The political ideology of the puritans

The political ideas of the puritans are representative for the colonial age of American history. The puritans are perceived both negatively and positively. Depending on this perception, there are two different perspectives upon their political thinking. First, it was said that puritans in America had a consistently bad reputation. And there are a number of reasons for this. The term puritanical became synonymous for intolerance. They were perceived as a very unpleasant community. According to a literary, puritans were a people who killed Indians and established a selfsufficient religion and politics that highly determined the entire American ideology. Another reason for this misconception is their religious commitment to a kind of non-secular (sacred) dream, a dream which eventually transformed a certain intolerant thinking into political thinking. This dream, which is today considered the American dream, emerged from a puritan tradition of thinking the political. The term puritan itself may be understood, as a reference to a tendency within the Church of England, to practice stricter discipline. The concept of discipline went to the very heart of the puritan experience. We can speak about the puritan tradition in America from the end of the 16th century up to the end of the 17 th century and the beginning of the 18th (roughly between 1555 and 1790s). One fact is decisive when explaining puritan thinking in politics, the fact that they transformed the theological language of the church into a political commitment. This shift is plainly visible around the 1730s. The puritan tradition in America was constituted from various branches. Usually, the Massachusetts bay colony is considered to be the heart of Puritanism. The first puritans were moderate people, who pleaded for nonseparation from the Church of England. The radicals were their friends, along with the pilgrims and others sects such as the Quakers and the Baptists. One can visualize the 17th century Christianity on a spectrum, placing the non-separating puritans in the middle, as moderates, on one side the Anglican and Catholic churches, and on the other side, Pilgrims, Quakers and Baptists.
Anglican/Catholic Church Pilgrims/Quakers/Baptists Puritans

|--------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------| All varieties of Protestantism believe that the world was a corrupt place, but one that could be reformed. This faith in reform became the central legacy of American Protestantism (or Puritanism) and the cornerstone of what became later the American Dream. There are several generations of American Protestants. The first generation insisted on a reform based on building a new society of believers. This fact was visible even in the 16 th century, in a classic by Thomas More, Utopia. According to Sir Thomas More, the beginning of political modernity, was connected with the opportunity to create a new society, that would lead to religious freedom and a communitarian approach towards property. Mores Utopia was an abstract thought experiment, but in the following century, more pragmatic utopians who were unhappy with the Church of England, moved toward acting on Mores suggestions. The first Protestants coming to America committed themselves to fulfilling their dream in the promise-land. The pilgrims who crossed the Atlantic are 1620 really did believe themselves to be the descendants of the tribes who wandered in the desert for 40 years after leaving Egypt and founding the nation of Israel. Their first attempt to separate from the Anglican or Catholic Church started from their sense of worldly prosperity. This first departure from the dogma of the Church made them rebels. This fact goes beyond their sense of religious mission. By believing in worldly prosperity, in a sense, they became masters of their own destiny. The most important work dedicated to the development of American Protestantism, focusing on American Puritanism, was written by Perry Miller, in a book called The New England mind in the 17 th century. The American Puritans descended from the Calvinist branch of Protestantism. The Calvinist dogma insisted on the fact that people on this Earth are predestined. Individual fates, according to Calvinism, were sealed from the moment of birth. There was absolutely nothing that people could do to affect their ultimate salvation or damnation, as the case may be. They could not know for sure where they were actually headed, and so, they had to live their lives hoping for signs that things could turn out for the best. Puritans followed this strict, Calvinist line. They also followed Calvinism in the way in which they reacted against the Roman-Catholic

practice of selling indulgencies, whereby the rich could buy forgiveness for their sins. On the one hand, the Puritans believed and acted as if a person could make a difference, in making the world a better place. On the other, they truly believed they were powerless to do anything, but follow the requests of God and his will. This created a paradox, representing accountability without power. They were responsible for their deeds in this world, without a real power, according to the dogma. To solve this tension, or dilemma, Puritans accepted the so-called doctrine of Preparationism, meaning that one could modify or change his or her faith, through certain specific actions. Such actions, for instance, were constituted by the doctrine of works. This doctrine of Preparationism means that Puritans would prepare rather than passively wait. This is synonymous, in political terms, that it is better to be represented, than governed. Many consider, that the concept of political representation emerged from the Puritan beliefs. Their thought on these matters is pragmatic, establishing a possibility of coexistence with the rigorous theological dogma. In simplest terms, they wanted freedom, both religious and civil. They considered that the religious and the secular are profoundly connected. In John Winthrops words, there is no genuine freedom, without subjection; the true freedom is that accepted by the Church. A devoted puritan would simultaneously be a member of the Church and a citizen. For Puritans, religious tolerance was out of the question. This fact did not infringe upon their democratic impulses of organizing civil society. The first town meetings, in the colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, were organized in the way that the Church meetings were put to work. That was the first sense of civil community, derived from the hierarchy and the organization of the Church. In conclusion, the emphasis of the Puritans on the possibility of selfimprovement, departed from the original Calvinist dogma. The doctrine of Preparationism was the first secular attempt to reject the severe doctrine of Predestination.

Political ideas in the Revolutionary period

After the dismissal of Puritanism in the United States, rationalist political ideas and more general deistic rationalism produced, both in Europe and in the United States, a new context. Some 30 years before the revolution, an important movement called the Great Awakening brought enlightenment into the United States. After 1750 in the United States, a new political context generated new political ideas and orientations. While the previous colonial governments in the age of Puritanism were founded upon the idea that the colonies should primarily function as trading partners, in the second half of the 18 th century, the French and Indian war that took place between 1754 and 1763 essentially modified the vision towards politics. Native Americans wanted to force all the colonists off their lands. The French settlers in America tried to enforce their territorial claims on the American continent. The British wanted an overall expansion of their empire and their treasury, and as such, they turned to taxation rules never before seen in America, and never accepted by the colonists. All these interests brought about the emergence of the American consciousness. The first move made by colonists, in order to protect their interests, was that of Benjamin Franklin, in his Albany Plan of 1754, in which Franklin proposed a meeting in Albany, New York. The meeting would focus on a debate on common interests. Because of colonial indifference, the plan failed. After the war, several acts were enforced in the colonies, in order to punish the colonists for their disloyalty. In 1764, the first important anti-colonial measure was implemented, that of the Sugar Act. The act imposed taxes on sugar, but also on wine. The second important act was the Stamp Act of 1765, imposing taxes on paper products brought to America. The Declaratory Act followed, establishing the domination of the British parliament over the colonies. One year later, 1767 the Townshend Acts imposed taxes on the import of glass, paint and paper. The first colonial reply to all of these Acts was the creation of an Organization named The Boston Tea Party. Events followed, beginning with the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, under the First Continental Congress. The second important event is the Declaration of Independence, adopted 2 years later in 1776, after the Second Continental Congress.

Both these events brought about a new American vocabulary in politics, and a new political theory. The American colonists formulated the new political theory as follows: - The first promoter of new political ideas in America was James Otis, a lawyer in Massachusetts, who wrote an important paper called The rights of the British colonies, asserted and proved in 1764; the most important idea of his article was that natural rights were beyond the British Parliaments reach; - The second important political thinker after Otis was John Dickinson; in response to the Townshend Acts, he wrote a series called Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania, in 1767 and 1768; he expressed similar themes; for the first time in the United States, he made the suggestion that a federal state was needed; - Samuel Adams was the third important thinker and revolutionary; he organized two institutions, Sons of Liberty and Boston Tea Party; he wrote an important pamphlet called The Rights of the Colonists, in 1772, insisting on the same idea of natural rights; - The fourth important political thinker was James Wilson; he wrote Considerations on nature and extent of the legislative authority of the British Parliament, which was published in 1774; he argued that the British Parliament had no right over the colonies, because the members of the parliament are not representatives of the colonists; he wrote that the colonies could not check the British Parliament, because its members were not elected or delegated by the colonists; - The next important thinker was Thomas Jefferson; he wrote a so-called Summer review on the rights of BritishAmericans in 1774, arguing the absence of representation; he asked the colonists for revolution; - Last, but not least, we have Thomas Paine; he was English by birth, and migrated to America, becoming the most important polemist for revolution; his most important works are: Common Sense in 1776, a pamphlet sold in 500.000 copies, The American Crisis of 1783, in which he asked Americans to continue their struggle, and The Rights of Men in 1791; because of his last work, which criticized French conservatism, he was imprisoned until 1802; he died in New York in 1809, with no friends and no money, after a life of misery Thomas Paines The Common Sense stirred up the American views on politics. The words in the title were frequently used by the

Scottish enlightened philosophers. Thomas Paine appealed to common sense, to make political principles actionable. These words were used as a political call for action, not in a philosophical sense. The most important themes of his work were: - respect for natural law and natural rights; the natural law in America was inspired by the British empiricism of the 17 th century; this tradition was visible in the work of Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, a tradition insisting that the rights of men should not be affected by politics; they are natural just because they are intimately connected with the human nature; they are transcendental or, alternatively, they are created by God; - human reason reveals the centrality of human liberty and equality; - reason dictates that government must be limited and grounded on consent; - any legitimate government must be re-elected periodically; Federalists and Anti-Federalists The Declaration of Independence of 1776 was important from the point of view of creating a government. Earlier, in England, during the 17th century, the English philosopher John Locke argued that God distinguished humans from animals by giving them natural rights, so that nobody could infringe these rights. He argued that these rights should be articulated in a constitution. An important feature of the Declaration resides in the justification of the Revolution. The Declaration listed 27 examples of the abuse of power exercised of the British government.

By 1787, the leaders of the 13 states had developed their own political culture, consisting in the following principles: - there should be minimal government interference in peoples lives - there should be a freedom of speech and religion - each state should preserve its independence, especially in the sense of preserving traditions and identity

- no-one should have too much power, and as such, there should be a separation of powers, each branch of government should be responsible (accountable), and general debate over political issues should be encouraged; In 1785, an event contributed to the future order of things. This was the border dispute between Maryland and Virginia. This event contributed to the convening of a constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787, with the specific attempt to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates of the convention elected George Washington as chairman and agreed upon a certain set of rules. Firstly, delegates from at least 7 from the 13 States had to be present for each meeting. Secondly, each state had one vote. Thirdly, a simple majority was required for all decisions. The decisions would be adopted for all 13 states, once 9 of them had ratified these decisions. At the constitutional convention, from its first meeting, there were two main areas of disagreement between the delegates. A harsh debate started when two plans confronted each-other (The Virginia plan and the New Jersey plan). The most important provisions of the Virginia plan were: 1.) 2.) 3.) they proposed a bicameral legislative power a strong executive, chosen by the legislator a national judiciary, also appointed by the legislator

The New Jersey plan proposed: 1.) a unicameral legislative power 2.) a weak executive, chosen by the legislator, and nondependant on the president 3.) a limited national judiciary, appointed by the executive The northerners supported a constitution that restricted slavery, while the southerners were not prepared to accept such a condition. These two plans resulted in a compromise, known as the Connecticut Compromise. 1.) the legislative was bicameral, with the lower chamber being structured upon the population criteria, and the upper chamber consisting from two members from each state 2.) regarding slavery, the compromise specified the socalled 3/5 Compromise;

The debate between Federalists and Anti-Federalists was led by representative figures, and consisted in written articles by statesmen, under pseudonyms of ancient philosophers; The first dominating view was that of the Anti-Federalists, and their position, their leader being Thomas Jefferson. Anti-Federalists expressed the following 5 arguments: 1.) a strong executive could develop into a tyrant 2.) a strong legislative, with the power of raising armies and imposing taxes, would be a tool for oppression 3.) separation of powers was not strict enough 4.) representation could only be effective if government was close to the people 5.) states rights would erode over time, as a strong national government would accumulate power In order to achieve their goals, they proposed a set of two fundamental reforms. First, representatives should have shorter terms in office, and second, a Bill of Rights should be added to the constitution. The second view, the one of the Federalists, was articulated by Hamilton, Jay and Madison. Hamilton was in fact the main author of the radical Federalist Papers. His articles supported the constitution, in the adopted form in the convention. He and other radical Federalists opposed the addition of the Bill of Rights, because, in Hamiltons own words, if we list a set of rights, some fools in the future are going to claim that people are entitled only to those rights enumerated, and no others. Madison, a moderate federalist, worked on a compromise between Hamilton and Jefferson. He considered that not necessarily a Bill of Rights should be added, but rather some mechanisms should be invented, for restricting discretionary power. He stood for 3 principles: - Federalism should not be understood as the concentration of power in the national government, but as an agreement between states and federal power; this was the principle of representation; - The second principle is that of Separation of Powers, according to which, each branch of government will be allocated specific powers;

- Last, but not least, the principle of Checks and Balances, according to which, each branch of government ensures that the others are acting according to their responsibilities; All these principles formulated by Madison can be found in the Constitution. For instance, under Article I of the constitution, Congress has the power to scrutinize the activity of the president. It can also agree or disagree to any treaty signed by the president, or counteract appointments made by him. Under Article III, even if the Supreme Court was given few constitutional powers, two practices at hand are given, namely Judicial Review and Judicial Interpretation, by which the national judiciary becomes an important branch of government. Under Article IV, the principle of federalism is reflected, in the way in which the states would continue to be responsible for most issues within their own borders.

Nationalism in the United States The background of nationalism is located in the time of Thomas Jeffersons presidency. Opposing to Hamiltons view of strong federalism, Jefferson and his allies proposed a version of moderate nationalism. After the election of Jefferson to office in 1801, a first split in the Republican Party can be noticed. The two factions were formed out of Hamiltons and Jeffersons allies. Jeffersons allies used to call themselves the Old Republicans. They feared strong federalism, but also feared the degeneration of the Republican principle, in the sense that they feared the consolidation of federal power over the states. The Old Republicans aimed their agrarian vision of republican society on an agrarian economy, and denounced bans. By 1808, fearing Madisons nationalism, which was modernist, the Old Republicans pushed for the nomination of James Monroe for president. However, Monroe was defeated in those elections by Madison. The real nationalist moment in the United States started with Madison, after 1809. During his second term in office, President Madison delivered the first nationalist message to Congress, in December 1815. Madison, who was also a moderate Republican, aiming for a compromise between Hamilton and Jefferson, set out his

recommendations for moderate nationalism. This doctrine involved such issues as: - the reduction of the army - a policy of national defense - the construction of a national bank - improvements in infrastructure, more specifically the building of roads and canals The Old Republicans of Jeffersons party opposed Madisons view of moderate nationalism, simply because they considered it to be progressive or too modernist. Madisons view upon nationalism inspired the young nationalists of the Republican Party, and these young nationalists were in fact the true founders of nationalism in America. They succeeded in translating Madisons vision into a precise legislative agenda. The young nationalists were John Quincy Adams, John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay. They are the true founders and authors of the nationalist doctrine in the United States. The first view was formulated by Calhoun. He formulated his views on nationalism during some famous speeches in The House, in 1816 and 1817. Because of his initiatives, President Monroe nominated him as his Secretary of War (between 1817 and 1824). Calhoun insisted that the bonds between states should be enforced. There was a need for unity. The United States should be prepared to face its next war. His focus was on a better system of defense. He also emphasized the protection of manufacturers, and as such, the abolition of the Protective Tariff. By 1817, his nationalism was shaped by 3 main issues: - national defense - national prosperity - binding the interests of the states After 1817, Calhoun completed his doctrine by promoting, in Congress, what was to be called the Bonus Bill, a bill concerning the creating of the future National Bank of the United States. At the end of Monroes second term in office, Calhoun revisited his initial doctrine of nationalism, and reformulated it as follows: First, nationalism meant rebuilding the army and fortifying the strategic points along the American frontiers, both on land and on the

sea. Second, he imagined and improved transportation network, in order to link those strategic points. Lastly, he insisted on the expansion of the American military power into the Trans-Mississippi west. Henry Clays nationalism is known under the label of the American Systems. At first, he worked with Calhoun for a common agenda of nationalist legislation. This is why Clays nationalism was very similar to that of Calhouns. He announced his nationalist agenda in a speech to the House of Representatives, in January 1816. The specific components of a nationalist program, according to Clay, were as follows: - there should be a strong military in America - some internal improvements were needed, such as the consolidation of the Union, facilitation of the internal trade and the increase of the wealth and the population of the United States All of these were parts of what Clay considered to be the American System. The real difference between Clay and Calhouns programs, on one hand, and Madisons, on the other, was a conflict over the nature of government. Madison considered that the success of nationalism in America was connected to improvements of the Republican Government. Calhoun and Clay took that improvement for granted, and they considered that national government was one step further. The third vision was formulated by John Quincy Adams. His views are very different from those of Clay and Calhoun. First, he considered that American nationalism was dependant upon the American prestige in the world (through the improvement of the Department of Foreign Affairs). Secondly, American nationalism should be promoted through education. In his view, a strong national government should promote education with the aim of pleading for a common cultural heritage of America. In order to succeed, John Quincy Adams advocated for the creation of a national university. Third, he referred to some specific internal improvements, focusing less on the issue of national defense, and more on the issue of internal trade. He shared the idea, together with Clay and Calhoun, that a system of roads and canals was needed in order to increase the efficiency of the internal trade. The fourth component of his nationalism was the idea of bounding Americans through religion. He thought that religion was an important part in consolidating a nation. The last important point in John Quincy Adams agenda was the creation of a strong navy, not for future wars, but to protect the American commerce on the seas.

JQA was not successful, however, in convincing Congress of his nationalist views. Clay and Calhoun were by far more successful in this regard. Egalitarianism in the United States, in the period of 1830-1865 The idea with egalitarianism was shaped by several intellectual movements in the America of the first half of the 19 th century. The most important of them are late enlightenment, transcendentalism and the Second Great Awakening. Late enlightenment insisted on rationalism and humanism. The most important work of this cultural movement is Thomas Paines work in 1794. Transcendentalism was a movement of New England intellectuals in the 30s. Transcendentalists insisted on the importance of mystical experience, and on the role of intuition in knowledge. Ralph Emerson was the most significant thinker of this movement. As for the Second Great Awakening, it was, in contrast with the First Great Awakening, a movement against rationalism. Women writers and critics of Protestantism highlighted the role of emotions.

These movements were important because of several reasons: They inspired certain political movements, among which intellectual movements, such as peace movements (which resulted in the creation of the American Peace society in 1828); The Seneca Falls Convention in New York, founded by Lucretia Mott and Elisabeth Stanton in 1848, was a movement for the promotion of Womens rights, has its foundation in these cultural movements; this convention issued the so-called Womens Declaration of Independence Abolitionism also has its roots in this period, focusing mostly on abolishing slavery; the creation of the American Anti-Slavery Society was born in this period, more exactly in 1838; the movement was fueled by a newspaper, The Liberator, founded in 1831 by William Lloyd Garrison; one of its prominent editors, Elijah Lovejoy, was murdered by a mob, in 1837, in Illinois; as a result of this murder, the House of Representatives adopted the so-called Gag Rule, in order to block abolitionist petitions;

Due to these events, several compromises took place during the 1850s. The first is the compromise of 1850, containing 5 bills: - the state of California would enter the Union as a free state

the territory of New Mexico was created, and the Texas border was set the Utah territory was created, with the specification of popular vote could decide upon its admittance as a free state the slave trade was abolished in the district of Columbia, in Washington DC a new fugitive slave law was enacted

The Kansas-Nebraska of 1854, postponed the Civil War by approximately 10 years. Its a bill introduced by the famous senator of Illinois, Steven Douglas. According to this bill, slavery in these two territories would be determined by popular vote. Another important even was created by the decision of the Supreme Court, in the case of Dred Scott, in 1857, according to which, AfricanAmericans had no rights, because they were not citizens of the United States. This decision of the Supreme Court maintained property rights of Whites of Blacks, even by violent means. It also established that Congress had no right in abolishing slavery within a certain territory. There was also a split of political parties because of this issue. Two new parties were formed, namely the Green Soil Party and the Know-Nothing Party. Two other events of the 50s contributed to the egalitarian movements of the period. The first important event was the publication of Uncle Toms Cabin, by Henry Stowe, depicting the bad condition of the slaves in the United States. It also highlighted the tensions between North and South. The second event was a series of controversies between senators Abraham Lincoln and Steven Douglas, on the issue of slavery. The most important political document, and one of the causes of the Civil War, was called The Ordinance of Succession, and was adopted by South Carolinas Convention, on the 20 th of December, 1860. In the declaration of causes, South Carolinas representatives blamed the election of a sectional president, hostile to slavery. The document clarified, that by the end of February, 1861, 6 Southern states would secede the Union. The succession of Texas came through a referendum, while 4 upper-south states, namely Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and North-Carolina, rejected succession, developing high prounion sympathies. Romanticism in the American Politics

In the period between 1820 and 1860, two concurrent views upon the political prevail in the United States. The first perspective is that of the nationalists, which also highly influenced the egalitarian perspective in the United States. The second is the romantic perspective. Romanticism was predominantly a literary movement. There are strong arguments for stressing the connections between romanticism and politics. The guiding principles of American Romanticism are somewhat derived from Europe. These ideas included, but were not limited to, the importance of learning from the mistakes of the past or the preservation of nature. Romanticism was linked with a group of British writers known as the Romantics, including William Blake, Samuel Coleridge and Thomas Wordsworth. The American Romanticism came with approximately half a century later. The first collection of important works was given by the intellectuals attempting to develop a sense of national pride. The first important romantic writers in the 20s were Washington Irving and James F. Cooper. Part of the new American literary tradition emerged as an attempt to encourage nationalistic expression in America. One of the most important examples in this sense was Ralph Emerson. He inspired important writers, such as Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne, to stimulate the understanding of American history and politics. Probably, his most important follower was Henry David Thoreau. The political ideas of the romantics revolved around several important topics. For instance, Melvilles The Tartarus of Maids is a short-story about women confronted with deplorable working conditions in factories. In The paradise of bachelors, Melville compared the lower and upper class, and men and women. American Romanticism also reacted against the continued requirement of land westward, typified by the acquisition of California in 1848. They were against the industrial progress, or the building of railroads and the extension of infrastructure along the Mississippi river. No issue was more important to the romanticists, than the issue of slavery. In fact, romanticism made it imperative for its representatives to speak out against the issue of slavery, as well as the poor treatment of the American-Indians. Probably, the Last of the Mohicans was one of the most critical works touching the subject of the NativeAmericans treatment by the American government.

Other abolitionist works are F. Douglass The narrative of the life of Friedrich Douglas, an American Slave and H.B. Stowes Uncle Toms Cabin. As for theoretical contributions, the most prominent romanticist theories created the transcendentalist movement. This movement focused on individualism. It grew, in part, out of a rejection of Calvinism and generally American Protestantism, best exemplified by Emersons stepping down from his position as a Unitarian Minister. A famous sermon given by Emerson explained the abandonment of his particular religious practices. The creative individual, Emerson stated, would be liberated primarily by the rejection of materialism. There was a risk of understanding individualism in terms of anarchism. It was also feared, that America had no voice or culture of its own, but by 1865, Americans were characterized as the most individualistic people on Earth. American Exceptionalism Nr. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Creator
Winthrop Crevecoeur John Quincy Adams Perry Miller Lerner Jefferson Lincoln Potter Turner

Myth
city upon a hill the new man original compact errand into the wilderness uniqueness of American experience empire of liberty hope of earth American opportunity American frontier

Socialism in America
The main political movements are usually associated with two reformist attempts at the end of the 19 th century and in the first two decades of the 20th century. A populist party in America was founded in 1892. The socialist movement was best exemplified in the political reforms of the NonPartisan League, founded in 1915. These two parties (the Populist and Socialist) contributed to the emergence of leftist ideas in the United States. However, these two traditions didnt survive. The Populist Party declined after the

democrats lost the elections of 1896. The Non-Partisan League lost its influence for 7 years, from 1915 to 1922, and then developed into a minor and local movement, called the Farmer-Labor Party of Minnesota. Both Populists and later Socialists believed in the old fashion way of organizing politics and society. They tried to put to work the Jacksonian concerns about the control of credit and money. Also, the basic civil reforms in the glorious age of the civil rights movement (1865-1875), inspired not only racial consciousness, but also class consciousness. The concept to class consciousness is central for the socialist agenda. It was first proposed by Karl Marx, and popularized in English especially by Engels, and even at the end of the 19th century, class consciousness can be found in the doctrines of the German Social-Democrats. Populists and socialists also revisited the 18th and 19th centurys utopian socialism, and one of the major influences of socialism in America, was to be found in the English Fabian socialism. Led by a North-Dakota farmer named Townley, the Non-Partisan League quickly became a force. The Non-Partisan League started from seriously considering the roots of the word socialism, coming from the Latin word socius, meaning friend and deriving from the time before the Roman Republic. Authentic socialism is not Leninism, Maoism or Stalinism. It was not revolutionary in the proper sense of the word. Edward Bellamys book, Looking Backwards was in a sense, a Bible for the North-Dakota farmers. Bellamy proposed the nationalization of the credit, and the creation of the public central bank. He strongly believed in the cooperative commonwealth. The socialist movement opposed war, in fact they reacted against the involvement of the United States in the first World War. Names like Charles Lindbergh, Debs or LaFollette were all part of the League. Two main red-scare movements were directed against socialists, that took place first in the period between 1919 and 1920, and the second and more radical in its orientation, the McCarthy movement, where socialists were persecuted, and Eugene Debs was imprisoned. The 5-point platform represented movement in the United States. the most important socialist

It referred to the formula of the people, for the people, by the people, understanding that the possibility of controlling the national credit and banking system was crucial. The second point concerned the fact that the American people should move for immediate legislation, to cancel all international debt, owed by any nation to international banks. The government should dismantle all military aspects and the industrial sector should be converted towards the pressing needs of the country Americans should consider the issue of land reform and move to liberate the millions of acres that were given to railroad corporations, in violation of the Homestead Act of 1862 Finally, Americans must begin to learn how to live on the earth in a manner that does not destroy

Liberalism and Conservatism in America Liberalism, as a political doctrine, is a secular attempt to define politics. While the religious view appears to be essential to the conservative thought, the political doctrine of liberalism insists on the determination of politics based on human political achievements. Observation and experience are central to the liberal doctrine, in the sense that the way in which the political and economical are experienced determines the future orientations of individuals. The progress of politics, according to liberals, is possible through new acquisitions of truths, so that liberalism is an empirical political doctrine, not a theoretical, utopian or metaphysical one. Liberalism emphasizes on 3 basic principles: the particular is more important than the general observable facts are more valuable than principles experience is more relevant than rational speculation

Some political scientists made a principle distinction between classical European liberalism, which is essentially an economic doctrine, and American liberalism, which is primarily political. According to this distinction, American liberalism originated from the double heritage of religious Puritanism and classic Republicanism. Its first modern expression was the constitutional theory, that was a new science of politics, appeared in the Constitution of 1787 - 1791. It was to be found in Thomas Jeffersons conception of society, as well as in

the political agenda and practice of his presidency, but also in Andrew Jacksons understanding of the concept of liberal democracy. Jeffersons liberal vision, which linked political freedom, democratic participation and economic independence to the prospect of prosperity was later to be called the promise of the American dream. In the Jacksonian era, Jeffersons utopia came to an end. Instead of a growing individualism, this era led to a populist radicalization. The main demands of Jeffersons and Jacksons followers for a frugal government (political minimalism) had been an expression of the belief that society would generate a just and harmonious order by itself. According to this kind of utopian liberalism, state interventions in the name of industrial or market interests would inscribe a structure of privileges and disturb the natural balance of society. The principle of laissez-faire was no more than the economical reduced form of an originally, much more comprehensive political model of society. Arthur Schlesinger Jr., one of the most important theorists of contemporary liberalism, noted that liberalism more easily recognized for what it is not, than for what it is. One of the most comprehensive comparisons between liberalism and conservatism was formulated by Emerson. According to him, the basic difference between conservatism and liberalism is that between the party of the past and the party of the future. The most debated work of American liberalism was written by Louis Hartz, in The American liberal tradition. According to him, there has only been one philosophical tradition in American, that of liberalism. Assuming that Hartzs analysis is largely correct, it can be argued that conservatism in America is simply one version of the predominant political philosophy of liberalism. This can be demonstrated by studying the classical doctrine of conservatism. Conservatism is based on the political theories of Edward Burke. His Reflections of the revolution in France published in 1791, argued that for a common theoretical background of the doctrine. On the other hand, classical liberalism was based on the work of John Locke. There are 6 basic principles of conservatism: a divine intent rules society traditional life is filled with variety and mystery civilized societies require orders and classes property and freedom are inseparably connected man should control his will and his desires, knowing that he is governed more by emotion than by reason

societies must alter slowly

Russell Kirks the Conservative mind is still valued as the most important book for the American conservative mindset. He argued, contrary to Hartz, that the conservative elements of political thinking existed since the founding of the Republic. He also considered Jefferson and his followers to be the true founders of American conservatism. He argued that the traditional view of America was best embodied in Jeffersons political agenda. Today, many American citizens tend to describe themselves as conservative, American intellectuals and historians, until recent times, tended to view conservatism as an exotic European import. Conservative values such as status, stability, tradition, order, community and authority are not features of American politics and society, rather, American politics, ideologically speaking, were and still are characterized, by capitalism, industrialism, individualism, massdemocracy, social fluidity and egalitarianism, which are the core of liberal values. The principle distinction between liberalism and conservatism in America is sometimes difficult to establish. Walter Lippmann stated that the understanding of any political doctrine in America is dependant on the witnesses of liberalism, so that general misunderstandings of the liberal doctrine generated the possibility of understanding other political doctrines as completing the doctrine of liberalism. Until the late 1960s, the opinion according to which liberalism was the singular political doctrine in America prevailed. After 1970, this view failed. The reality is that the most important political parties in America use both the liberal and the conservative ideology in order to justify their political agenda. It is very difficult to establish what political party is more liberal than the other. In fact, one might say that he or she shares liberal values in politics, and conservative ones in economics, or the other way around. The classical ideologies of conservatism and liberalism are clearly delineated.

Important books in liberalism Author Hayek Popper Berlin Hayek Rawles Nozick Title The road to selfdom Open society and its enemies Two concepts of liberty The constitution of liberty A theory of justice Anarchy, state and utopia Year 1944 1945 1958 1960 1971 1974

Important books in conservatism Author Kirk Viereck Rossiter Nisbet Huntington Will Title The conservative mind Conservatism revisited Conservatism in America The sociological tradition Year 1953 1949 1955 1966

As a political philosophy, liberalism is by definition against conservatism, first of all, because liberalism starts with the assumption that human societies are formed by individuals upon the basis of rational decision. Governments and societies arise as a result of rational consent, out of the state of nature. The philosophy is distinct from the conservative one. John Lockes Second treaties on government is liberal in spirit, because it opposes the political tradition of authoritarian monarchy. On the contrary, the basic works of the conservative mindset, are writings which understand that certain fundamental aspects of life are given, that there is a tradition to be followed and that there are unquestionable hierarchies. Even if a conservative philosophy believed in traditional authority, the conservatives share, with liberals, a fundamental view of a free-market economy. Both doctrines are mistrustful of central state power. But, even if both doctrines insist on the same dogma (that of the free

market), they do it differently. While liberalism usually associates free market economy individual political rights and the defeat of traditional forms of authority, the conservatives conceive the free market dogma in pure economic terms. There is nothing political to be involved. Moreover, in the 20th century, because of this association between politics and economy, liberalism justified the doctrine of the welfare state, which of course, the conservatives rejected. Some political scientists insist in fact on a difference between two versions of liberalism, conservatism being conceived as a different kind of liberalism. This is probably because liberalism is the most ambiguous and complex political doctrine. At least 3 versions of liberalism can be taken into consideration: - classical liberalism - progressive liberalism, which is political - libertarianism The major difference between the two can be best understood as a philosophical concept on what is best for society. The first believe that society can be changed for the better, and that government can be a positive force in achieving a better society. Conservatives essentially believe that the values that people have developed in time are essential in maintaining a decent society. In American politics, this basic philosophical difference is clearly demonstrated in 3 general areas: 1.) On the issue of government regulation of businesses, liberals believe that the government should intervene in the economy, to protect businesses, as private initiatives, and to promote economic equality, understood as equality of opportunity; Conservatives, on the other hand, believe that the free market works best without government interference; 2.) The issue of government social welfare programs, where liberals believe that governments should provide assistance to the poor, through programs like Medic-Aid, food stamps, minimum wage, and so on; conservatives believe that individuals should provide for themselves, or, if they cannot, private charities should help the needy; 3.) Lastly, social issues, where liberals believe that traditional values restrict the rights of some minorities; on the contrary, conservatives are hesitant to see traditional values set aside; In conclusion, liberals would like to see governments taking an active role in changing societies, for the better. Conservatives, on the other

hand, would like to preserve (or conserve) what was good in traditional values.