Again as for the critiques, one issue raised by critics is the relationship among the three cultural phenomena – monarchy, republicanism and democracy. In addition, the author described changes that took place between the middle of the eighteenth century and the early decades of the nineteenth. The author is not persisting that these cultural models were patterns that displaced each other, republicanism displacing monarchy and democracy displacing republicanism. As an alternative, these models overlapped each other in time in the way that two or even more cultural forms could exist at the same time. However, the author says that it is difficult for a number of specialists to imagine a society structure possessing simultaneously unlike, even irreconcilable and contradictory cultural characteristics.
Nevertheless, with this book thousands of people were introduced to the colonial society. Wood’s book provides the kind of illustrative detail that will enable readers to participate imaginatively in colonial life. He has summarized the mounts of information about the colonies, mixed it with the commentaries of dozens of contemporary witnesses and rather skilfully submitted an interpretation of different fact he had in possession. Wood’s tendency throughout the book is to imply rather then to clarify, to put forward or advocate rather then argue, now and then pointing out how extremely dramatic were the social developments he described in his book. For the wide-ranging reading public, Professor Wood’s rhetorical mixture suggests the brilliant representation of early America and its development.
“The Radicalism of American Revolution” is a powerful and motivated work. Many call it a synthesis that aims reinterpret events that American people have long regarded as essential to their identity as a nation. Gordon Wood states his purpose right in the title of the book. His book explains the ways in which American Revolution was radical, stating that it was actually as radical and as revolutionary as any such disturbance in all history. But if the radicalism of the era is crucial to Professor Wood, it remains in his hands an allusive and unproductive characteristic. Revolutions of the seventeenth century aimed at overthrowing the kings and based on the startling and innovating ideas. Revolutions of the eighteenth century went far up to abolishing slavery and took into consideration rights of women as full-fledged citizens of the republic. In the light of such transformations in the world how are we to understand Wood’s stress on the radicalism of the American Revolution. He obviously does not mean that it presented substantive change in the group of those who were oppressed, sustained under strict control or marginal in the society. Professor Wood credits the Revolution with ending slavery in the North and, in the long run, raising the status of all African Americans and women. Professor highlights that Revolutionary events created concepts of social gradation among population. However, these events are not central to the subject.
It is important to explore what exactly Wood means by radicalism. What were real and actual characteristics that made the Revolution radical? The obvious explanation is that Wood implies that this Revolution was extensive and sweeping.
Nothing speaks better of the fundamental patriotism and comparative unity of the American nation than recognition of people that the Revolution was an achievement and very good thing. In contrast, nothing makes it so difficult to remedy the failings of the Revolution than that widespread reluctance to believe in the very possibility that it was really a failure. Nonetheless, the author does not present his argument in this austere fashion. Gordon S. Wood's brilliant book, “The Radicalism of the American Revolution”, offers us the opportunity to step back and weigh up the tragic scope of what was supposed to be a conservative republican revolution but turned into a liberal democratic and, consequently, radical one.
From the very beginning, Professor Wood makes it clear how scrupulously republicanism had penetrated British thought and writes “Republicanism did not belong only to the margins, to the extreme right or left, of English political life. Monarchical and republican values existed side by side in the culture, and many good monarchists and many good English Tories adopted republican ideals and principles without realizing the long-run implications of what they were doing. Although they seldom mentioned the term, educated people of varying political persuasions celebrated republicanism for its spirit, its morality, its freedom, its sense of friendship and duty, and its vision of society. Republicanism as a set of values and a form of life was much too pervasive, comprehensive, and involved with being liberal and enlightened to be seen as subversive and monarchical” (p. 18). One more interesting citation I would like to present is “The pride, the glory of Britain, and the direct end of its constitution is political liberty” (p. 27). Well, critically thinking we conclude that evidently what made the American Revolution radical it is not its republicanism for sure.
So let us analyse what republicanism consists of. Professor Woods offers the following interpretation. According to the classical republican practice, man by nature is a political being, a citizen who attained moral realization by involving yourself in a self-governing republic. Public or political liberty as we now call it meant then partaking in government. Consequently, the virtue that classical republicanism encouraged was public virtue. Public virtue was the sacrifice of personal needs and interests for the public interest. Republicanism thus put an enormous burden on individuals. Individuals were expected to restrain their personal desires and interests and expand disinterestedness as Professor Wood calls it. In particular, for the reason that republics required civic virtue and disinterestedness among their citizens, they were very easily broken polities, predisposed to any kind of influence. Wood says that republics demanded far more morality from their citizens than monarchies did.
As Professor Wood tells us, however noble the Founders' visualization of construction of a new republic, it was predestined, for the most part once the control of a exceptionally disinterested and ultimately authoritative monarchy was removed. Today we can only speculate, as Gordon Wood considers.
In any case, despite the fact that the Founders Fathers evidently should have known better than to place their faith and faith of the huge country in human virtue, Professor Wood expressed how they went on to devastate what he calls the “links that had held aged monarchical society together”; according to Wood these links are patronage and kinship.
Gordon Wood proceeds saying that the image of the revolutionary leaders is amazing. Hardheaded and intolerant they perceived that by becoming republican they were expressing nothing else than a utopian expect for a new moral and social structure led by progressive and honourable men. Their dreams as well as their eventual disappointments made them the most amazing generation of political leaders in American history Professor Gordon Woods considers.
Wood states that even Jefferson considered being hopeful and rather confident was in despair. He even detested the new democratic world he saw growing and strengthening in America. He called and considered this world a world of rumour, banks, paper money, and evangelical Christianity. Unfortunately, we learn from Wood’s book that the future and the new generation were not what he had expected previously.
As a result, the America that was established as an outcome of the revolution not the republic that its leaders projected and therein lays its radicalism. Thus, there is an inexpressible sadness in the final paragraph of the book where Professor Wood writes, “A new generation of democratic Americans was no longer interested in the revolutionaries' dream of building a classical republic of elitist virtue out of the inherited materials of the Old World. America, they said, would find its greatness not by emulating the states of classical antiquity, not by copying the fiscal-military powers of modern Europe, and not by producing a few notable geniuses of a man. Instead, it would discover its greatness by creating a prosperous free society belonging to obscure people with their workaday concerns and their pecuniary pursuits of happiness--common people with their common interests in making money and getting ahead” (p. 269).
And further Wood finishes “The Radicalism of the American Revolution” with this statement “No doubt the cost that America paid for this democracy was high with its vulgarity, its materialism, its rootlessness, its anti-intellectualism. But, there is no denying the wonder of it and the real earthly benefits it brought to the hitherto neglected and despised masses of common labouring people. The American Revolution created this democracy, and we are living with its consequences still” (p. 269).
Especially, Wood comments that ideas and ideological issues matter in the context of American history. Self-interest is very real and really very essential, though ideas and ideals are powerful motivations for actions and undertakings. We may affirm that this book is a strikingly important that must be read by all who tries and wishes to understand the origins of the United States.
In conclusion, we may say one more time that “The Radicalism of the American Revolution” is a well-designed combination of historical, political, cultural, ideological and economic analysis done by the prominent scholar that is always in touch with the older, classic questions that we have been arguing about for long. In fact, it is a magnificent account of such a serious event within American history as revolution that gave birth to the American republic.
The American Revolution not only had officially formed the United States of America, moreover, had shaped and formed all the great hopes and values of the American people. American commitments to freedoms, constitutionalism, the welfare, happiness, equality and safety of ordinary people, all American noblest ideals and aspirations were the result of the Revolutionary era. We also know from the book the fact that Lincoln understood that the Revolution had persuaded American people in their speciality, convinced that they are the people with a unique destiny, and that just the American people is a nation that is to lead the world towards democracy and liberty. As a result Revolutionary events produced a sense of nationhood and strong unity Americans have now.
It is important to say that the history of the American Revolution, as well as the history of the nation as a whole, should not to be regarded merely as a story of rights and wrongs that reach us moral lessons and shows negative consequences. The work of Professor Wooвis a complex and sometimes even ironic chronicle that is supposed to be clarified and understood. it is relevant to pay attention to such questions such how this great revolution came about; what its character was; what its consequences were and many others. The work’s success in writing such a profound and absorbing research we attribute to Gordon Wood’s mastery of his subject.
Of course, we should not neglect the fact that the American Revolution really substantially changed the atmosphere in which slavery had existed and flourished. For hundreds of years, slavery had existed in the Western world without significant criticism. The Revolution outlined a key turning point. It unexpectedly put slavery on the defensive. And probably that is the point that is to be highlighted and emphasized.The thing about the American Revolution is that it has created the ideology that holds us together until now. To author’s point of view without that revolution, we would be a nation without any kind of adhesive. Due to the Revolution, we have an intellectual and ideological adhesive that makes us a unit of people.
Speaking about potential audience of the book the author himself says that it was designed for an educated reader who wants to know something more about the American Revolution and has only maybe a indistinct remembrance of the main events and wants to know some more particulars of the event. Although, it does not convey any great knowledge. As Professor Wood says this book is not written for experts in American history, just for a general reader as we say.
Te first item is that Revolution is one of the most important events in American history, since it not only legally shaped the United States of America, but also infused into our culture and our consciousness almost everything we believe in, and that holds us together. These things are our belief in liberty, equality, constitutionalism, the welfare of ordinary people. All of this the author considers comes out of the Revolution. Therefore, this is the event that makes us Americans. Consequently, in order to be an American you have to know something about the history of this country and about the Revolution in particular.
References:
1. Gordon S. Wood.The Radicalism of the American Revolution. Vintage: March, 1993. 464 pages.