Coming to Terms with Democracy: Federalist Intellectuals and the Shaping of an American Culture, 1800-1828

317 Pages·2001·1.222 MB·English

by  Marshall Foletta

coming to terms
with democracy

coming to terms
with democracy
Federalist Intellectuals and the
Shaping of an American Culture
0
marshall foletta
University Press of Virginia
charlottesville and london
Disclaimer: Some images in the printed version of this book are not available for
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THEUNIVERSITYPRESSOFVIRGINIA
(cid:1)2001bytheRectorandVisitorsoftheUniversityofVirginia
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Firstpublished2001
(cid:2)(cid:1) Thepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimumrequirementsof
theAmericanNationalStandardforInformationSciences—Permanenceof
PaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials,ansiz39.48-1984.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Foletta,Marshall,1955–
Comingtotermswithdemocracy:Federalistintellectualsandtheshap-
ingofanAmericanculture/MarshallFoletta.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn0-8139-2059-0(cloth:alk.paper)
1.UnitedStates—Politicsandgovernment—1789–1815. 2.United
States—Politicsandgovernment—1815–1861. 3.UnitedStates—Intellec-
tuallife—19thcentury. 4.NewEngland—Intellectuallife—19thcen-
tury. 5.Intellectuals—NewEngland—Politicalactivity—History—
19thcentury. 6.FederalParty(U.S.)—History. 7.Politicsandlitera-
ture—UnitedStates—History—19thcentury. 8.NorthAmerican re-
view—History. 9.Politicalculture—UnitedStates—History—19thcen-
tury. I.Title.
e338.f652001
973.5—dc21 2001026067
For Khris

Contents
Illustrations viii
Acknowledgments ix
chapter 1.
1815 1
chapter 2.
Fathers 22
chapter 3.
Sons 45
chapter 4.
Literature: The Prospects 76
chapter 5.
Literature: The Problems 101
chapter 6.
Institutions 135
chapter 7.
History 182
chapter 8.
Legacy 209
Notes 247
Bibliography 271
Index 291
Illustrations
HarrisonGrayOtis,1809 33
JosephStevensBuckminster,ca.1810 55
JosephBuckminster,ca.1789 56
GeorgeTicknor,1828 65
JaredSparks,ca.1819 66
JohnSylvesterJohnGardiner,ca.1815 83
WilliamTudor,1831 84
EdwardEverett,1820 91
WilliamHicklingPrescott,1815 92
Acknowledgments
0
S
cholarshipisusuallyaveryprivateaffair,requiringhoursofsoli-
tary study and the acceptance of personal responsibility for whatever
shortcomingsexistintheend.Thisattemptisnodifferent.Butlikemost
othersithasalsobenefitedfromthecontributionsofothers.AttheUni-
versityofCaliforniaatBerkeley,wherethisbookbeganasadoctoraldis-
sertation, the contributions of my committee were invaluable. Richard
Hutsonencouragedmetobelieve,correctlyIhope,thatacertainna¨ıvete´
regardingAmericanliteraturemightnotprovetoogreatadisadvantage.
Robin Einhorn’s energetic reading of early drafts helped me place my
narrative within a far richer context. Most importantly, Jim Kettner al-
lowedmethefreedomtoworkthroughmyownquestionsandsupported
mewiththegentleencouragementthatcharacterizesallfineteachers.
Atvariousstagesotherindividuals—mostnotablyHenryMay,Charles
Royster,andDanielHowe—readatleastsomeportionofthemanuscript
and contributed more than they probably realized. At the University
PressofVirginia,RichardHolwayprovidedareassuringappreciationfor
myquestionsandanunfailingsenseofhowtostrengthenmyanswers.
My family, extended and immediate, assisted in more personal ways.
Mostrewardingwasthesupportofmychildren,whowereapartofthis
project from its inception.Lucas,a nightowlsincebirth,providedlate-
night company as I began my research. John, who read the firstchapter
when he was twelve and the last just before headingofftocollege,reas-
suredme that both mynarrativeandanalysiswereworthreading.Anna
helped pack my bags when I took off on writing retreats and through