Gordon S Wood Creation Of The American Republic Sparknotes

1224 Words5 Pages

Why did we need a revolution? In a manner that is clear and very comprehensive, Gordon S. Wood explains this to us in his book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787. Furthermore, he goes into detail on how the thirteen colonies came together to create one of the most durable systems of government ever created, and how we got the political system we currently live under.

According to a Brown University profile on Gordon S. Wood, where he is currently the Alva O. Way University Professor Emeritus, he has been the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize in History and has received numerous other accolades throughout his scholarly career, including 2011’s National Humanities Medal presented to him by President Barack Obama. He is now considered …show more content…

Gordon Wood achieved great success among his peers with the publication of his book, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787, for which he was awarded the Bancroft Prize, as well as the John H. Dunning Prize, both in 1970. In it, Dr. Wood breaks down the process of how American political thought developed from early protests against British measures in the construction of the world's first federal republic. He does so by giving us in detail using a number of different sources, historical information on the reasoning behind the revolution. Dr. Wood walks us through how our government started with a monarchical society which was hierarchical, and later transformed, and emerged as a more recognizable modern society, in where a more commercially oriented and capitalistic government came to light. Wood writes, “[Americans] learned how to define the rights of nature, how to search into, to distinguish, and to comprehend, the principles of physical, moral, religious, and civil liberty, how, in short, to discover and resist the forces of tyranny before they could be applied. [..][T]he present is an age of philosophy, and America the empire of reason.” This early reasoning guided them in developing a government that was not only more democratic but ensure separation of powers and proper legal review. The key concepts and ideas that were developed during these dramatic years, shaped our system of …show more content…

Howe, Jr. is correct, Dr. Wood does provide a deeper and accurate understanding of the principles embodied in the U.S. constitution, the nature of American politics, and the structure of American government – both state and federal – and most importantly, the relationship between the two. Furthermore, he lays down the groundwork on the real meaning of how our government came to be and who it was meant to serve, and what the American Revolution meant for our political system. The American Revolution was one of the most important events in American history. It not only created the U.S. Government and our Institutions, most importantly, it created our ideals and everything we believe as Americans. Again, the revolution WAS transformative. Dr. Wood explains to us how we started with a monarchical society, and very different from what we know now. This society was transformed by the revolution, which helped it modernize our society, placing more importance on equality and a democratic system. To be clear, one must recognize that equality and democratic freedoms have since evolved tenfold since the 18th century in respects to i.e., voting and human rights. However, at that time, the American Revolution helped the United States become one of the most democratic nations in the world, all occurring in a short period of

Open Document