The Heart of the Commonwealth: Society and Political Culture in Worcester County, Massachusetts 1713-1861 [Paperback]

John L. Brooke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1992

One of the central controversies in our understanding of early America involves the place of republican and liberal thinking in polity and society. The Heart of the Commonwealth presents a synthetic view of the social grounding of republicanism and liberalism in Worcester Country, Massachusetts, from its settlement after the Peace of Utrecht to the eve of the Civil War, as this country's people passed through the formative fires of both national and industrial revolution. Drawing upon a wide range of sources and methods, the book examines the unfolding relationships among ideological discourse, political action, and the institutions and structures of everyday life. Most broadly, the book argues that a broad transition from a republican - or Harringtonian - consensus to a liberal - or Lockean - consensus was conditioned by countervailing episodes of insurgency, running from the Land Bank and the Great Awakening in the 1740s to the rise of political antislavery a century later.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Brooke has reaffirmed the importance of regional differences. He successfully incorporates economic, social, and religious experiences without sacrificing the centrality of political thought...Brooke's study from the bottom up brings American realities back into the picture by successfully integrating local religious, economic, and social thought with the voices of the elite." William and Mary Quarterly "John L. Brooke has produced a lucidly written, tightly organized, well-argued work that uses Worcester County to integrate political history with changing intellectual, social, and economic variables...Brooke has produced an exceptionally fine book...historians of all periods of American antebellum history will find a great deal of interest in his work." The Journal of American History "All historians of early America will have to reckon with this outstanding study of central Massachusetts...Brooke demonstrates how republican and liberal ideas provided competing patterns of meaning for the culture that emerged in central Massachusetts, and he shows how the anaylsis of text as rhetoric can illuminate social, economic, and political development." American Historical Review "Upon publication, The Heart of the Commonwealth will be immediately recognized as an exciting piece of scholarship... it is a sophisticated narrative that shows the relationships among all facets of New England life." James A. Henretta, University of Maryland, College Park "In The Heart of the Commonwealth, John L. Brooke uses an impressive analytical ability and a splendid command of data sources and the literature to combine economic, intellectual, political, and social streams to form a rich narrative of the transformation of central Massachusetts from the Peace of Utrecht to the Civil War...[A]n excellent exmaple of how we might move toward a more inclusive analysis of rural economic transformation." Clyde A. Haulman, Journal of the Early Republic --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Book Description

One of the central controversies in our understanding of early America involves the place of republican and liberal thinking in polity and society. The Heart of the Commonwealth presents a synthetic view of the social grounding of republicanism and liberalism in Worcester Country, Massachusetts, from its settlement after the Peace of Utrecht to the eve of the Civil War. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 472 pages
• Publisher: Univ of Massachusetts Pr (December 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870238264
• ISBN-13: 978-0870238260
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,282,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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