Citation

Covenantal Politics in America - Two Radicalisms

Abstract | Word Stems | Keywords | Association | Citation | Get this Document | Similar Titles




STOP!

You can now view the document associated with this citation by clicking on the "View Document as HTML" link below.

View Document as HTML:
Click here to view the document

Abstract:

It has long been accepted that Calvinism made a contribution to the radical features of American democracy, and the radical implications of the covenant theology give rise to two claims in the literature: first, that covenant theology produces activist, reformist, and democratic ideas; second, that in New England, it led to the first modern, secular, practical democracies. As well as these two claims, other effects of Calvinism in America could include its indirect influence on the drafting of the 1787 Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Owing to the ambiguity of Calvinism, however, some confusion is evidenced by the demonstrable inability of commentators to make convincing connections between the early experiments in democracy in New England, and the anti-democratic republicanism of the Constitution and of the literature of the Revolutionary era.
To address the problem, we propose a distinction between two types of Calvinism, both of which have profoundly affected the American political landscape in different ways. First, we posit “I-type” Calvinism, which was the prevailing type in early New England, and which includes the idea of radical democracy. The other form of Calvinist political ideology we propose is “P-type”, in which democracy is opposed in favour of republican ideals. The statements of propagandists for the two sides of seventeenth century Calvinism, the Independents and the Presbyterians, can be used to illustrate the differences between I-type and P-type Calvinist politics, as well as their underlying similarities. Perhaps the most engaging matter to arise is the way that initially similar belief systems can subsequently diverge so much on political questions.
Both types of Calvinism were present in the United States before 1775, in populations concentrated in different Colonies, and sometimes even in the same Colonies. For example, the Ulster migrations of the 1720s and 1730s brought large numbers of P-type Calvinists to the Middle Colonies, but also many who went to the older I-type Colony of Massachusetts. The result of migrations was the emergence of two distinct Calvinist political sub-cultures. New England Congregationalism and Plymouth Separatism gave rise to a democratic ethos. On the other hand, Presbyterians and their secular counterpart, the Commonwealth-men, helped to generate the republican ethos — much less congenial to democracy — which came to dominate politics in the Revolutionary era, and beyond.

Most Common Document Word Stems:

p (85), new (72), type (69), calvin (63), presbyterian (62), polit (59), calvinist (56), england (52), 1644 (41), independ (39), coloni (38), idea (35), p-type (33), revolut (33), london (33), church (32), govern (32), american (30), found (30), ideolog (29), democraci (28),

Author's Keywords:

Calvinism, covenant, democracy, republic
Convention
Convention is an application service for managing large or small academic conferences, annual meetings, and other types of events!
Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf.Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets!
Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more!Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering.
Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more!Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches!
Click here for more information.

Association:
Name: American Political Science Association
URL:
http://www.apsanet.org


Citation:
URL: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p153563_index.html
Direct Link:
HTML Code:

MLA Citation:

Maddox, Graham. and Moore, Tod. "Covenantal Politics in America - Two Radicalisms" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Marriott, Loews Philadelphia, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA, Aug 31, 2006 <Not Available>. 2009-05-24 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p153563_index.html>

APA Citation:

Maddox, G. and Moore, T. , 2006-08-31 "Covenantal Politics in America - Two Radicalisms" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Marriott, Loews Philadelphia, and the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA Online <PDF>. 2009-05-24 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p153563_index.html

Publication Type: Proceeding
Abstract: It has long been accepted that Calvinism made a contribution to the radical features of American democracy, and the radical implications of the covenant theology give rise to two claims in the literature: first, that covenant theology produces activist, reformist, and democratic ideas; second, that in New England, it led to the first modern, secular, practical democracies. As well as these two claims, other effects of Calvinism in America could include its indirect influence on the drafting of the 1787 Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Owing to the ambiguity of Calvinism, however, some confusion is evidenced by the demonstrable inability of commentators to make convincing connections between the early experiments in democracy in New England, and the anti-democratic republicanism of the Constitution and of the literature of the Revolutionary era.
To address the problem, we propose a distinction between two types of Calvinism, both of which have profoundly affected the American political landscape in different ways. First, we posit “I-type” Calvinism, which was the prevailing type in early New England, and which includes the idea of radical democracy. The other form of Calvinist political ideology we propose is “P-type”, in which democracy is opposed in favour of republican ideals. The statements of propagandists for the two sides of seventeenth century Calvinism, the Independents and the Presbyterians, can be used to illustrate the differences between I-type and P-type Calvinist politics, as well as their underlying similarities. Perhaps the most engaging matter to arise is the way that initially similar belief systems can subsequently diverge so much on political questions.
Both types of Calvinism were present in the United States before 1775, in populations concentrated in different Colonies, and sometimes even in the same Colonies. For example, the Ulster migrations of the 1720s and 1730s brought large numbers of P-type Calvinists to the Middle Colonies, but also many who went to the older I-type Colony of Massachusetts. The result of migrations was the emergence of two distinct Calvinist political sub-cultures. New England Congregationalism and Plymouth Separatism gave rise to a democratic ethos. On the other hand, Presbyterians and their secular counterpart, the Commonwealth-men, helped to generate the republican ethos — much less congenial to democracy — which came to dominate politics in the Revolutionary era, and beyond.

Get this Document:

Find this citation or document at one or all of these locations below. The links below may have the citation or the entire document for free or you may purchase access to the document. Clicking on these links will change the site you're on and empty your shopping cart.

Abstract Only All Academic Inc.
Associated Document Available Political Research Online
Associated Document Available American Political Science Association

Document Type: PDF
Page count: 42
Word count: 10139
Text sample:
Covenantal Democracy in America: Two Radicalisms. Graham Maddox and Tod Moore The University of New England Australia Abstract [see conference abstract] It has long been accepted that Calvinism made a contribution to the radical features of American democracy and the radical implications of the covenant theology give rise to two claims in the literature: first that covenant theology produces activist reformist and democratic ideas; second that in New England it led to the first modern secular practical democracies. As
to be borne in mind regarding the middle colonies is the level of organization of the various religious communities and another is their level of political commitment. The Presbyterians were capable of co-ordinated political activity due to their system of presbyteries and synods (Clark 1994 351-52; May 1976 52) and the same is also true of the Reformed churches with their corresponding use of the classis. 2 Ideas of popular control were advanced by some of the anti-federalists including


Similar Titles:
The Impact of Political Ideology and Government Structure on Information Technology Policy: A Comparison of Technologically Sophisticated Countries with Differing Types of Governments

The Colonial Origins of Democracy and Dictatorship: Explaining Regional Variation in the Post-Independence Regime Outcomes of Former British Colonies, 1950-2000.


 
All Academic, Inc. is your premier source for research and conference management. Visit our website, www.allacademic.com, to see how we can help you today.