By Terry Bouton
American citizens are keen on reflecting upon the Founding Fathers, the noble workforce of guys who got here jointly to strength out the tyranny of the British and produce democracy to the land. regrettably, as Terry Bouton exhibits during this hugely provocative first booklet, the innovative elite usually appeared as made up our minds to squash democracy after the battle as they have been to aid it before.
Centering on Pennsylvania, the symbolic and logistical heart of the Revolution, Bouton indicates how this radical shift in ideology spelled tragedy for hundreds and hundreds of universal humans. major as much as the Revolution, Pennsylvanians have been united of their opinion that "the humans" (i.e. white males) might be given entry to the political procedure, and that a point of wealth equality (i.e. between white males) used to be required to make sure that political freedom prevailed. because the battle ended, Pennsylvania's elites started disregarding those rules, utilizing their political energy to go legislation to complement their very own estates and prevent political association by way of their rivals. via the 1780s, that they had reenacted a few of the similar legislation they had long gone to warfare to abolish, returning Pennsylvania to a country of monetary melancholy and political hegemony. This unsatisfied state of affairs led on to the Whiskey and Fries rebellions, renowned uprisings either positioned down by way of federal armies.
Bouton's paintings finds a distinct point of view, exhibiting in detail how the struggle and the occasions that affected terrible farmers and dealing humans. Bouton introduces us to unsung heroes from this time--farmers, weavers, and tailors who positioned their lives on carry to struggle to save lots of democracy from the forces of "united avarice." We additionally get a starkly new examine a few ordinary characters from the Revolution, together with Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and George Washington, who Bouton strives to make readers see as actual, unsuitable humans, blinded via their very own experience of entitlement.
Taming Democracy represents a turning element in how we view the results of the progressive conflict and the motivations of the robust males who led it. Its eye-opening revelations and insights make it an important learn for all readers with a keenness for uncovering the genuine historical past of America.
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Additional resources for Taming Democracy: "The People," the Founders, and the Troubled Ending of the American Revolution
Sample text
What kind of democracy did common folk want from the Revolution? And how happy were they with the version of democracy the Revolution brought? In short, if it was a Revolution “by the people,” to what extent was it also a Revolution “for the people”? ” To see the Revolution as a democratic victory for the people, one has to cut most of the people out of the story. Women received few tangible benefits from the Revolution and were almost left out of the expansion of suffrage and rights. Although many slaves obtained their freedom during the Revolution (mostly by running away), and even though propertied free blacks were allowed to vote in several northern states, it would be hard to see how the new government and society represented the interests of African Americans.
Part III, roughly covering the years 1787–1799, chronicles the taming of democracy as the elite founders restructured state and national governments to limit the political influence of ordinary citizens and to stifle popular resistance to the new order. ” Chapter 9 follows the attempts of state leaders to outlaw popular resistance and shows the increasingly desperate measures that many ordinary Pennsylvanians developed to protect their ideals. Chapter 10 provides a narrative of the dramatic showdown in 1794 between the federal government and farmers in the central and western counties, reframing this confrontation as the outcome of more than two decades of struggle over the meaning and practice of democracy.
The Vision of ’76: Popular Ideology and the Revolution PART II CONFRONTING THE COUNTER REVOLUTION(1776-1787) 3. The Gospel of Moneyed Men: The Gentry’s New Ideals 4. The Sheriff’s Wagon: The Crisis of the 1780s 5. Equal Power: “The People” Attempt to Reclaim the Revolution 6. The Problem with Politics: Why Reform Fell Short 7. Rings of Protection: Popular Resistance During the 1780s PART III TAMING DEMOCRACY (1787-1799) 8. “A Stronger Barrier against Democracy”: The Struggle over Constitutions 9.
