| Republicanism In The United States |
Article Index for Republicanism In |
Website Links For Republicanism |
Information AboutRepublicanism In The United States |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT REPUBLICANISM IN THE UNITED STATES | |
| republicanism | |
|
exalted classical republican virtues Kenneth R. Bowling "A Capital before a Capitol: Republican Visions," in Donald R.Kennon ed. ''A Republic for the Ages: The United States Capitol and the Political Culture of the Early Republic'' (1999)]] THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION Republican virtues The intellectual and political leaders in the 1760s-1770s closely read history to compare governments and their effectiveness of rule.Trevor Colbourn, ''The Lamp of Experience: Whig History and the Intellectual Origins of the American Revolution'' (1965) online version They were especially concerned with the history of liberty in England, and were primarily influenced by the "country" party in British politics, which roundly denounced the corruption surrounding the "court" party in London. This approach produced a political ideology called " Republicanism ", which was widespread in America by 1775. "Republicanism was the distinctive political consciousness of the entire Revolutionary generation."Robert Kelley, "Ideology and Political Culture from Jefferson to Nixon," ''American Historical Review,'' 82 (June 1977), 536 Pocock explained the intellectual sources in America: Pocock, ''The Machiavellian Moment'' p 507 :"The Whig canon and the neo-Harringtonians, John Milton , James Harrington and Sidney , Trenchard , Gordon and Bolingbroke , together with the Greek, Roman, and Renaissance masters of the tradition as far as Montesquieu , formed the authoritative literature of this culture; and its values and concepts were those with which we have grown familiar: a civic and patriot ideal in which the personality was founded in property, perfected in citizenship but perpetually threatened by corruption; government figuring paradoxically as the principal source of corruption and operating through such means as patronage, faction, standing armies (opposed to the ideal of the militia), established churches (opposed to the Puritan and deist modes of American religion) and the promotion of a monied interest—though the formulation of this last concept was somewhat hindered by the keen desire for readily available paper credit common in colonies of settlement. A neoclassical politics provided both the ethos of the elites and the rhetoric of the upwardly mobile, and accounts for the singular cultural and intellectual homogeneity of the Founding Fathers and their generation." Cause of Revolution The commitment of most Americans to republican values and to their property rights helped bring about the American Revolution , for Britain was increasingly seen as corrupt and hostile to republicanism, and a threat to the established liberties that Americans enjoyed and to American property rights. Bailyn, Bernard.'' The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution'' (1967) The greatest threat to liberty was thought by many to be corruption--not just in London but at home as well. The colonists associated it with luxury and, especially, inherited aristocracy, which they condemned. (A few Americans did gain English titles, but they moved to London.) For women, " Republican Motherhood " became an ideal, as exemplified by Abigail Adams and Mercy Otis Warren ; the first duty of the republican woman was to instill republican values in her children, and to avoid luxury and ostentation. Kerber 1997 The " Founding Fathers " were strong advocates of republican values, especially Samuel Adams , Patrick Henry , George Washington , Thomas Paine , Benjamin Franklin , John Adams , Thomas Jefferson , James Madison and Alexander Hamilton .Robert E. Shalhope, "Toward a Republican Synthesis," ''William and Mary Quarterly'', 29 (Jan. 1972), pp 49-80 Thomas Jefferson defined a republic as: The - 12-14 . Virtue vs. Commerce The open question, as Pocock suggested, J.G.A. Pocock, "Virtue and Commerce in the Eighteenth Century,” ''Journal of Interdisciplinary History'' 3#1 (1972), 119–34. of the conflict between personal economic interest (grounded in Lockean liberalism) and classical republicanism, troubled Americans. Jefferson and Madison roundly denounced the Federalists for creating a national bank as tending to corruption and monarchism; Alexander Hamilton staunchly defended his program, arguing that national economic strength was necessary for the protection of liberty. Jefferson never relented but by 1815 Madison switched and announced in favor of a national bank, which he set up in 1816. John Adams often pondered the issue of civic virtue. Writing Mercy Otis Warren in 1776, he agreed with the Greeks and the Romans, that, "Public Virtue cannot exist without private, and public Virtue is the only Foundation of Republics." Adams insisted, "There must be a positive Passion for the public good, the public Interest, Honour, Power, and Glory, established in the Minds of the People, or there can be no Republican Government, nor any real Liberty. And this public Passion must be Superior to all private Passions. Men must be ready, they must pride themselves, and be happy to sacrifice their private Pleasures, Passions, and Interests, nay their private Friendships and dearest connections, when they Stand in Competition with the Rights of society." Adams quoted in Paul A. Rahe, ''Republics Ancient and Modern: Classical Republicanism and the American Revolution. Volume: 2'' (1994) P. 23. Adams worried that a businessman might have financial interests that conflicted with republican duty; indeed, he was especially suspicious of banks. He decided that history taught that "the Spirit of Commerce . . . is incompatible with that purity of Heart, and Greatness of soul which is necessary for an happy Republic." But so much of that spirit of commerce had infected America. In New England, Adams noted, "even the Farmers and Tradesmen are addicted to Commerce." As a result, there was "a great Danger that a Republican Government would be very factious and turbulent there." Adams 1776 quoted in Rahe, ''Republics Ancient and Modern 2:23. Other influences A second stream of thought growing in significance was the liberalism of John Locke , including his theory of the " Social Contract ". This had a great influence on the revolution as it implied the inborn Right Of The People To Overthrow Their Leaders should those leaders betray the agreements implicit in the sovereign-follower relationship. Historians find little trace of Jean-Jacques Rousseau 's influence in America. "Rousseau, whose romantic and egalitarian tenets had practically no influence on the course of Jefferson's, or indeed any American, thought." Nathan Schachner, ''Thomas Jefferson: A Biography.'' (1957). p. 47. In terms of writing state and national constitutions, the Americans used Montesquieu 's analysis of the ideally "balanced" British Constitution. But first and last came a commitment to republicanism, as shown by many historians such as Bernard Bailyn and Gordon S. Wood . Historiography For a century, historians have debated how important republicanism was to the Founding Fathers. The interpretation before 1960, following Progressive Era historians such as Charles Beard , Vernon L. Parrington and Arthur M. Schlesinger, Sr. , downplayed rhetoric as superficial and looked for economic motivations. Louis Hartz refined the position in the 1950s, arguing John Locke was the most important source because his property-oriented Liberalism supported the materialistic goals of Americans. In the 1960s and 1970s, two new schools emerged that emphasized the primacy of ideas as motivating forces in history (rather than material self interest). The "Cambridge School" led by Bernard Bailyn and Gordon Wood and the "St. Louis School" led by J.G.A. Pocock emphasized slightly different approaches to republicanism. Rodgers (1992) However, some scholars, especially Isaac Kramnick continue to emphasize Locke, arguing that Americans are fundamentally individualistic and not devoted to civic virtue. The relative importance of republicanism and liberalism remains a topic of strong debate among historians, as well as the politically active of present day. NEW NATION: THE CONSTITUTION The Founding Fathers wanted a republicanism that would guarantee liberty, with opposing, limited powers off-setting one another, and thus allowing change to occur slowly, as many were afraid that a "democracy"- by which they meant a Direct Democracy - would allow a majority of voters at any time to trample rights and liberties in the ''"heat of a moment"'' ; the most formidable of these potential majorities being that of the poor against the rich. That is, they saw democracy as Mob Rule that could be shaped on the spot by a demagogue. Therefore they devised a written Constitution which could only be amended by a supermajority, preserved competing sovereignties in the constituent states,When Alexander Hamilton proposed at the Constitutional Convention to drastically reduce the power of the states, he won no support and dropped the idea. gave the control of the upper house (Senate) to the states, and created an Electoral College comprising a small number of elites to select the president. They set up a House of Representative to represent the people. In practice the electoral college soon gave way to control by political parties. Not expected by the founders was the emergence of the Supreme Court under John Marshall as the final arbiter of the Constitution and indeed of all political rules. In 1776 most states required property ownership to vote, but most citizens owned farms in the 90% rural nation, so it was not a severe restriction, and was dropped state by state in the early 19th century. Alexander Keyssar, ''The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States'' (2001) "Republican" as party name In 1792-93 Jefferson and Madison created a new "republican party" in order to promote their version of the doctrine and to imply that Hamilton's version was illegitimate. According to Federalist , split into separate factions in the 1820s, one of which became the Democratic Party . The Democrats (or American Democracy) were opposed by a party that chose a name, derived from the Patriots of the 1770s who started the American Revolution , the Whigs. Both of these parties proclaimed their devotion to republicanism. As late as 1800 the word "democracy" was in ill repute and was mostly used to attack an opponent. Thus are pervaded by the idea that pure democracy is actually quite dangerous, because it allows a majority to infringe upon the rights of a minority. Thus Madison argued in Federalist #10, a special interest may take control of a small area, but it could not easily take over a large nation. Thus, the larger the nation, the safer is republicanism. Military Service Civic virtue required men to put civic goals ahead of their personal desires, and to volunteer to fight for their country. As John Randolph Of Roanoke put it, "When citizen and soldier shall be synonymous terms, then you will be safe." Randolph quoted in Banning (1978) p. 262. See Lawrence D. Cress, "Republican Liberty and National Security: American Military Policy as an Ideological Problem, 1783 to 1789." ''William and Mary Quarterly'' (1981) 38(1): 73-96. ISSN 0043-5597 Fulltext at Jstor Scott (1984) notes that in both the American and French revolutions, distrust of foreign mercenaries led to the concept of a national, citizen army, and the definition of military service was changed from a choice of careers to a civic duty. Samuel F. Scott, "Foreign Mercenaries, Revolutionary War, and Citizen-soldiers in the Late Eighteenth Century." ''War & Society'' 1984 2(2): 41-58. ISSN 0729-2473 Herrera (2001) explains that an appreciation of self-governance is essential to any understanding of the American military character before the Civil War. Military service was considered an important demonstration of patriotism and an essential component of citizenship. To soldiers, military service was a voluntary, negotiated, and temporary abeyance of self-governance by which they signaled their responsibility as citizens. In practice self-governance in military affairs came to include personal independence, enlistment negotiations, petitions to superior officials, militia constitutions, and negotiations regarding discipline. Together these impacted on all aspects of military order, discipline, and life.Ricardo A. Herrera, "Self-governance and the American Citizen as Soldier, 1775-1861." ''Journal of Military History 2001'' 65(1): 21-52. ISSN 0899-3718 Fulltext in SwetsWise and Jstor CIVIL WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION Historian Frank Lawrence Owsley depicted antebellum Southern society as a broad class of yeoman farmers who stood and worked between the slaves and poor whites at one end and the large planters at the opposite end of the economic spectrum, Owsley asserted that the real South was liberal, American, and Jeffersonian, not radical or reactionary. It reflected the best of republican principles (though Owsley did not use the word "republicanism.") Agrarianism in the 20th century was a response to the industrialism and modernism that had infiltrated the South. According to Owsley, the position of the South vis-à-vis the North was created not by slavery, cotton, or states' rights, but by the two regions' misunderstanding of each other.Wood 1995 J. Mills Thornton argues that in the antebellum South the drive to preserve republican values was the most powerful force, and led Southerners to interpret Northern policies as a threat to their republican values. Thornton, ''Politics and Power in a Slave Society: Alabama, 1800-1860'' (1981) In reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, antislavery forces in the North formed a new party. The party officially designated itself "Republican" because the name resonated with the struggle of 1776. "In view of the necessity of battling for the first principles of republican government," resolved the Michigan state convention, "and against the schemes of aristocracy the most revolting and oppressive with which the earth was ever cursed, or man debased, we will co-operate and be known as Republicans."McPherson, ''Battle Cry of Freedom'' (1988) p 126; Lewis L. Gould, ''Grand Old Party'' (2003) p 14 PROGRESSIVE ERA A central theme of the Progressive era was fear of corruption, one of the core ideas of republicanism since the 1770s. The Progressives restructured the political system to defeat corrupt bosses (for example, by the direct election of Senators), to remove corrupt influence like saloons (through prohibition) and bringing in new, purer voters (woman suffrage).). Richard Jensen, "Democracy, Republicanism and Efficiency: The Values of American Politics, 1885-1930," in Byron Shafer and Anthony Badger, eds, ''Contesting Democracy: Substance and Structure in American Political History, 1775-2000'' (U of Kansas Press, 2001) pp 149-180. online version Debate erupted in 1917 over Woodrow Wilson 's proposal to draft men for the U.S. Army. Many said it violated the republican notion of freely given civic duty to force people to serve. The solution was to set it up so that each draftee voluntarily "stepped forward" to perform his civic duty. John Whiteclay II Chambers,''To Raise An Army: The Draft Comes to Modern America'' (1987) NEW DEAL ERA TO 2006 "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!" cried out President John F. Kennedy in a dramatic call for the American people to honor the core republican value of civic duty.Gary Hart, ''Restoration of the Republic: The Jeffersonian Ideal in 21st-Century America'' (2002) p. 7; Michael Tomasky, "Party in Search of a Notion," ''The American Prospect'' (May 2006) online at {Link without Title} . James Patterson, "Modern Era" in Byron Shafer and Anthony Badger, eds, ''Contesting Democracy: Substance and Structure in American Political History, 1775-2000'' (U of Kansas Press, 2001) In the , when Republicans emphasized that Democrat Grover Cleveland had purchased a substitute to fight for him in the Civil War, while his opponent Benjamin Harrison was in combat. LEGAL TERMINOLOGY The term ''republic'' does not appear in the Declaration Of Independence , but does appear in Article IV of the Constitution which "guarantee {Link without Title} to every State in this Union a Republican form of Government." What exactly the writers of the constitution felt this should mean is uncertain. The Supreme Court , in '' Luther V. Borden '' (1849), declared that the definition of ''republic'' was a "political question" in which it would not intervene. In two later cases, it did establish a basic definition. In '' United States V. Cruikshank '' (1875), the court ruled that the "equal rights of citizens" were inherent to the idea of republic. In '' Re Duncan '', it ruled that the "right of the people to choose their government" is also part of the definition. It is also generally assumed that the clause prevents any state from being a monarchy — or a dictatorship. Democracy Over time, the pejorative connotations of "democracy" faded. By the 1830s, democracy was seen as an unmitigated positive and the term "Democratic" was assumed by the Democratic Party and the term "Democrat" was adopted by its members. A common term for the party in the later 19th century was "The Democracy." In debates on Reconstruction , Senator Charles Sumner argued that the republican "guarantee clause" in Article IV supported the introduction by force of democratic suffrage in the defeated South. As the limitations on democracy were slowly removed, senators were made directly electable by the people (1913); property qualifications for state voters were eliminated (1820s); and initiative, Referendum , recall and other devices of direct democracy became widely accepted at the state and local level (1910s). Thus, at present most people refer to the United States and its system of government as a democracy.Today, the only known opponents to the term democracy are a small band of Objectivists, who say: "If we are going to try to replace tyrannies, we must stop confusing democracy with freedom" (Schwartz 2006). REFERENCES
SEE ALSO NOTES |
|
|