Overview

The Revolutionary Years, 1775–1789, reveals how the nation’s leaders asserted power during the fourteen crucial years from the Revolution’s first shots at Lexington in April 1775 to the adoption of the Constitution in 1789.The American Revolution unfolded in two phases, winning independence and then creating “a more perfect union” that guaranteed representation and natural rights for all citizens. To prevail in those struggles the Founders had to tap and eventually master two powerful historic forces—nationalism and liberalism.National leadership is about mastering the dynamic among a country’s interests, power, and policies. Although military battles were relatively infrequent during the leisurely pace of eighteenth-century warfare, political battles were incessant. Those who championed the United States of America triumphed during the sweltering, seemingly endless months at Philadelphia from May to September 1787, when the delegates hammered out the Constitution.With the Constitution’s ratification, the Revolution came to a symbolic and substantive end. Ever since, Americans have debated, and at times shed blood over, just what the Founders intended and how to realize those ideals. In this fascinating book, William Nester examines how the Founders’ experience in revolution and nation-building caused them to understand leadership as an art—one that ultimately became the distinctive art of American power.

Full Product Details

9781597976749

Table of Contents

Reviews

The Revolutionary Years, 1775-1789 is a brief and engaging study of how a uniquely American political authority took root in the space of a single generation in the late eighteenth century. William Nester effectively traces the way preexisting, prerevolutionary ideas and practices were adapted to the exigencies of war and diplomacy and then shaped to meet the demands of independence. The result, according to the author, was a convergence of military, intellectual and political leadership, and power, which, along with popular support, was lodged in the design and objectives of the United States Constitution. The book is at its most convincing in arguing that the balancing of several strands of political power revealed a national political culture. Nester covers familiar ground in a lively, imaginative, and well-written exploration of the origins of a distinctly American version of how political 'power' can be seen as political 'art.'

<i>The Revolutionary Years, 1775-1789</i> is a brief and engaging study of how a uniquely American political authority took root in the space of a single generation in the late eighteenth century. William Nester effectively traces the way preexisting, prerevolutionary ideas and practices were adapted to the exigencies of war and diplomacy and then shaped to meet the demands of independence. The result, according to the author, was a convergence of military, intellectual and political leadership, and power, which, along with popular support, was lodged in the design and objectives of the United States Constitution. The book is at its most convincing in arguing that the balancing of several strands of political power revealed a national political culture. Nester covers familiar ground in a lively, imaginative, and well-written exploration of the origins of a distinctly American version of how political 'power' can be seen as political 'art.' Eric Nellis, associate professor emeritus of history, University of British Columbia, and author of <i>The Long Road to Change</i> and <i>An Empire of Regions</i>--Eric Nellis

The Revolutionary Years, 1775-1789 is a brief and engaging study of how a uniquely American political authority took root in the space of a single generation in the late eighteenth century. William Nester effectively traces the way preexisting, prerevolutionary ideas and practices were adapted to the exigencies of war and diplomacy and then shaped to meet the demands of independence. The result, according to the author, was a convergence of military, intellectual and political leadership, and power, which, along with popular support, was lodged in the design and objectives of the United States Constitution. The book is at its most convincing in arguing that the balancing of several strands of political power revealed a national political culture. Nester covers familiar ground in a lively, imaginative, and well-written exploration of the origins of a distinctly American version of how political 'power' can be seen as political 'art.' Eric Nellis, associate professor emeritus of history, University of British Columbia, and author of The Long Road to Change and An Empire of Regions --Eric Nellis -The Revolutionary Years, 1775-1789 is a brief and engaging study of how a uniquely American political authority took root in the space of a single generation in the late eighteenth century. William Nester effectively traces the way preexisting, prerevolutionary ideas and practices were adapted to the exigencies of war and diplomacy and then shaped to meet the demands of independence. The result, according to the author, was a convergence of military, intellectual and political leadership, and power, which, along with popular support, was lodged in the design and objectives of the United States Constitution. The book is at its most convincing in arguing that the balancing of several strands of political power revealed a national political culture. Nester covers familiar ground in a lively, imaginative, and well-written exploration of the origins of a distinctly American version of how political 'power' can be seen as political 'art.'---Eric Nellis, associate professor emeritus of history, University of British Columbia, and author of The Long Road to Change and An Empire of Regions--Eric Nellis The Revolutionary Years, 1775-1789 is a brief and engaging study of how a uniquely American political authority took root in the space of a single generation in the late eighteenth century. William Nester effectively traces the way preexisting, prerevolutionary ideas and practices were adapted to the exigencies of war and diplomacy and then shaped to meet the demands of independence. The result, according to the author, was a convergence of military, intellectual and political leadership, and power, which, along with popular support, was lodged in the design and objectives of the United States Constitution. The book is at its most convincing in arguing that the balancing of several strands of political power revealed a national political culture. Nester covers familiar ground in a lively, imaginative, and well-written exploration of the origins of a distinctly American version of how political 'power' can be seen as political 'art.' --Eric Nellis, associate professor emeritus of history, University of British Columbia, and author of The Long Road to Change and An Empire of Regions--Eric Nellis

The Revolutionary Years, 1775-1789 is a brief and engaging study of how a uniquely American political authority took root in the space of a single generation in the late eighteenth century. William Nester effectively traces the way preexisting, prerevolutionary ideas and practices were adapted to the exigencies of war and diplomacy and then shaped to meet the demands of independence. The result, according to the author, was a convergence of military, intellectual and political leadership, and power, which, along with popular support, was lodged in the design and objectives of the United States Constitution. The book is at its most convincing in arguing that the balancing of several strands of political power revealed a national political culture. Nester covers familiar ground in a lively, imaginative, and well-written exploration of the origins of a distinctly American version of how political 'power' can be seen as political 'art.' --Eric Nellis, associate professor emeritus of history, University of British Columbia, and author of The Long Road to Change and An Empire of Regions --Eric Nellis

Author Information

WILLIAM NESTER is a professor at St. John’s University in New York City and the author of more than thirty books on various aspects of international relations, including four for Potomac Books: The Revolutionary Years, 1775–1789; The Hamiltonian Vision, 1789–1800; The Jeffersonian Vision, 1801–1815; and The Age of Jackson and the Art of American Power, 1815–1848. He lives in New York City.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available