For the People: American Populist Movements from the Revolution to the 1850sFor the People offers a new interpretation of populist political movements from the Revolution to the eve of the Civil War and roots them in the disconnect between the theory of rule by the people and the reality of rule by elected representatives. Ron Formisano seeks to rescue populist movements from the distortions of contemporary opponents as well as the misunderstandings of later historians. From the Anti-Federalists to the Know-Nothings, Formisano traces the movements chronologically, contextualizing them and demonstrating the progression of ideas and movements. Although American populist movements have typically been categorized as either progressive or reactionary, left-leaning or right-leaning, Formisano argues that most populist movements exhibit liberal and illiberal tendencies simultaneously. Gendered notions of "manhood" are an enduring feature, yet women have been intimately involved in nearly every populist insurgency. By considering these movements together, Formisano identifies commonalities that belie the pattern of historical polarization and bring populist movements from the margins to the core of American history. |
Contents
2 The American Revolution and the AntiFederalist Legacy | 19 |
3 The Taming of the American Revolution | 43 |
4 The Rise of New Social Movements | 65 |
A New Kind of Populist Movement | 91 |
Progressive and Reactionary | 117 |
7 AntiMasonry the Parties and the Changing Public Sphere | 141 |
Other editions - View all
For the People: American Populist Movements from the Revolution to the 1850s Ronald P. Formisano No preview available - 2008 |
Common terms and phrases
abolitionists American Politics American Revolution Anti Anti-Federalists Anti-Masons Anti-Rent Anti-Renters Antimasonic Party antislavery artisans banks Boston candidate Chapel Hill Charterite Christian Republic citizens Conley County court Democracy in Decline Democratic Democratic-Republican Societies Dorr Papers Dorr Rebellion Dorr’s Early Republic economic egalitarian election electoral elite evangelical farmers Federalist Formisano Freemasonry Genesee County Goodman governor historians History Huston ibid insurgencies Jackson Jacksonian Jacksonian Democracy John Know-Nothings Kutolowski labor Land and Freedom landlords legislative legislature manhood Masonry Masons Massachusetts McCurdy Men’s Middling Interest National nativist North Carolina Press numbers organized Oxford University Press Pennsylvania People’s people’s sovereignty Political Culture popular populism populist movements Protestant quotation radical reactionary reform regarding Regulators religious Republican Revolutionary rhetoric Rhode Island Rochester Seward social societies state’s suffrage suffragists tenants Thurlow Weed tion towns Transformation of Political University of North Vaughn Vermont vote voters Weed Papers Whig Party Whiskey Rebellion William women Workingmen York