Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania challenges the ways we understand popular sovereignty in the American Revolution. Whereas previous histories place undue focus on elite political thought or analysis based on class, this study argues that it was ordinary citizens that cared most about the establishment of a proper, representative, publicly legitimate political process. Popular activism constrained the options available to leaders and created a system through which the actions of government were made more representative of the will of the community. Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania analyzes political developments in Pennsylvania from 1774, when Americans united in opposition to Britain's Intolerable Acts, through to 1800 and the election of Thomas Jefferson. It looks at the animating philosophy of the Pennsylvania state constitution of 1776, a 'radical manifesto' which espoused a vision of popular sovereignty in which government was devolved from the people only where necessary. Even when governmental institutions were necessary, their legitimacy rested on being able to clearly demonstrate that they operated on popular consent, expressed in a variety of forms of popular mobilization.
| ISBN: | 9780198827979 |
| Publication date: | 12th September 2018 |
| Author: | Kenneth Assistant Professor of History, Assistant Professor of History, University of Illinois Springfield Owen |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 218 pages |
| Series: | Oxford Historical Monographs |
| Genres: |
History of the Americas History and Archaeology National liberation and independence Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions |
Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania challenges the ways we understand popular sovereignty in the American Revolution. Whereas previous histories place undue focus on elite political thought or analysis based on class, this study argues that it was ordinary citizens that cared most about the establishment of a proper, representative, publicly legitimate political process. Popular activism constrained the options available to leaders and created a system through which the actions of government were made more representative of the will of the community. Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania analyzes political developments in Pennsylvania from 1774, when Americans united in opposition to Britain's Intolerable Acts, through to 1800 and the election of Thomas Jefferson. It looks at the animating philosophy of the Pennsylvania state constitution of 1776, a 'radical manifesto' which espoused a vision of popular sovereignty in which government was devolved from the people only where necessary. Even when governmental institutions were necessary, their legitimacy rested on being able to clearly demonstrate that they operated on popular consent, expressed in a variety of forms of popular mobilization.
Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania, 1774-1800 features in the following genres: History of the Americas, History and Archaeology, National liberation and independence, Revolutions, uprisings, rebellions
Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania, 1774-1800 is available in Hardback
Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania, 1774-1800 was written by Kenneth Assistant Professor of History, Assistant Professor of History, University of Illinois Springfield Owen and published by Oxford University Press
Political Community in Revolutionary Pennsylvania, 1774-1800 has 218 pages
Yes it is part of Oxford Historical Monographs series
£94.50