The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution is a detailed, scholarly and sympathetic study of the ideas and the sources of the ideas which shaped the American Revolution. The first chapter is introduced by a quotation from John Adams: "The War was no part of the Revolution; it was only an effect and consequence of it. The Revolution was in the minds of the people, and this was effected from 1769-1775." Bailyn proceeds to substantiate, yet also expand and modify this claim. Bailyn reports the massive libertarian pamphleteering in the pre-Revolutionary decades; and he traces the ideology of the pamphleteers, not so much to Locke, as to lesser known English libertarians such as Sidney, Trenchard and Gordon. Bailyn also shows the crucial transformation, especially during the 1760-1775 period, in the concepts of natural rights, consent, representation and constitution—a transformation which more clearly displayed the libertarian thrust of these concepts. Bailyn details and stresses the extent to which the Revolutionary thinkers accepted the implications of their theories and, accordingly, crusaded against slavery and state religion.

On numerous issues this book enters historigraphical debates. The demonstration of the extent, depth and power of the Revolution as an ideological movement certainly undercuts standard economic interpretations. More interestingly, Bailyn's study, by indicating that the ideological foundation for the U.S. Constitution developed hand in hand with the ideology expressed in the Declaration of Independence, challenges those who construe the Constitution-makers as revolutionaries against the framers of the Declaration. (Of course Bailyn's historical evidence does not establish that the ideology expressed in the Constitution is consistent with that expressed in the Declaration.)

The virtues of this book are crowned by its wealth of suggestions for further study, its tantalizing footnote references and its display of the author's complete command of his subject.

Reviewed by Eric Mack / History (335 Pages, Indexed) / BFL Price $2.45