Books
- The Lamp of Experience: Whig History and the Intellectual Origins of the American Revolution
- Operas of Benjamin Britten: Expression and Evasion (Aldeburgh Studies in Music)
- Selected Works of Edmund Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France Vol 2
- Ships of the American Revolution and Their Models
- Selected Works of Edmund Burke: Reflections on the Revolution in France Vol 2
- Selected Works of Edmund Burke: Letters on a Regicide Peace Vol 3
- Political Sermons American: 1
- Dalit: The Black Untouchables of India
- Political Sermons American: 1
- Reference Guide to the Iranian Oral History Collection
- In the Mind's Eye
- Byzantium Viewed by the Arabs (Harvard Middle Eastern Monographs S.)
- The Making of Tocqueville's "Democracy"
- Roads to Dominion: Right Wing Movements and State Power in the United States (Critical Perspectives S.)
- The Making of Tocqueville's "Democracy"
- Battle Maps of the Civil War: American Heritage
- Black Man of the Nile and His Family
- We the Black Jews
- On History and Other Essays
- On History and Other Essays
- History as the Story of Liberty
- Fifty Days on Board a Slave Ship
- The Origin of Races and Color
- The Webster-Hayne Debate on the Nature of the Union
- A Book of the Beginnings
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- How the Founders learned their politics
- Ideas have consequences
- Fascinating Study
- Great explanation of the paradigm during American Revolution
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The Lamp of Experience: Whig History and the Intellectual Origins of the American Revolution
H. Trevor Colbourn
Manufacturer: Liberty Fund
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0865971595 |
Customer Reviews:
How the Founders learned their politics.......2007-04-05
H. Trevor Colbourn writes that the college-educated colonists received a heavy dose of the Greek and Roman classics. This classical education would make it easy for them to assimilate into their own character the virtues embodied in Cato the Younger. Many of these men, such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Nathan Hale, and others, would quote from the play in many of their writings and speeches. Colbourn asserts that in the years leading up to the American Revolution, and especially after the Stamp Act crisis in 1765, the play "Cato" served as the epitome of resistance to tyrannical British rule for many colonists.
It is indicative of the Age of Enlightenment, which educated leaders such as America's Founding Fathers, to select their models of heroic virtue from Greco-Roman history instead of from the Bible. Plays, such as Addison's "Cato" social and philosophical message was clear to any Enlightenment audience because it was Roman moral virtues and not Christian morality that Enlightenment audiences most embraced. Cato's self-reliance caused his actions; not his reliance on God. This notion of men acting outside the sphere of religious bonds was an important lesson that was certainly not lost on our Founders, especially since many of them were such devoted disciples to Enlightenment ideals. In fact, one could stipulate that "Cato" is part of a genre of plays that replaced the Christian morality plays that had been so popular for centuries in Europe.
The revolutionary generation immersed themselves in the classics, which enabled them to be on the look out for examples of distant tyrannical rule. The Founding Fathers believed that in order for a new nation to survive as a republic, they would need to remake men in the mold of Cato as portrayed in Addison's play, and as other heroic men found in "Plutarch's Lives." Cato was first and foremost a patriot. He would not have sullied himself by becoming embroiled in party politics. Thus, the Founders learned from his example and understood that they too had to be especially diligent in guarding against men forming political factions and the misuse of political power for their own self-interest. This is why Founders, such as Thomas Jefferson, placed such high hopes for raising a virtuous body of citizens through education, which became one of his motivating factors for founding the University of Virginia. Aside from Addison's flowery prose and powerful imagery on stage, "Cato's" most important and enduring role in the American colonies was its political message; fighting to the death, if necessary, for freedom from tyranny.
I read this book for a graduate Humanities class. Recommended for people interested in literature, history, philosophy, and the founding of America.
Ideas have consequences.......2006-01-17
Richard Weaver's famous book title has almost become a cliché these days, but if there's one book where the idea behind it truly applies, this one might be it. It may seem boringly circular to read a history book about the history books the founding generation read, but in fact this is an interesting and important work of intellectual history. It certainly repays reading for anyone interested in the ideas behind the American revolution.
Colburn presents a strong case that the leaders of the revolution (and the preceding generation) had a common frame of reference and a shared understanding of "the lessons of history." To that extent, it hardly matters that their common understanding of the Saxon roots of English liberty has been largely discredited by more recent scholarship, as the author explains in an appendix. *They* believed it was true, and the lessons they took from it shaped their ideas about law and philosophy, as well as history. Indeed, law, philosophy, and history were all very closely interwoven to members of that generation -- far more so than they are to modern minds. It is a rare politician today who has a deep acquaintance with history (apart from sketchy conclusions regarding "the lessons of Vietnam" or "the lessons of Munich," as Jeffery Record ruefully noted in "Making War, Thinking History: Munich, Vietnam, and Presidential Uses of Force from Korea to Kosovo" [Naval Institute Press, 2002]), and rarer still one who can tease out of history a coherent philosophy of man's relation to other men and to the State.
This book isn't for everyone. Because it's intellectual history, it can get kind of dry at times. And I found the scope of the book rather narrower than I was expecting -- exploring the "Saxon roots" idea takes up most of Colbourn's time, although he does a fine job showing how different interpreters employed that idea in different ways. But it deserves a place alongside books like Bailyn's "The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution" on the shelves of anyone seeking those ideas, the consequences of which were the War for Independence. This book was on my to-read list for a very long time, and I'm glad I finally made myself pick it up and read it. It confirmed my suspicion that it's one I should have read a long time ago.
Fascinating Study.......1999-09-10
This book is a pure jem. Colbourn presents an elegant treatment of the ideology of the Revolutionaries, with special emphasis on the role and use of history in their thought. Perhaps the most captivating pieces are those focusing specifically on John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. In addition to this, he includes actual listings of books in Colonial stores and libraries. Above all, this is an invaluable study for anyone interested in this subject.
Great explanation of the paradigm during American Revolution.......1999-04-21
Great book to read in order to understand the thoughts and the fears of the revolutionaries both leading up to the actual revolution and the problems resulting from the new nation. It gives excellent insight into key thinkers and provides a good viewpoint to judge the legitamacy of the American complaints. If you love the thought processes of the intellectuals of the revolution you will enjoy this book.
Average customer rating:
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Lamp of Experience: Whig History and the Intellectual Origins of
H. TREVOR COLBOURN
Manufacturer: See notes
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000RQMQ8Q |
Average customer rating:
- How the Founders learned their politics
|
The Lamp of Experience: Whig History and the Intellectual Origins of the American Revolution
H. Trevor Colbourn
Manufacturer: The Norton Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7Z7RQ |
Customer Reviews:
How the Founders learned their politics.......2007-04-05
H. Trevor Colbourn writes that the college-educated colonists received a heavy dose of the Greek and Roman classics. This classical education would make it easy for them to assimilate into their own character the virtues embodied in Cato the Younger. Many of these men, such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Nathan Hale, and others, would quote from the play in many of their writings and speeches. Colbourn asserts that in the years leading up to the American Revolution, and especially after the Stamp Act crisis in 1765, the play "Cato" served as the epitome of resistance to tyrannical British rule for many colonists.
It is indicative of the Age of Enlightenment, which educated leaders such as America's Founding Fathers, to select their models of heroic virtue from Greco-Roman history instead of from the Bible. Plays, such as Addison's "Cato" social and philosophical message was clear to any Enlightenment audience because it was Roman moral virtues and not Christian morality that Enlightenment audiences most embraced. Cato's self-reliance caused his actions; not his reliance on God. This notion of men acting outside the sphere of religious bonds was an important lesson that was certainly not lost on our Founders, especially since many of them were such devoted disciples to Enlightenment ideals. In fact, one could stipulate that "Cato" is part of a genre of plays that replaced the Christian morality plays that had been so popular for centuries in Europe.
The revolutionary generation immersed themselves in the classics, which enabled them to be on the look out for examples of distant tyrannical rule. The Founding Fathers believed that in order for a new nation to survive as a republic, they would need to remake men in the mold of Cato as portrayed in Addison's play, and as other heroic men found in "Plutarch's Lives." Cato was first and foremost a patriot. He would not have sullied himself by becoming embroiled in party politics. Thus, the Founders learned from his example and understood that they too had to be especially diligent in guarding against men forming political factions and the misuse of political power for their own self-interest. This is why Founders, such as Thomas Jefferson, placed such high hopes for raising a virtuous body of citizens through education, which became one of his motivating factors for founding the University of Virginia. Aside from Addison's flowery prose and powerful imagery on stage, "Cato's" most important and enduring role in the American colonies was its political message; fighting to the death, if necessary, for freedom from tyranny.
I read this book for a graduate Humanities class. Recommended for people interested in literature, history, philosophy, and the founding of America.
Average customer rating:
- How the Founders learned their politics
|
The Lamp of Experience, Whig History and the Intellectual Origins of the American Revolution
H. Trevor Coulbourn
Manufacturer: University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBC0E6 |
Customer Reviews:
How the Founders learned their politics.......2007-04-05
H. Trevor Colbourn writes that the college-educated colonists received a heavy dose of the Greek and Roman classics. This classical education would make it easy for them to assimilate into their own character the virtues embodied in Cato the Younger. Many of these men, such as Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Nathan Hale, and others, would quote from the play in many of their writings and speeches. Colbourn asserts that in the years leading up to the American Revolution, and especially after the Stamp Act crisis in 1765, the play "Cato" served as the epitome of resistance to tyrannical British rule for many colonists.
It is indicative of the Age of Enlightenment, which educated leaders such as America's Founding Fathers, to select their models of heroic virtue from Greco-Roman history instead of from the Bible. Plays, such as Addison's "Cato" social and philosophical message was clear to any Enlightenment audience because it was Roman moral virtues and not Christian morality that Enlightenment audiences most embraced. Cato's self-reliance caused his actions; not his reliance on God. This notion of men acting outside the sphere of religious bonds was an important lesson that was certainly not lost on our Founders, especially since many of them were such devoted disciples to Enlightenment ideals. In fact, one could stipulate that "Cato" is part of a genre of plays that replaced the Christian morality plays that had been so popular for centuries in Europe.
The revolutionary generation immersed themselves in the classics, which enabled them to be on the look out for examples of distant tyrannical rule. The Founding Fathers believed that in order for a new nation to survive as a republic, they would need to remake men in the mold of Cato as portrayed in Addison's play, and as other heroic men found in "Plutarch's Lives." Cato was first and foremost a patriot. He would not have sullied himself by becoming embroiled in party politics. Thus, the Founders learned from his example and understood that they too had to be especially diligent in guarding against men forming political factions and the misuse of political power for their own self-interest. This is why Founders, such as Thomas Jefferson, placed such high hopes for raising a virtuous body of citizens through education, which became one of his motivating factors for founding the University of Virginia. Aside from Addison's flowery prose and powerful imagery on stage, "Cato's" most important and enduring role in the American colonies was its political message; fighting to the death, if necessary, for freedom from tyranny.
I read this book for a graduate Humanities class. Recommended for people interested in literature, history, philosophy, and the founding of America.
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