Empire of Liberty

Last night, I finished Gordon Wood's Empire of Liberty, the second book of the Oxford History series.  I've previously read What Hath God Wrought and Battle Cry of Freedom, which covered much of the 19th century.

Like those two volumes, which I enjoyed immensely, I liked the refresher course on the time shortly at the American Constitution.  I'm about to embark upon Ron Chernow's latest on George Washington, and to have a bit of a refresher on Washington's presidency and the 1790s was great. I read quite a bit of this on the train to NY last weekend. It was a quick, easy read. I was a little enthralled with the sections on religion and art, caring more about political history. I enjoyed the chapter on the War of 1812, and it gave me my first good glimpse into the Madison presidency.  Other than his contributions to the Federalist Papers, which Hamilton really deserves the most credit for, I wasn't sure what to think about Madison, other than he was the so-called Father of the Constitution, a close crony of Jefferson's, and someone who promoted a form of republicanism that philosophized on certain ideas while governed on others.  Wood thought the War of 1812 really contributed to strengthening the nation, as opposed to being pointless. Granted, there weren't many casualties, but previously, I really thought the War's greatest effect was in heralding Andrew Jackson's role in political Americana.

Politics was certainly as divided then as it is now, on the eve of the election. There was only one real party at the turn of the 19th century, because the Federalists were nearly no more. I think most folks forget their history when they discuss today's current divisiveness. The Civil War, the 1800 election, the 1876 election, and of course, the 1860 election demonstrate that divisiveness has existed long before the Age of Obama.