I enjoy reading early American history, and thought I knew quite a bit on the topic, but I learned so much in every chapter of Gordon Wood’s The Idea of America. This collection of essays was absolutely stellar, covering a variety of topics peppered with new insights at every turn. Here are some:
♦ I always thought Greece was behind American ideas of democracy but no. Wood reveals the importance of the Roman Republic (not the Roman Empire) in shaping the values and virtues of the Founding Fathers. (Chapter 2)
♦ The Enlightenment led the Founders (and most people of the day) to see conspiracies everywhere. Why? They had come to believe that reason could explain every event and so they saw plans, motivations, and intent behind trends and movements that were much too complex to explain. (Chapter 3)
♦ Wood’s explanation of the British theory of “virtual” representation in Parliament which lacked “actual” representation was very helpful in explaining the complaints of the colonies and why the British didn’t get it. (Chapter 5)
♦ Following the Revolution, being antimonarchy turned into being anti-aristocracy and anti-elitism. Ordinary people claimed they were “as good as everyone else” (which is true in regard to being equal before the law) which soon became “good like everyone else” (by which they meant you can trust me not to be greedy, suppress others, or act in self-interest—contrary to the Founders who built in checks and balances because they knew you can’t trust human nature). Wood points out that the growing establishment of universal white male suffrage in the nation’s early years helped accelerate this trend. (Chapter 6)
♦ The Federalists thought they were creating a classically heroic state. But this genteel, aristocratic, self-effacing idealism soon became the populist democracy that the Federalists sought (and ultimately failed) to tamp down. While it took decades (till the New Deal?) for a strong federal government to emerge permanently, populism has continued to be an impulse in the country, sometimes being more influential and sometimes less. (Chapter 9)
♦ Fear of European nations setting up other countries in North America led to hasty admission of new states while turning a blind eye toward how the states (and the people in them) ignored federal Indian policy. (Chapter 9)
♦ Striking thoughts on rights in early America (chapter 11) include:
⊗ Historically Parliament was seen as the protector of the rights of the people against the crown, so the British couldn’t understand why the colonies thought Parliament had violated their rights.
⊗ The shift from the government mobilizing private power for public ends (the British example) to the state handling such functions (in early America) was also eye-opening.
⊗ Politicians grew reluctant to criticize the people and their good sense, but instead criticized their representatives. Sovereignty remained with the people (so they, at least, could not be wrong).
⊗ I always assumed that the courts “creation” of the constitutional right to privacy was supposedly anchored in the 4th Amendment regarding search and seizure. Wood, however, sees it arising from the 1st Amendment right of freedom of religion which carved out a private space that the government was not to interfere with. That seems like a more compelling argument to me.
♦ “We seem to be very much an all-or-nothing people. It is very difficult for us to maintain a realpolitik attitude toward the world. We have to be either saving the world or shunning it” (Conclusion).
My only suggestion is to read the introduction and chapter one last since they were a bit dry.
Otherwise, I highly recommend it for all you history buffs out there.
