Liberty & American Experience in the Eighteenth Century

Written by some of today's premiere scholars of American history, Liberty and American Experience in the Eighteenth Century examines some of the central themes and ideologies central to the formation of the United States including: David Womersley's introduction includes a discussion of Edmund Burke's theories on property rights and government, setting the foundation for the various themes of liberty found in this volume. In 'Of Liberty and the Colonies: A Case Study of Constitutional Conflict in the Mid-Eighteenth Century British American Empire', Jack Greene examines other forms of government and uses those examples to argue that the founding was not the conservative process that many have previously supported. Robert Ferguson explores the roles of law and religion in the formation of a free and liberal society in 'The Dialectic of Liberty: Law and Religion in Revolutionary America'. In 'Religious Conscience and Original Sin: An Exploration of America's Protestant Foundations', Barry Shain supports Ferguson's contention that religion had a profound impact on the outlook of the colonists. John Danford, in 'Riches Valuable at All Times and to All Men: Hume and the Eighteenth-Century Debate on Commerce and Liberty', examines the spiritual context of the Founders in regard to the Enlightenment, arguing that the Founders preferred known ways of governance and economics to untried and untested theory. 'Moral Sense Theory and the Appeal to Natural Rights in the American Founding' by R G Frey suggests that there are conflicting viewpoints between moral sense theory and the idea of natural rights in the founding period. David Wootton presents an opposing view of the Founders in 'Liberty, Metaphor, and Mechanism: Checks and Balances and the Origins of Modern Constitutionalism'. He suggests that the ideas formed in the Enlightenment were seized upon by the Founders and that the result was a much more progressive system than could have been predicted. 'In Scottish Thought and the American Revolution: Adam Ferguson's Response to Richard Price', Ronald Hamowy discusses the consequences of the colonial conflict and pays tribute to the intellectual force of American affairs. Lance Banning examines the divisions in thought among the revolutionaries regarding the nature of liberty and the manner in which liberty was to be preserved in 'Federalism, Constitutionalism, and Republican Liberty: The First Constructions of the Constitution'. In 'Is There a James Madison Problem?', Gordon Wood presents the disparity in Madison's political thought from the 1780s to the 1790s. 'Liberty and American Experience in the Eighteenth Century' provides an examination of various facets of the Founders' lives and thoughts, as well as their times, to help readers understand the events that went into their country's creation.

About the Author :
David Womersley is the Thomas Warton Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford. He has published widely on English literature from the early sixteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. He is the editor of Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels (2012) for Cambridge University Press.

Review :
This challenging collection of essays addresses significant themes of political thought in the 18th-century British Atlantic. The contributors include major scholars in the field who well convey the lively Enlightenment debate on the foundations, nature, and preservation of liberty. The editor interprets the whole as vindication of Burkean conservatism, while the essays partially confirm and transcend this view. Jack P. Greene explicates his "negotiated empire" argument through a close analysis of Jamaican politics at mid-century. Robert Ferguson, noting "the myriad confusions over liberty," traces the gradual eclipse of religious definitions by legalist ones. Barry Shain describes the interaction of conscience and original sin in shaping political thought. In an elegant piece, David Wootton explores "checks and balances," while R. G. Frey notes the interplay of moral sense and natural rights. Commerce and virtual liberty occupy John Danford. Ronald Hamowy's account of the debate between Adam Ferguson and Richard Price illustrates the complexity of the Whig tradition. Two essays by Lance Banning and Gordon Wood on facets of US constitutionalism complete the collection. These essays are a substantial contribution to Atlantic studies. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above.

Choice
January 2007