Monday, October 11, 2004
- MAJOR ISSUES IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Lecturer: E.F van de Bilt
Final Comments on Baylin and Wood.
. The Elusive Transition. Prof. van de Bilt said that while both Baylin and Wood were in agreement about the republican paradigm, they failed --at least initially-- to account for the events of the early nineteenth century. How did the transition take place between the republican mentality of 1776 and the liberal-capitalist society of the 1800s?
. Wood's Solution. That was the problem with Gordon Wood's 1969 book, The Creation of the American Republic. In part III of The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1992), Wood tried to clarify the issue by focusing on society at large. In the end, it was the American people --ordinary men and women with "their workaday concerns and their pecuniary pursuits of happiness"- - who would create "a prosperours free society." Prof. van de Bilt: "The 1992 book is much more structured, linear, and easy to follow for the reader."
. Statements Have Consequences. Statements like "all men are created equal", made in 1776 by slave-owning aristocrats, would come back to haunt them. Says Wood: "... it is important to realize that the Revolution suddenly and effectively ended the the cultural climate that had allowed black slavery to exist" (p. 186)
. John Adams. Was John Adams a monarchist? That seems to be the case, according to Gordon Wood. Prof. van de Bilt: "Adams would agree with Wood about the American Revolution being more radical than the French Revolution." The former was a success, and the latter a complete fiasco.
. Writing Style. Baylin and Wood write like traditional historians. By avoiding the use of the personal pronoun "I", they seek to create a sense of impartiality. But post-modern or deconstructionist historians, looking at how Baylin and Wood structure their arguments, can undermine the smoothness of their narrative.
Lecturer: E.F van de Bilt
Final Comments on Baylin and Wood.
. The Elusive Transition. Prof. van de Bilt said that while both Baylin and Wood were in agreement about the republican paradigm, they failed --at least initially-- to account for the events of the early nineteenth century. How did the transition take place between the republican mentality of 1776 and the liberal-capitalist society of the 1800s?
. Wood's Solution. That was the problem with Gordon Wood's 1969 book, The Creation of the American Republic. In part III of The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1992), Wood tried to clarify the issue by focusing on society at large. In the end, it was the American people --ordinary men and women with "their workaday concerns and their pecuniary pursuits of happiness"- - who would create "a prosperours free society." Prof. van de Bilt: "The 1992 book is much more structured, linear, and easy to follow for the reader."
. Statements Have Consequences. Statements like "all men are created equal", made in 1776 by slave-owning aristocrats, would come back to haunt them. Says Wood: "... it is important to realize that the Revolution suddenly and effectively ended the the cultural climate that had allowed black slavery to exist" (p. 186)
. John Adams. Was John Adams a monarchist? That seems to be the case, according to Gordon Wood. Prof. van de Bilt: "Adams would agree with Wood about the American Revolution being more radical than the French Revolution." The former was a success, and the latter a complete fiasco.
. Writing Style. Baylin and Wood write like traditional historians. By avoiding the use of the personal pronoun "I", they seek to create a sense of impartiality. But post-modern or deconstructionist historians, looking at how Baylin and Wood structure their arguments, can undermine the smoothness of their narrative.
# posted by Agustin @ 2:14 PM 
