History of the Early National Term Paper

Aside from the practical considerations provided by the system which split the federal and local authorities, there was also the matter of the limitation of powers. In this sense, the central government was built in such a manner as to express the boundaries of the influence even the elected office representatives had on the particular issues concerning each state. Thus, the Congress and the House of Representatives were established and these institutions came to represent the essence of the American Republicanism and democracy.

Despite these revolutionary ideals, the interpretation of the Republican creed came to be associated with the industrial aspects of the economy. As the country began to flourish and the economic development came to be associated more and more with the industrial revolution, so did the Republican political thought. The issue related to the taxation without representation and the subsequent debates that emerged gave way to an increasingly worried society which came to view the Republican perspective in grim shades. The distinction was basically made at the level of the regional split between the North and the South. While the North took into account the liberal ideas promoted by the Republican view, the South lacking the economic power to adjust to the increasing shift in the economic orientation, began to oppose the taxes and levies that characterized the period.

From the perspective of the pre-war American society, it can be said the Republicanism represented a set of ideals with which the entire population could identify. However, the political and historical context that emerged in the final part of the 19th century gave the notion of Republicanism a different meaning and today, there are various discussions over the exact meaning of the term.

By the late 1960s, a second set of principles came to be identified with Republicanism due to the different approaches historians took in actually defining it. In this sense, for instance, the idea of Republicanism was no longer associated with the freedom of the religion or the right to chose, but rather to more pragmatic issues, such as economic power and strengths, the universal suffrage extended to women and other themes that catered for the immediate needs of the society.Therefore, it can be said that the various interpretation of the terms, although bear in mind the essential elements of the doctrine, take into account the realities of the era they are made. While in the early days of the revolutionary period these addressed the stringent needs of a revolutionary society at the time, similarly, at the end of the 60s, these addressed issues related more with the struggle for civil right and social equality.

Therefore, it can be stated that modern republicanism represents an ever developing ideology, not so much from the perspective of the changing values it advocates, but rather from the point-of-view of the interpretation given to these values; more precisely, in order to have a good comprehension of the state of a doctrinaire approach, it is important to consider both ideas promoted, but, more importantly, the social and historical context in which these interpretations are made because they have a consistent influence on the way ideas are perceived.

References

Appleby, Joyce. Republicanism and Ideology. American Quarterly, Vol. 37, No. 4, Republicanism in the History and Historiography of the United States. (Autumn, 1985), pp. 461-473.

Mcgurk, John. "A New Look at Civic Republicanism." Contemporary Review, Vol. 283, October 2003.

Slaughter, Thomas P. The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution.….....