Culture and Liberty in the Age of the American Revolution (Jeffersonian America)

From The Publisher. In His New Book, Michal Jan Rozbicki Undertakes To Bridge The Current Gap Between The Political And The Cultural Histories Of The American Revolution. Through A Careful Examination Of Liberty As Both The Ideological Axis And The Central Metaphor Of The Age, He Is Able To Offer A Fresh Model For Interpreting The Revolution. By Establishing Systemic Linkages Between The Histories Of The Free And The Unfree, And Between The Factual And The Symbolic, This Framework Points To A Fundamental Reassessment Of The Ways We Think About The American Founding. Rozbicki Moves Beyond The Two Dominant Interpretations Of Revolutionary Liberty{u2014}one Assuming The Founders Invested It With A Modern Meaning That Has In Essence Continued To The Present Day, The Other Highlighting Its Apparent Betrayal By Their Commitment To Inequality. Through A Consistent Focus On The Interplay Between Culture And Power, Rozbicki Demonstrates That Liberty Existed As An Intricate Fusion Of Political Practices And Symbolic Forms. His Deeply Historicized Reconstruction Of Its Contemporary Meanings Makes It Clear That Liberty Was Still Understood As A Set Of Privileges Distributed According To Social Rank, Rather Than A Universal Right. In Fact, It Was Because The Founders Considered This Assumption Self-evident That They Felt Confident In Publicizing A Highly Liberal, Symbolic Narrative Of Equal Liberty To Represent The Revolutionary Endeavor. The Uncontainable Success Of This Narrative Went Far Beyond The Circumstances That Gave Birth To It Because It Put New Cultural Capital{u2014}a Conceptual Arsenal Of Rights And Freedoms{u2014}at The Disposal Of Ordinary People As Well As Political Factions Competing For Their Support, Providing Priceless Legitimacy To All Those Who Would Insist That Its Nominal Inclusiveness Include Them In Fact. Critique Of Self-evident Liberty -- British Legacies: Privilege At The Heart Of Freedom ; Marriage Of Rights And Inequality -- Transmission Of Restricted Liberty To Colonial America: Reproducing The Old World Order In The Provinces ; Fear Of Levelling And Licentiousness ; Property And The Cult Of Liberty -- Revolution: Radical Script For A Preservationist Struggle ; Universalization Of The Language Of Freedom ; Delegitimizing Pedigreed Advantage ; Inventing Patriotic Traditions ; Constituting The People ; Equality As The Future Of America -- Sway Of Symbolic Power: Captains Of The Ship Of Progress ; Meaning Of Representation ; Claims Of Liberty Claim Their Authors -- Usurpers And Dupes. The Backlash: Revolutionary Vocabulary Against Revoutionary Government ; Party Struggles And The Expansion Of Liberty ; Ruling Class: A Crisis Of Identity ; Useful Mob ; People's Aristocracy. Michal Jan Rozbicki. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [263]-280) And Index.

In his new book, Michal Jan Rozbicki undertakes to bridge the gap between the political and the cultural histories of the American Revolution. Through a careful examination of liberty as both the ideological axis and the central metaphor of the age, he is able to offer a fresh model for interpreting the Revolution. By establishing systemic linkages between the histories of the free and the unfree, and between the factual and the symbolic, this framework points to a fundamental reassessment of the ways we think about the American Founding.

Rozbicki moves beyond the two dominant interpretations of Revolutionary liberty—one assuming the Founders invested it with a modern meaning that has in essence continued to the present day, the other highlighting its apparent betrayal by their commitment to inequality. Through a consistent focus on the interplay between culture and power, Rozbicki demonstrates that liberty existed as an intricate fusion of political practices and symbolic forms. His deeply historicized reconstruction of its contemporary meanings makes it clear that liberty was still understood as a set of privileges distributed according to social rank rather than a universal right. In fact, it was because the Founders considered this assumption self-evident that they felt confident in publicizing a highly liberal, symbolic narrative of equal liberty to represent the Revolutionary endeavor. The uncontainable success of this narrative went far beyond the circumstances that gave birth to it because it put new cultural capital—a conceptual arsenal of rights and freedoms—at the disposal of ordinary people as well as political factions competing for their support, providing priceless legitimacy to all those who would insist that its nominal inclusiveness include them in fact.

Cover 1 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction 14 1. A Critique of Self-Evident Liberty 30 2. British Legacies 47 I. Privilege at the Heart of Freedom 47 II. The Marriage of Rights and Inequality 54 3. The Transmission of Restricted Liberty to Colonial America 69 I. Reproducing the Old World Order in the Provinces 69 II. Fear of Levelling and Licentiousness 77 III. Property and the Cult of Liberty 82 4. The Revolution 91 I. A Radical Script for a Preservationist Struggle 91 II. The Universalization of the Language of Freedom 100 III. Delegitimizing Pedigreed Advantage 111 IV. Inventing Patriotic Traditions 118 V. Constituting the People 127 VI.Equality as the Future of America 139 5. The Sway of Symbolic Power 145 I. Captains of the Ship of Progress 145 II. The Meaning of Representation 155 III. Claims of Liberty Claim Their Authors 165 6. Usurpers and Dupes: The Backlash 176 I. Revolutionary Vocabulary against Revolutionary Government 176 II. Party Struggles and the Expansion of Liberty 191 III. The Ruling Class: A Crisis of Identity 205 IV. The Useful Mob 217 V. A People's Aristocracy 227 Conclusion: Liberty and the Web of Culture 236 Notes 252 Bibliography 276 Index 294 A 294 B 295 C 295 D 296 E 296 F 296 G 297 H 297 I 297 J 297 K 298 L 298 M 298 N 299 O 299 P 299 Q 300 R 300 S 300 T 301 V 301 W 301 Y 301