Many reference works offer compilations of critical documents covering individual liberty, local autonomy, constitutional order, and other issues that helped to shape the American political tradition. Yet few of those works are available in a form suitable for classroom use, and traditional textbooks give short shrift to these important issues. The American Republic overcomes that knowledge gap by providing, in a single volume, critical, original documents revealing the character of American discourse on the nature and importance of local government, the purposes of federal union, and the role of religion and tradition in forming America’s drive for liberty. The American Republic is divided into nine sections, each illustrating major philosophical, cultural, and policy positions at issue during crucial eras of American development. Readers will find documentary evidence of the purposes behind European settlement, American response to English acts, the pervasive role of religion in early American public life, and perspectives in the debate over independence. Subsequent chapters examine the roots of American constitutionalism, Federalist and Anti-Federalist arguments concerning the need to protect common law rights, and the debates over whether the states or the federal government held final authority in determining the course of public policy in America. Also included are the discussions regarding disagreements over internal improvements and other federal measures aimed at binding the nation, particularly in the area of commerce. The final section focuses on the political, cultural, and legal issues leading to the Civil War. Arguments and attempted compromises regarding slavery, along with laws that helped shape slavery, are highlighted. The volume ends with the prelude to the Civil War, a natural stopping-off point for studies of early American history. By bringing together key original documents and other writings that explain cultural, religious, and historical concerns, this volume gives students, teachers, and general readers an effective way to begin examining the diversity of issues and influences that characterize American history. The result unquestionably leads to a deeper and more thorough understanding of America's political, institutional, and cultural continuity and change. Bruce P. Frohnen is Associate Professor of Law at Ohio Northern University College of Law. He holds a J.D. from the Emory University School of Law and a Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University. Click here to print or download The American Republic index.
These are the dynamics of decline and fall for the American Republic—a term best clarified through a few orienting contrasts. For starters, the fall of the Republic is compatible with the continuation of American empire—by which I mean ...
Jane Addams's 1907 book, Newer Ideals of Peace, imagined a world order in which international cooperation and a “concert of nations” replaced nationalism and military alliances. In January 1915, 165 women's organizations formed the ...
This somewhat more activist stance was associated with Hamilton—and, as Forrest McDonald makes clear, Hamilton carried the day.” The crucial point was that a society that was adept at securing property rights need not be a commercial ...
Many reference works offer compilations of critical documents covering individual liberty, local autonomy, constitutional order, and other issues that helped to shape the American political tradition. Yet few of these...
Fife also provides readers with a citizen homework section that presents web links to further explore issues raised in each chapter.
Illuminates the concepts of the Constitution by studying the cultural situation of the colonists.
To come up with this figure, I combined data drawn from both McLachlan, Princetonians, 1748–1768, xxi; and Harrison, Princetonians, 1769–1775, xxix. 84. Harrison, Princetonians, 1776–1783, xxvi. 85. Elmer, Elogy on Francis Barber, ...
For one interesting revelation of this connection see David Ramsay's description of his writing the history of “the predisposing causes of the revolution” “in what I call the medical stile.” Ramsay to Benjamin Rush, Aug.
Giving close consideration to previously neglected debates, Matthew Mason challenges the common contention that slavery held little political significance in America until the Missouri Crisis of 1819.
Over fifty years after its original publication, this classic work in American history is in its seventh edition. In a clear, vigorous style, its celebrated authors present the rich and...