Reading about state constitutions in the Republican Experiments section of Chapter 8 was eye-opening. It set me thinking of how reluctantly people in the mass change their worldviews. Actually, I have known that “the new state constitutions retained the basic form of their old colonial governments” [See US: A Narrative History, p. 129]. However, this fact looks particularly frustrating in the background of development and reformation described in the chapter.
Another thing that impressed me was the upsetting conflicts between the newly created states, “as if foreign intrigues were not divisive enough” [See US: A Narrative History, p. 132]. Although I have always realized that boundary demarcation can hardly go smoothly, it is painful to read that people theoretically united by a common goal had conflicts about territory. I consider such disputes not simply senseless, but harmful as they put solidarity and further development at risk.
On the contrary, I was pleased to read the section under the title “Republican Society” that describes new men as well as women of the revolution. I particularly agree with Benjamin Rush’s statement that “only educated and independent-minded women could raise the informed and self-reliant citizens” [See US: A Narrative History, p. 138]. It was a welcome surprise for me to learn that the first steps towards female emancipation in the USA had been made as early as the turn of the nineteenth century.
The final section entitled “From Confederation to Constitution” is cheering and motivating due to the display of the results persistence bears. “As the heatwave broke, so did the political stalemate,” and the Constitution was signed and passed [See US: A Narrative History, p. 141]. Also, the section provides useful detail I have never been aware of regarding how the supreme law would be possible to change.
Reference
Davidson, J. W., DeLay, B., Hermann, Ch. L., & Lytle, M. H. (2018). U.S.: A narrative history (8th ed.). (Vol. 1: To 1877). McGraw-Hill Education.