and “arguments,” one writer responding to
another, who would respond in turn, and so forth.
Bailyn
conducted meticulous research on tens of thousands of these documents. As a
result, he yielded great results. He references dozens of these works within
this book. The author mines multiple intellectual threads that fueled not only
the rebellion, but also the thinking that led to the eventual construction of
the American Constitution.
Multiple
subjects are covered in extreme detail, ranging from any government’s right to
tax, individual rights, balance of governmental powers, religion and
government, and slavery, to name just a few. Most of these ideas and
controversies dated back to before the English Civil War. Bailyn picks these
threads up via the various pamphlets that addressed them. The evolution of
relevant ideas is often followed for over a century, as they were eventually taken
up by Colonial thinkers, who in turn shaped them through the American War for
Independence and up to the ratification of the United States Constitution.
This
book is detailed and digs into many of these ideologies and issues in great
depth. It is instrumental in furthering the understanding of the Revolution as
well as of the history of government itself. Many concepts and conflicts
pertaining to current day democracies were formulated during this period and
will be familiar to anyone who now follows current events and politics. It is
striking just how many of these issues are still relevant and debated today. Issues
such as the power of government, Federal verses local control, taxes, etc. are
still hotly contested in the twenty-first century.
I
must mention the current debate in America between those who contend that the
American Revolution was driven by Christian Ideals verses those who contend
that Enlightenment Secular Ideals drove it. While this issue is not directly
addressed in this work, this book makes it clear that both played a part in all
sorts of complex ways. Reading this book has made me understand how the entire
premise of the debate is untenable.
Bailyn’s
writing can be somewhat dry at times. Also, a basic knowledge of the American
Revolution, The United States Constitution, English history especially as it pertains
to the Magna Carter, The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution will be
extremely helpful for prospective readers. As a result of the above, this book might
bore those who are just casually interested in these subjects. Thus, I would
recommend this work only to the very interested. For those who have such a
strong interest in these topics however, this book is a gold mine.
