This is an exhaustive study of the evolution of representative democracy in the United States, England and France. The author is thoroughly familiar with his material and it will be judged as a standard of academic excellence. That said, it it not an easy read and at times is mind numbing, for instance in his seemingly endless accounts of John Adam's correspondence. I will not re-read this book, but have added it to my library as an essential work of reference. I would actually recommend Matthew Stewart's' Nature's God' as a comparable book on the subject of democracy which I will re-read.
The author reviews events in detail from about mid 17th century to mid 19th century in America and Europe. The settlement of the colonies, the English Civil War and Protectorate, the Glorious Revolution, the American Revolution and the French Revolution are covered in great detail. Attention is given to the Revolutions of 1848 and Lincoln and the American Civil War and aftermath.
Through all this the author emphasizes the crucial positive role played by religion in the development of democracy in America and the problems for the development and further maturation of democracy caused by the conflict between religion and the secular authorities in England and France. For all his research and attention to detail I was disappointed that Mr. Kloppenberg did not include any meaningful discussion of Hobbes and Spinoza in his book. He seems to include almost everyone else. The concept of an individual conscience and the 'fact-value' split which underlies modern political theory separating church and state was central to these thinkers. Perhaps because Hobbes 'Leviathan' solution is not 'democratic' was the reason he was ignored? I doubt very much that the founding fathers ignored Hobbes.
Mr. Kloppenburg's christianity is asked to carry a heavy burden in the development of democracy in America. He says, moreover, that it is the most significant factor in the development of democratic institutions and where religious resentment and conflict existed in Europe the lack of long
standing functioning assemblies where the congregation participated in free discussion retarded the manner in which democracy evolved. I found this emphasis on religion a bit peculiar. The protestant reformation unleashed the 'individual', but this individual was constrained by , for lack of a better term, a 'monarch'. The struggle to live, with or rid themselves, of a divinely ordained monarch is addressed in various ways by the social contract philosophers such as Hobbes and Locke and Rousseau. The entrenched interests of church and state in Europe ensured that this struggle would be violent and protracted. In America the situation was quite different not because the colonizers lacked religion but because the power of the monarch was distant and ineffective. The fact that , for instance, puritans convened meetings where the greater part of the colony could convene and 'vote' was no different than what went on in England, but without an overriding authority. The Anglican colonizers in the South did the same. The same religious problems existed in America that persisted in Europe, intolerance for instance in New England, the casting out of Roger Williams and so on. I find it hard to accept any evidence that the precepts of 'christianity' had anything to do with democracy. Rather the fact that small numbers of settlers congregated in groups, for whatever reason,for mutual benefit in an hostile environment, distant from the 'monarch' and established modes of power, to decide on their particular course of action necessitated common agreement and effort. Religious assemblies were not the exclusive form of assembly in the !7th century colonies. To identify the purpose these assemblies as 'christian' is to dilute the meaning of christianity, to void religion of it's theocracy. Mr. Kloppenberg to his credit sees the love and compassionate side of 'christianity's' contribution to American democracy. But christianity has a fundamentalist side to it that was, and is, literally murderous. This is amply demonstrated in his discussions of the English Civil War and the French Revolution and slavery in America. The author attempts to demonstrate that the founding fathers were 'christians' and 'christianity' played a great part in the composition of Declaration of Independence and Constitution. At the same time he is careful to accentuate the founding father's strong desire to keep separate church and state. He pokes around the edges of the question of the religious beliefs of the founding fathers. Were they Deists? Atheists? He concludes that weren't atheists and may or may not have been Deists. What is this all about? Is he attempting to bring clarity to contemporary disputes regarding the role of religion in America? If that was his purpose I think he failed. Christianity today in America is an amalgamation of disinterest, ignorance, spirituality,social functions and self serving fundamentalism.More than ever this bizarre concoction should be kept as far away as possible from politics. Mr. Kloppenberg concludes his book by relying on the compassionate side of christianity to enable democracy to continue to 'work'. The book makes it apparent that inequality was a major concern for the founders and would be a problem for the materialist democracy they knew they were founding. This doesn't seem to square with the 'christian' foundations of America nor does it give much hope for the future in a culture under assault by economic and religious fundamentalists, foreign and domestic. I would like to see Mr. Kloppenberg bring his history of democracy forward to the 21st century.
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- Black KnightReviewed in Canada on September 3, 2016
This is a beautifully informative and indeed transformative book
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