The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 (Published for the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and culture, Williamsburg, Virginia)

One of the half dozen most important books ever written about the American Revolution.--New York Times Book Review'During the nearly two decades since its publication, this book has set the pace, furnished benchmarks, and afforded targets for many subsequent studies. If ever a work of history merited the appellation'modern classic,'this is surely one.--William and Mary Quarterly'[A] brilliant and sweeping interpretation of political culture in the Revolutionary generation.--New England Quarterly'This is an admirable, thoughtful, and penetrating study of one of the most important chapters in American history.--Wesley Frank Craven Illuminates The Concepts Of The Constitution By Studying The Cultural Situation Of The Colonists. Pt. 1: The Ideology Of Revolution. The Whig Science Of Politics -- Republicanism -- Moral Reformation -- Pt. 2: The Constitution Of The States. The Restructuring Of Power -- The Nature Of Representation -- Mixed Government And Bicameralism -- Pt. 3: The People Against The Legislatures. Law And Contracts -- Conventions Of The People -- The Sovereignty Of The People -- Pt. 4: The Critical Period. Vices Of The System -- Republican Remedies -- Pt. 5: The Federal Constitution. The Worthy Against The Licentious -- The Federalism Persuasion -- Pt. 6: The Revolutionary Achievement. The Relevance And Irrelevance Of John Adams -- The American Science Of Politics. By Gordon S. Wood. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. During the Revolutionary era, American political theory underwent a fundamental transformation that carried the nation out of a basically classical and medieval world of political discussion into a milieu that was recognizably modern. This classic work is a study of that transformation. Gordon Wood describes in rich detail the evolution of political thought from the Declaration of Independence to the ratification of the Constitution and in the process greatly illuminates the origins of the present American political system. In a new preface, Wood discusses the debate over republicanism that has developed since - and as a result of - the book's original publication in 1969. This text describes the evolution of political thought from the Declaration of Independence to the ratification of the Constitution. The author discusses the debate over Republicanism The American Revolution has always seemed to be an extraordinary kind of revolution, and no more so than to the Revolutionaries themselves. xxii, 653 p. ; 24 cm Includes bibliographical references and index