John Adams's republic : the one, the few, and the many / Richard Alan Ryerson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ryerson, Richard Alan, 1942- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Adams, John, 1735-1826.

Adams, John.

Adams, John, 1735-1826--Political and social views.

Presidents--United States--Biography.

Presidents.

Political and social views.

United States.

United States--Politics and government--1775-1783.

Politics and government.

United States--Politics and government--1783-1809.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xii, 555 pages ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016.

Summary:

Scholars have examined John Adams's writings and beliefs for generations, but no one has brought such impressive credentials to the task as Richard Alan Ryerson in John Adams's Republic. The editor-in-chief of the Massachusetts Historical Society's Adams Papers project for nearly two decades, Ryerson offers readers of this magisterial book a fresh, firmly grounded account of Adams's political thought and its development. Of all the founding fathers, Ryerson argues, John Adams may have worried the most about the problem of social jealousy and political conflict in the new republic. Ryerson explains how these concerns, coupled with Adams's concept of executive authority and his fear of aristocracy, deeply influenced his political mindset. He weaves together a close analysis of Adams's public writings, a comprehensive chronological narrative beginning in the 1760s, and an exploration of the second president's private diary, manuscript autobiography, and personal and family letters, revealing Adams's most intimate political thoughts across six decades.

Contents:

Introduction: the evolution of a distinctive republican vision

Part I. Adams moves to the center

A provincial reverence for the British Constitution, 1735-1767

The discovery of the republic, 1768-1772

Realm versus dominion, 1773-1774

From imperial dominion to autonomous republic, 1774-1775

Building a republican orthodoxy, 1775-1776

Part II. Adams on his own

Defending executive authority, 1775-1779

An education in American aristocracy, 1775-1783

Redefining the republican tradition, 1784-1787

John Adams's republic in republican America, 1787-1800

A retrospective retirement, 1801-1826

Conclusion: memory and desire in revolutionary politics.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Electronic version: Ryerson, Richard Alan, 1942- John Adams's republic.

ISBN:

9781421419220

142141922X

OCLC:

917888414