The Origins of American Politics

This brief book is the text of 3 lectures delivered by Bailyn in the late 1960s. The title is a little misleading, as it may lead readers to expect a description of the origins of our present political system. The book is actually concerned with how pre-Revolutionary politics generated the Revolution. Because of the format, Bailyn produced 3 concise analyses of key issues leading up to the American Revolution. The first lecture is essentially a summary of his superb "The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution", describing the ideology of the Revolutionaries. The second lecture is a structural analysis of politics in the colonies demonstrating their common elements and causes of political turbulence in the colonies. The third lecture shows how the combination of this particular ideology, the unstable structure of colonial politics/governence, and the specific series of events in the mid-18th century set the stage for the revolution.
In lecture one, Bailyn describes the basic ideology of the Revolutionaries. The main element of this ideology was a set of political concepts inherited from the 17th century as transmitted and interpreted by 18th dissenting political theorists. This description is solid and very interesting but pales by comparison with the brilliant scholarship and analysis of Bailyn's book on this subject. In the second lecture, Bailyn provides an interesting structural analysis of why colonial politics were perpetually unstable. In all colonies, the formal structure of government was supposed to reproduce the constitutional structure of Britain with the governers as royal substitutes, appointed councils as equivalents of the House of Lords, and elected bodies as the equivalents of the Commons. What the Colonies lacked were the informal networks of deference and patronage that guaranteed stability in Britain. The broad franchise and lack of a native aristocracy made it impossible to reproduce the British model. Bailyn shows in the third lecture how British attempts to impose their will, an set of expectations based on the British experience, were resisted by the colonists. These conflicts were then interpreted as fundamental constitutional assaults because the prevailing ideology in the Colonies was the oppositional idea propagated by critics of the British state.
This brief and clearly written book provides an excellent scheme for understanding the genesis of the Revolution.

Bailyn complements furthers his study of 18th century America by examining the political history of the colonies. He spends ample time discussing the political environment of each colony, with a special eye on conflicts and controversies. A major theme throughout is the conflict between the elective houses of the legislatures and the Crown appointed office of Governor. He documents individual cases such John Peter Zenger's famous trial and the King's College crisis in New York. Lastly, he pays special attention to the ideological proclivities of Americans. He gives special attention to the pervasive influence of Trenchard and Gordon's magnificent "Cato's Letters," as well as the politicla writings of Lord Bolingbroke. Ultimately, it is a subtle and overly stimulating piece of scholarship. Highly recommended

This book, along with Bailyn;s masterpiece, "The Idealogical Origins of the American Revolution," forms the perfect set for anyone interested in the ideas and history of 18th century America. In this volume, the origins of American political ideas and institutions are revealed with perfect lucidity. A fascinating read.