On the two-hundredth anniversary of George Washington's 1796 Farewell Address - one of the most influential but misunderstood expressions of American political thought - this book places the Address in the full context of American history and explains its enduring relevance for the next century. Generations of American political leaders have invoked the authority of the Address to shape foreign and domestic policy. With discussions about national character and personal responsibility dominating the current political landscape, there has been a resurgence of interest in the character of the nation's founders, particularly Washington's. The authors show how the Address expressed Washington's ideas for forming a national character that would cultivate the habits, morals, and civic virtues essential for stable republican self-government. An insightful and provocative analysis of the past, present, and future of American democracy and its most important citizen, this book will be of value to anyone concerned about the current state of American citizenship and the future role of the federal government.
Chapter 1. How Orthodoxy Made the Puritans Practical
Chapter 2. The Sermon as an American Institution
Chapter 3. Search for a New England Way
Chapter 4. Puritan Conservatism
Chapter 5. How Puritans Resisted the Temptation of Utopia
Chapter 6. The Quest for Martyrdom
Chapter 7. Trials of Governing: The Oath
Chapter 8. Trials of Governing: Pacifism
Chapter 9. How Quakers Misjudged the Indians
Chapter 11. The Curse of Perfectionism
Chapter 12. The Altruism of an Unheroic Age
Chapter 13. London Blueprint for Georgia Utopia
Chapter 15. Death of a Welfare Project
Chapter 16. The Perils of Altruism
Chapter 17. English Gentlemen, American Style
Chapter 18. From Country Squire to Planter Capitalist
Chapter 19. Government by Gentry
Chapter 20. A Republic of Neighbors
Chapter 21. “Practical Godliness”: An Episcopal Church Without Bishops
Chapter 22. “Practical Godliness”: Toleration Without a Theory
Chapter 23. Citizens of Virginia
Chapter 24. Wanted: A Philosophy of the Unexpected
Chapter 25. The Appeal to Self-Evidence
Chapter 26. Knowledge Comes Naturally
Chapter 27. The Natural-History Emphasis
Chapter 28. The Community Enters the University
Chapter 29. Higher Education in Place of Higher Learning
Chapter 30. The Ideal of the Undifferentiated Man
Chapter 31. The Fluidity of Professions
Chapter 32. The Unspecialized Lawyer
Chapter 33. The Fusion of Law and Politics
Chapter 34. Nature-Healing and Simple Remedies
Chapter 35. Focus on the Community
Chapter 36. The General Practitioner
Chapter 37. Learning from Experience
Chapter 38. Popular Science: Astronomy for Everybody
Chapter 39. Naïve Insights and Ingenious Devices: Electricity
Chapter 41. An American Accent
Chapter 42. Quest for a Standard
Chapter 43. Culture by the Book: The Spelling Fetish
Chapter 44. “Rays Diverging from a Focus”
Chapter 45. Boston’s “Devout and Useful Books”
Chapter 46. Manuals for Plantation Living
Chapter 47. The Way of the Marketplace: Philadelphia
Chapter 48. Poetry Without Poets
Chapter 49. The Decline of the Book
Chapter 50. The Rise of the Newspaper
Chapter 51. Why Colonial Printed Matter Was Conservative
Chapter 52. “The Publick Printer”
Chapter 53. Defensive Warfare and Naïve Diplomacy
Chapter 54. Colonial Militia and the Myth of Preparedness
Chapter 55. Home Rule and Colonial “Isolationism”
Chapter 56. The Unprofessional Soldier