The American Revolution as a Colonial War for Independence
1968; Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture; Volume: 25; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/1921776
ISSN1933-7698
Autores Tópico(s)American History and Culture
ResumoT-^tHE current historiographical controversies over the American Revolution owe much to Carl Becker. From Becker's day to the present, historians have debated the question of the existence or non-existence of an revolution in American society. Some historians, following Becker's lead, search for traces of internal social or political turmoil. Others, disagreeing with Becker, stress the continuity of institutions and traditions during the Revolution. At issue is the basic question of just how revolutionary was the American and in the failure of historians to agree on an answer to that question lies the source of controversy. And so the great debate continues.1 *Mr. Barrow is a member of the Department of History, Government, and International Relations, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts. 'The major statements of the Becker-Beard approach are well known: Carl L. Becker, History of Political Parties in the Province of New York, 1760-1776 (Madison, i909); Charles Beard, An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (New York, I9I3); J. Franklin Jameson, American Revolution Considered as a Social Movement (Princeton, I926). Arthur M. Schlesinger's interpretation is summarized in his article, The American Revolution Reconsidered, Political Science Quarterly, XXXIV (i919), 6I-78. Jameson's views are re-evaluated in Frederick B. Tolles, The American Revolution Considered as a Social Movement: A Re-evaluation, American Historical Review, LX (1954-55), I-I2. Becker-Beard approach is currently carried on most sophisticatedly in the work of Merrill Jensen, particularly in Articles of Confederation: An Interpretation of the Social-Constitutional History of the American Revolution, 1774-178i (Madison, I948). For an interesting later review of his earlier position by Jensen himself see his article, Democracy and the American Huntington Library Quarterly, XX (0956-57), 32I-34I. Elisha P. Douglass, Rebels and Democrats: Struggle for Equal Political Rights and Majority Rule During the American Revolution (Chapel Hill, i955), summarizes many of the points of controversy and offers his own arguments for an abortive internal revolution. On the other side is Clinton L. Rossiter, Seedtime of the Republic: Origin of the American Tradition of Political Liberty (New York, I953). See also the treatment of the Revolution in Daniel J. Boorstin, Genius of American Politics (Chicago, 1953). But the single work which most directly challenges the Becker-Beard approach is Robert E. Brown, Middle-Class Democ-
Referência(s)