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Beyond the Founders: New Approaches to the Political History of the Early American Republic illustrates the historiography of the early Republic through its growth of democracy that is not limited to just a white man history. The editors provide fourteenth different historical essays to advocate other narratives that have been left or overlooked rather than focusing on powerful white men who shaped American Institutions. The editors offer a new portray of Political history by looking at other people within the realms of social and political history. The goal of this book was to offer a “top down, from the bottom up, and perhaps especially from the middle out in every direction” (18) approach to viewing political history in a new light. One of the central arguments mentioned by Dave and Morgan earlier is to demonstrate the interlinking’s of the American people regardless of their station or political tendencies; they were all deeply connected and actively participated together in the early Republic.
Each chapter demonstrates the how social and cultural histories played out on the grassroots level within the early republic. It was not just political but interactive with social groups to allow for their own mark within the political history.
Similarities that I found in this collection of essays was with Closer to Freedom, also mentioned by Morgan in her earlier post that can be seen in Waldstreicher Essay. In Chapter three, “Why Thomas Jefferson and African American Wore Their Politics on their Sleeve,” explores the politics of using items such as clothing and how it could have political purpose based on how Jefferson chose to dress up as. Waldstreicher states, “the extreme politicization o clothing in the antebellum debate over slavery and race, understood in light of the use of dress Revolutionary and early national politics, suggest that ‘cultural’ subjects like clothing, as much as or more than abstracted ‘language’ or ‘power’, can help us reconnect subjects like Thomas Jefferson and African Americans” (89). Similar to Closer to Freedom, both book and essay discuss the importance and significance that clothing can have in making a rebelling statement or political statement.
One of the biggest things I took out of in reading this book was how the different authors, and three editors were trying to establish agency for groups that have not been heard from in political history. However, what I struggle with in reviewing the essays though, especially looking at “Women and Party Conflict in the Early Republic” is can social and cultural histories really fit in with political history? Or do the two need to remain separate. Obviously based on the style and format of this book, the editors have a different opinion from me. I did not see the connections in chapter four as much as I would like to. What I saw was how Zagarri was trying to incorporate women’s social capacities within the context of state and party problems. I personally had a difficult time in viewing this chapter as any but social history. Overall, Chapter 3 & 4 were some of my favorite writings as it provided two different narratives and strove to offer agency to a group, aka women, usually excluded from the political arena.