Wood, Gordon S. Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early
Republic, 1789-1815. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. xix + 778 ppg.
This entry
in the Oxford History of the United States picks up after the ratification of
the US Constitution and runs through 1815. The Federalist Era, Jeffersonian
Era, and War of 1812 are covered. Dr. Wood, Alva O. Way University Professor
Emeritus at Brown University has penned another outstanding edition in which he
explores the general themes of this period. The central theme of the book
centers on change that occurred in Americans moving from a colonial, war time
government apparatus which was created to serve the cause of independence to
that of a new nation struggling to make its newly created national government work
while also dealing with all the changes that occurred on seemingly every level
of society. In the process, Dr. Wood, who won the Pulitzer Prize for The Radicalism of the American Revolution,
explains that tremendous amount of change and the effects it caused in the fledgling nation.
Here in one
volume readers can discover how George Washington and other men who were
considered Founders worked to create the rudiments of a national government as
well as determine what the boundaries of that government were. As the nation
dealt with internal issues such as westward expansion, slavery, federal and
state debts, inequity in wealth and power, and different opinions as to how to
deal with these issues, it also had to contend with the titanic struggle that
had been ongoing between Great Britain and France for over a century. The
United States had been born from that conflict, and its continued existence and
well being were tied to it as well along with much of the rest of the Atlantic
World. Wood explains how the US was directly connected in many ways to both
nations, and how divisions between factions of both played a major role in
American foreign affairs during this time.
As Wood
details, the older generation of the Revolution was fading away as the
Federalist Era began and a new generation came to the fore, a generation of
middling people who supplanted the more conservative Founders and embraced
Thomas Jefferson’s democratic ideas. This occurred not only in politics, but
also in all other aspects of American society. Whereas the older generation
wanted things to remain a certain way which kept them in power and wealth, the
newer participants in America wanted their share of power and wealth as well
which for many they felt they had earned during the Revolution. Wood explores
this critical change which he felt was the most substantial amount of change in
American history.
He also
covers the Second Great Awakening which came as a surprise to the Founders.
American religion was transformed in this period of time after falling to
historic low participation rates. Slavery is given a chapter in which Wood
writes how the men of the older generation failed to understand just how deeply
ingrained it was in the southern states. This chapter shows that it was not
going to dwindle away into nothing like so many had hoped it would, but rather
slavery would gain strength as the labor system of the South. Hamiltonian
economic policy is covered extensively as it laid the foundations for a revived
economy as well as those of an enormous political struggle between supporters
of France and Great Britain.
The result
is an outstanding contribution to the Oxford History series which serves as an
excellent reference for this period of time. While it does not go into great
detail like a monograph would of specific instances or events within the
period, it does provide the basic elements in a coherent frame. Wood’s use of
both secondary and primary sources serve as great places for additional
research for those who wish to explore the concepts, themes, and events which
Wood goes over. Given Wood’s reputation within the historical community, the
book serves as a good answer to some of Wood’s earlier body of work covering
the ideological principles involved in the American Revolution. As a protégé of
Bernard Bailyn, it comes as no surprise that Wood does so. Much of Wood’s
earlier works explore the why element of the American Revolution. Empire of Liberty serves as a
explanation of what they did with those principles and how they put them into
action in the new nation.
Those
looking for a book that covers how the American government began under the
Constitution will not be disappointed with this work. It does cover some of the
most formative years of American history as Wood explains how the Federalists
were defeated by the Jeffersonians, yet how Jefferson and Madison’s attempts at
fulfilling Jefferson’s idealistic form of national government did not achieve
the successes envisioned by either men. The War of 1812 is dealt with and the
book concludes with a chapter on how the end of that war was also the end of
both the Federalists and Jeffersonian eras. With the end of the wars in Europe,
the Atlantic World entered a period of great peace and prosperity and the
United States entered the new age with a renewed optimism.
As with all
volumes of the Oxford History series, this book received great praise and
several awards and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The series is a great
addition to any historian’s library and Empire
of Liberty certainly lives up to the high standards which are a hallmark of
the series. While Wood does not break any new ground in this area, his ability
to pick up the threads of American history after the ratification of the
Constitution and write a book the encompasses economic, social, political,
cultural, religious, and economic histories is simply outstanding. The result
is definitely worth reading.
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