Revolutionary America

Revolutionary America

The Establishment of a New Social Order: Early Republic Period in America (ca. 1789-1830)

After the American Revolution, America as a newly-independent nation faced numerous challenges, primary of which is the establishment of a new social order that shall maintain the principles of freedom and democracy that it had fought strongly against the British colonizers. In an attempt to provide "guidelines" through which Americans can establish an orderly and ideally, egalitarian, nation, documents, legal, practical, and literary in their nature, were written, centering on important social issues such as development of a social community, education in general, and female education.

These themes are reflected in the works of Americans who have taken it as their responsibility to provide their fellow Americans a detailed account of how the nation struggled to create a new social order -- a nation with a structured and systematic society, educational system, and political system. In this paper, documents written by Americans in the country's early republic period are discussed, focusing the discussion and analysis on these areas (society establishment, education, and political leadership). Through these essays and literary texts, this paper posits that early republican America, as a nation, struggled with its own definition of education, leadership, and society, wherein the American authors sought to create these definitions and descriptions in light of the principles of freedom and democracy that is the foundation of the newly-independent nation.

The theme of society establishment is best illustrated in the work of Thomas Jefferson entitled, "Notes on the State of Virginia." It is through this detailed account of the establishment of Virginian society that readers will have a glimpse of the dynamics of nation-building occurring in America during the 18th century.

More than just a collection of "notes" about Virginia, Jefferson's work focuses mainly on the important features of the state. One will have the impression that "Notes" serve as a travelogue-cum-fact book about the state, describing its geographical features, industries, economic potential and landscape, physical environment, social landscape, the state's history, and political system and structure.

The latter feature is perhaps one of the most important notes included in Jefferson's work. It is through his discussion of the state's Constitution that American history is truly reflected in a progressing narrative, starting from the state's establishment as a British colony until the time it gained independence -- with all of America -- from British rule. Jefferson recognized the need to establish a political system and government within the country; thus, Virginian Constitution served as a 'guide,' positing that the state constitution "was the first too which formed in the whole United States. No wonder then that time and trial have discovered very capital defects init [sic]" (244). These "defects," as claimed by Jefferson, include the lack of representativeness of Americans in the government, and the "unequal shares" of representation among the country's citizens. This important detail in "Notes" serves as the ground that helped America re-frame its Constitution in accordance, not only on the principles of democracy and freedom, but more importantly, on the Constitution and government's ability to achieve political representativeness.

Education is also another concern that the new nation sought to develop and implement. Education is a social system in itself, influencing the landscape of society, defining a nation's people based on the kind of education available to them. In looking over the important documents on the educational systems established during the inception of an independent America, Benjamin Rush's works provided a "glimpse" into the dynamics of education taking place in American society during the late 18th to mid-19th centuries.

Benjamin Rush wrote two important documents discussing issues on the educational system in America. One document focused on the issue of the public school system, and the other centered on the issue of female education.

In "A plan for the establishment of public schools," Rush proposed that an effective educational system will be established in the country if this educational system will be based on religion. In arguing his point, Rush posited that this need is based on the fact that the new nation needs education that will help the youth develop holistically and more importantly, with morals. It is through Christianity that the author found the answer to the nation's problem of educating its youth, stating:

the only foundation for a useful education in a republic is to be laid in RELIGION. Without this, there can be no virtue, and without virtue there can be no liberty, and liberty is the object and life of all republican governments...the religion I men to recommend in this place, is the religion of Jesus Christ.

Ultimately, in proposing the establishment of the public school educational system in the country, Rush also proposes a government that puts religion at a significant place in its policy-making and nation-building. Rush's work reveals the nature of Americans during its early republican state: they relied heavily on religion as their primary guidance in creating a morally upright society, while maintaining the tenets of democracy and freedom that must be known of America as a nation and independent country.