ebooks A Sovereign People: The Crises of the 1790s and the Birth of American Nationalism by Carol Berkin in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Important readBy Chris GrahamThis book explains how the nation came to be. It is an important read. Citizens need to know where we came from.It will be helpful to where we are going. I really liked this book.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Another winning Berkin bookBy MMillerAs usual Carol Berkin is an incredible historian and storyteller!3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Berkin argues that men like Washington; Hamilton and Adams who called themselves Federalists ...By Mark LuIn A Sovereign People; Carol Berkin has produced a timely -- and very readable -- antidote to a modern attitude in America in which she says we have seen; "an ebbing of confidence in government's capacity to play a positive role;" and in which nationalism; "has become closely associated with a call for limited government; and patriotism often takes the form of jingoism and empty chauvinism."While many today who call for limited government often invoke the Founding Fathers to support their positions; Berkin argues that men like Washington; Hamilton and Adams who called themselves Federalists were in spirit nationalists who were convinced that; "a strong government representing all the people of the Republic was the surest path to economic growth and prosperity; to civil law and order; and to winning the respect and recognition from foreign nations..." She contends that; while the Constitution laid the foundation for such an effective government; the acceptance of the authority of federal government grew slowly; and she traces that growth through four pivotal "crises" of the 1790s.First was the Whiskey Rebellion of 1792-94 which challenged the authority of the government to tax its citizens. George Washington; through force of character -- and force of arms -- succeeded in convincing Americans to accept that authority. Second; was the Genet Affair where France essentially attempted to foment a populist movement among Americans to enlist the United States in France's war against England. Federalist resistance to this foreign attempt to interfere with American policy cemented the notion that foreign diplomacy rested in the hands of the executive of the federal government. Third was the famous XYZ affair of 1798 in which France attempted to strong-arm three diplomats sent to France by Adams into paying bribes and loans. The resulting backlash to this insult to America's honor helped create the feeling that Americans were citizens of a unified nation; not of individual states. The fourth crisis was one of Federalists' own making when they passed the Alien and Sedition Acts in an effort to silence the partisan press and impose tighter control on immigration. That overreach prompted Virginia and Kentucky to deny federal authority to limit free speech and helped establish the concept of a loyal opposition.In reading Berkin's fine book; I was struck by the fact that the United States continues to struggle with some of these same issues today.