Ideology An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things (like a worldview), or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to all members of this society. Purpose: To cause change or conformity to a set of ideals. Ideologies are systems of abstract thought applied to public matters and thus make the concept central to politics. Implicitly every political or economic tendency entails an ideology.
Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (Sources of the Ideas and Ideals) Classical Antiquity Enlightenment Rationalism English Common Law Puritan Covenant Theology English Commonwealth
Outline English Legacy Importance of events and ideas Events: English political experience Conflict between monarch and subjects (Parliament) Glorious Revolution of 1688 English Bill of Rights (1689) Ideas: Puritan Covenant Theology (John Winthrop) Common Law (Edward Coke) Commonwealth or Country Party (Whigs, Locke) Rule of law 3 The English Legacy
Influence of events and ideas
Historical Background
England s Time of Trouble The Tudors The Stuarts
The Tudors Henry VII (1485 1509) Henry VIII (1509 1547) Edward VI(1547 1553) Mary I (1553 1558) Elizabeth I(1558 1603)
The Stuarts James I (1603 1625) Charles I(1625 1649) (Interregnum 1653 1659) Charles II (1660 1685) James II (1685-1688) William and Mary (1689-1702) Anne (1702-1714: first British monarch )
James I King James Bible Divine Right Tension with Puritans First American colonies
Charles I Pro-Catholic Divine Right Civil War with Puritans and Parliament Neglects American colonies
The Puritan Founding and Democracy Its virtues made liberal democracy possible and its vices made liberal democracy necessary. What are the virtues? Increased emphasis on individuality. Cherish liberty from corrupt institutions. Devote labors to building a heavenly kingdom on earth.
The Puritan Founding and Democracy What are the vices? Communities could generate a spirit of intolerance. No systematic way to separate church obligations from civil obligations. Let us thank God for having given us such ancestors; and let each successive generation thank him, not less fervently, for being one step further from them in the march of ages. Nathaniel Hawthorne ( Mainstreet )
The Interregnum: Oliver Cromwell
Puritan Legacy Religious sensibility Distrust of secular power Chosenness American exceptionalism City upon a hill
A Model of Christian Charity
Model of Christian Charity Education Formal Separation of Church and State
England
Puritan New England no Ecclesiastical Minister ought to exercise or accept of any Civil public jurisdiction and authority, but ought to be wholly employed in spiritual Offices and duties to that Congregation over which he is set. And that those Civil Magistrates weaken their own Supremacy that shall suffer any Ecclesiastical Pastor to exercise any civil jurisdiction within their Realms. William Bradshaw
Model of Christian Charity Education Formal Separation of Church and State Welfare Humane criminal law On every subject but religion the mildness of the Puritan legislation corresponded to the popular character of Puritan doctrines. Hardly a nation of Europe has as yet made its criminal law so humane as that of early New England....the punishment for theft, for burglary, and highway robbery was far more mild than the penalties even by modern American legislation. George Bancroft Sense of world mission America as a City Upon a Hill
iclicker: Which of the following is an example of how the concept of the City on a Hill persisted in America? A. In 1776 American revolutionaries saw themselves establishing republican governments to be emulated elsewhere in the world. B. Nineteenth-century Americans saw it as their manifest destiny to populate the entire North American continent. C. In 1961 John F. Kennedy challenged Americans to put a man on the moon before the end of the decade. D. In 1990 Americans led the liberation of Kuwait against Iraq. E. All of these illustrates the City on a Hill concept.
Little Speech on Liberty
What do you think? Which of the following conceptions of liberty is best reflected in the U.S. Constitution? A. Civil Liberty B. Natural Liberty C. Both D. Neither because liberty is not a concern of the U.S. Constitution
Lockean Liberty
I give to my son, when he shall arrive to the age of fifteen years, Algernon Sidney s works, --John Locke s works,-- Lord Bacon s works,--gordon s Tacitus,--and Cato s Letters. May the spirit of Liberty rest upon him! -- Last Will and Testament of Josiah Quincy, Jr., 1774
Charles II The Restoration King is more careful
James II and William and Mary The Whigs The Glorious Revolution John Locke English Bill of Rights
The Second Treatise State of Nature Social Contract Natural Rights Consent Revolution
Lockean Liberty Locke s Argument (Second Treatise) Natural rights: life, liberty, property. State of nature may not preserve rights. Social compact leads to government. Government s only purpose: protect people s natural rights. Government based on consent. People can revolt if rights not preserved.
Glorious Revolution 1603-89 Number of divine right rulers Threat of returning to Catholicism Early Whig or republican opposition grows Inspired by liberalism 1689: William and Mary Parliament freely elected body free debate Declaration of Rights 1690: Locke s Two Treatises of Government
iclicker Question What would not be a feature of a Lockean world that American colonists would begin to create? A. Bills of Rights. B. Government by consent. C. Popular participation in politics. D. None of the above: All would be features of a Lockean world.
Summary Shift from one definition where freedom is found in the community to another definition where freedom is defined by the individual. Effort to ground rights and liberty in Nature and Reason. Enlightenment legacy Provides the means to construct a government controlled by the people and where rights are protected by government.
Questions for the Ages How to resolve dilemma between tyranny and anarchy? What are human beings really like? What is the true nature of freedom... individual liberty v. social order? What forms of government are helpful? Destructive? When and how should humans come together as political society?