Virginia's American Revolution: From Dominion to Republic, 1776-1840 [Paperback]

Kevin R. C. Gutzman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0739121324 | ISBN-13: 978-0739121320

Virginia's American Revolution follows the Virginia revolutionaries from their decision for independence on May 15, 1776, through the following 60 years_when the last of them finally passed from the scene. To their surprise, the decision to break with Great Britain entailed reconsideration of virtually all of their major political and social institutions, from the established church, their aristocratic state government, and feudal land tenures to slavery and their federal relations with the other American states. Some of these issues, such as the place of the Church of England in the newly republican Virginia, received quick resolutions; others, such as the nature of the relationship between the elite and other men, were not so easily decided. All of them were considered against the backdrop of Virginia's decline from preeminence in the Revolution and early Republic to the position of just another state in the age of Jackson. By following Virginia's American Revolution from start to finish, this account shows why so many revolutionaries in the Old Dominion died doubting that their great struggle had been worth the effort.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In recent years, Kevin Gutzman has earned rank as one of our finest young historians of the American Founding. In Virginia's American Revolution, he calls attention to 'the old reality of American political life that the state was the primary unit of political allegiance, the chief locus of political identity, and the level at which most significant political questions were decided in the Early Republic.' Pursuing the history of the most important of the first thirteen states in light of this neglected truth, Gutzman provides a new and valuable perspective on our origins. (Clyde Wilson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History, University of South Carolina )

Gutzman displays a detailed, even at times sympathetic (though not uncritical) understanding that many readers should find particularly worthwhile. (May 2008 N-Net )

In short, Virginia's American Revolution is not only an invaluable contribution to the scholarly literature, but it is also a treasure trove for those who would recapture the original American republic. (Lewrockwell.Com )

Gutzman describes how Virginia's independence initiated the replacement of a monarchical society with a republican one. In the most important and original part of the book, Gutzman argues that Virginians ratified the Constitution in 1788 only because they understood it to establish a nonbinding compact of states wherein Virginia still controlled its own destiny. By looking at early national Virginia through a state rather than a federal lens, Gutzman brings a less celebrated cast of characters to the fore. (Stuart Leibiger Journal of American History, June 2009 )

Kevin R. C. Gutzman's study of Virginia in the early republic is the sad story of how the most influential of the thirteen colonies fell under the sway of a clique of cranky reactionaries and set itself on a course to disaster. Virginia's American Revolution might be called history from the middle out. Gutzman has produced a prodigiously researched and useful account of a stratum of political leadership that is often overlooked. (The Journal Of Southern History, August 2009 )

Kevin Gutzman's important new book shows how Virginian patriots sought to secure provincial liberties and create a new American union in the Old Dominion's image. Challenging the conventional nationalist bias in Revolutionary historiography, Gutzman points the way toward a broader, more compelling interpretation of the history of the federal republic in its formative decades. Lucidly written and powerfully argued,Virginia's American Revolution is a superb addition to the literature. (Peter S. Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor, University of Virginia, and author of Jefferson's Empire: The Language of American Nat )

From the Back Cover

Virginia's American Revolution follows the Virginia revolutionaries from their decision for independence on May 15, 1776, through the following 60 years--when the last of them finally passed from the scene. To their surprise, the decision to break with Great Britain entailed reconsideration of virtually all of their major political and social institutions, from the established church, their aristocratic state government, and feudal land tenures to slavery and their federal relations with the other American states. Some of these issues, such as the place of the Church of England in the newly republican Virginia, received quick resolutions; others, such as the nature of the relationship between the elite and other men, were not so easily decided. All of them were considered against the backdrop of Virginia's decline from preeminence in the Revolution and early Republic to the position of just another state in the age of Jackson. By following Virginia's American Revolution from start to finish, this account shows why so many revolutionaries in the Old Dominion died doubting that their great struggle had been worth the effort.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Lexington Books (November 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739121324
• ISBN-13: 978-0739121320
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #706,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kevin Gutzman's latest book is JAMES MADISON AND THE MAKING OF AMERICA. The paperback edition, published in February 2013, includes a new introductory essay on "James Madison and the American Ideal of Religious Liberty." Gutzman is the author of four books -- two on the Constitution (including the New York Times best-selling THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION) and two on the American Revolution and Early Republic.

Dr. Gutzman is Director of Graduate Studies and Professor in the Department of History at Western Connecticut State University. He received his BA, MPAff, and JD from the University of Texas and his MA and PhD in American history from the University of Virginia. For a full biography, sample writings, further information on his books, etc., see his Web site, www.KevinGutzman.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Statehood As Originally Understood August 20, 2008

By C. Hicks

Format:Paperback

In his preface Kevin Gutzman writes, "...I wanted to consider Virginia from the state level, because my understanding of the politics (broadly understood) of the period was that state identity dominated people's consciousness in a way barely conceivable now. ...I saw that the chief theme of the [Virginia Ratification Convention] was not the kind of America ratification would make but what effect ratification would have on Virginia."

So begins an indispensible study of a particular cultural and political setting in the early days of the United States, and how the formation of this nation was understood by one state -- Virginia. From the time that England's James I promised to honor Virginia's freedom and the English rights of its citizens through the Revolutionary War and the first decades of the United States, Virginians understood themselves to be an autonomous people who had signed on to the Constitution with the primacy of their state's uniqueness and identity intact. After finishing this book one can better appreciate why, threescore and ten years later, Robert E. Lee would turn down the highest command in the U.S. Army rather than turn his sword upon his home country, Virginia.

Gutzman provides an overview of Virginia's uniquely hierarchical culture -- chiefly descendants of the Caroline kings and their servants -- and introduces the key players who shaped Virginia's understanding of and response to the Ratification Convention: George Bland, Thomson Mason, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and Patrick Henry, among many others. Whether Federalist or Anti-Federalist, all parties worked to ensure Virginia's distinct identity within a non-binding contract of separate states.

Once the nationalist Federalists began to assert unstated powers, figures like the brilliant pamphleteer John Taylor of Caroline arose with prophetic vengeance, seeking to rally public and leadership sentiment back to first principles. Yet, the aristocratic culture to which Taylor and many prominent Virginians belonged unwittingly alienated many of the frontiersman who had pushed beyond the Blue Ridge escarpment, setting the stage for a future rupture in the Old Dominion.

Gutzman masterfully traces these developments and the external forces which by 1840 had undermined Virginia's primacy and example of local autonomy. Daresay most Americans have a limited or skewed understanding of the Revolution -- one that is increasingly monistic and nationalistic. Virginia's American Revolution underscores that, from the beginning, America consisted of disparate political cultures with very different visions of what the agency of Federal government meant. The Virginian vision has been obscured if not lost, and many serious social and economic ramifications of that outcome continue to manifest themselves today.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Dominion, A Constitutional-Political History of Virginia post-1776 September 5, 2009

By R. Setliff

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

~Virginia's American Revolution: From Dominion to Republic, 1776-1840~ is a well written, erudite constitutional history of my beloved Commonwealth of Virginia from the time of the colonial-revolutionary days onward to the antebellum, post-Jacksonian years preceding the Civil War. Why Virginia? Virginia deserves attention because it was at the epicenter of the political and social life of the early United States. Prior to independence from Britain, Virginia was a country onto itself with land claims that stretched to the Pacific. After the Philadelphia Convention in 1787 to draft a new Constitution, Americans from neighboring states eyed the proceedings of the Virginia convention of 1788 watchfully as if looking in which direction to proceed with Virginia's prompting. As Patrick Henry proclaimed, "The example of Virginia is a mighty thing." The deference afforded to Virginia by her sister states in the early years of the American Republic is apparent by the number of presidents and statesman she bequeathed to the United States. Virginia's political sages included such luminaries as George Washington, Richard Bland, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry, Wilson Nicholas Cary and Littleton Waller Tazewell. Virginia defined her political culture with an insistence on localism and States' Rights.

Hence, author Kevin Gutzman offered a convincing and historically accurate challenge to the ascendant nationalist ideology that swept the West following Springtime Revolutions in 1848 and the American Civil War of 1861-65. Biased nationalist historiography seeks to reread events surrounding the American Revolution through the lens of nineteenth-century nationalist ideology--and the late American Civil War. As historian Clyde Wilson surmised of his work, Gutzman "calls attention to `the old reality of American political life that the state was the primary unit of political allegiance, the chief locus of political identity, and the level at which most significant political questions were decided to the early republic.'" The occasion for the writing of the book is insightful, as Gutzman approached his historical inquiry initially in search of John Calhoun's basis for interposition and nullification. Then his inquiry turned into a full-fledged probe of the broader American history of States' Rights. His mentor Peter Onuf pointed Gutzman in the direction of the Principles of 1798--which arose following the passage of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions. Naturally, the Old Dominion took center stage.

Gutzman offers a fresh historiographical perspective, though not novel, as it was once ascendant in the early years of the American Republic. Having fought and won their independence from one of the mightiest empires on the earth, Virginians were not about to consign themselves once more to a remote centralized government. George Washington observed, "independent sovereignty is so ardently contended for... the local views of each State... will not yield to a more enlarged scale of politicks." This book is a break from the ideological fodder, which seeks to interpret American and Virginian history through the ideological lens of us hapless moderns. The task of the historian is to understand those who lived the past on their terms. In this regard, Gutzman's book is a welcomed break from his contemporaries who foist ideological agendas onto their historical interpretations.

Kevin Gutzman boasts some impressive credentials with a Juris Doctorate from the Univ. of Texas School of Law and a Ph.D. in History from the Univ. of Virginia.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating immersion into VA's revolutionary political scene! November 7, 2011

By W. Matson

Format:Paperback

I, like many people, was abruptly woken up from my blissfully ignorant slumber to the political/economic turmoil our country has experienced these last few years. Finding myself insatiably hungry to learn about our history and the foundation this nation was built on I spend alota time studying the history of the American revolution and the early republic from an overall/federal level perspective. Being a citizen of Virginia (and being particularly fond of our flag) I began to wonder a bit more about her part in the Revolution during those times. Thanks to Tom Woods I discovered Kevin Gutzman's epic. Upon opening the first page you will find yourself immersed in the vibrant political scene in central Virginia -the epicenter of the newly forming republic- gaining a sense of the sentiments of the times, the political climate and culture- witnessing the great debates, political schisms and party feuds, all playing out before your eyes in incredible detail, satisfying the most erudite scholar while simultaneously entertaining the laymen historian with it's story-like read. Anyone interested in studying Virginia's (and thereby America's) history must not miss Kevin's incredible book.