In 1765 John Dickinson, of Philadelphia, thought that American independence from Great Britain would bring "a multitude of Commonwealths, Crimes, & Calamities, Centuries of Mutual Jealousies, Hatreds, Wars of Devastation." 24 years later he saw the USA adopt a constitution, which he'd helped to draft.
Here are the events of that quarter-century which transformed 13 quarrelsome colonies into a nation. Morgan's account of the revolutionary period shows how the challenge of British taxation started Americans on a search for constitutional principles to protect their freedom. He demonstrates that these principles were not abstract doctrines of political theory but beliefs growing out of the immediate needs & experiences of the colonists, held with conviction, & incorporated, finally, into the constitutions of the new states & of the USA.
This revised edition of The Birth of the Republic reflects continuing scholarship in the field. To enhance its value, the author has updated the text & added an appendix containing the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the US Constitution & Bill of Rights--documents in which the revolutionists embodied the ideas that united them.
Language
English
Pages
240
Format
Kindle Edition
Release
January 01, 1956
The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89 (Chicago History of American Civilization)
In 1765 John Dickinson, of Philadelphia, thought that American independence from Great Britain would bring "a multitude of Commonwealths, Crimes, & Calamities, Centuries of Mutual Jealousies, Hatreds, Wars of Devastation." 24 years later he saw the USA adopt a constitution, which he'd helped to draft.
Here are the events of that quarter-century which transformed 13 quarrelsome colonies into a nation. Morgan's account of the revolutionary period shows how the challenge of British taxation started Americans on a search for constitutional principles to protect their freedom. He demonstrates that these principles were not abstract doctrines of political theory but beliefs growing out of the immediate needs & experiences of the colonists, held with conviction, & incorporated, finally, into the constitutions of the new states & of the USA.
This revised edition of The Birth of the Republic reflects continuing scholarship in the field. To enhance its value, the author has updated the text & added an appendix containing the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the US Constitution & Bill of Rights--documents in which the revolutionists embodied the ideas that united them.