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Chargement... The American Democrat; or, hints on the social and civic relations of the United States of America (1838)par James Fenimore Cooper
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Inscrivez-vous à LibraryThing pour découvrir si vous aimerez ce livre Actuellement, il n'y a pas de discussions au sujet de ce livre. Cooper returned to America in 1838 after spending seven years in Europe. He thus became aware of changes that were occurring in government, in politics, and in society that conflicted with his concepts of the ideas that made America great. He sets out in this series of essays many of these ideas. As he said in his introduction, he wrote “…more in the spirit of censure than of praise, for its aim is correction…” Unfortunately, he made his remarks in 44 topical, short essays; the quality and value of which is a very mixed bag. In some areas he is very much aligned with what I see as the values of American exceptionalism, in others he goes considerably astray. He comes out, for example, in favor of strongly limiting the franchise in town and local elections. Cooper also expected the eventual end of slavery, but predicted the enduring hatred between races would result in a war of extermination. He holds the idea that political parties are needed for liberty to be “mistaken opinion” and inherited from Europe. He cannot see what good parties can be, but “it is easy to see that they may effect much harm.” He condemns the overreach of not only parties, but of opinion; and treats “They say” as the worst value advanced by demagogues. Cooper holds that thinking men should always ask who 'they' are, and what authority do they have to say. Cooper’s concern with some recent changes is most clearly stated when he remarks (in bold), the every man should have a brass plaque engraved on his head to the effect “That, in a democracy, the public has no power that is not expressly conceded by the institutions, and that this power, moreover, is only to be used under the forms prescribed by the constitution. All beyond this is oppression, when it takes the character of acts, and not infrequently when it is confined to opinion.” On the nature of rumor and public opinion, Cooper adds that "Whenever the government of the United States shall break up, it will probably be in consequence of a false direction having been given to public opinion.” Overall, I can only recommend this to real fans of Cooper and those seeking a look into the changes occurring during the Jacksonian era. aucune critique | ajouter une critique
When "The American Democrat" was first published in 1838, Cooper's position as America's first major novelist obscured his serious contribution to the discussion of American principles and politics. Yet Cooper," says H. L. Mencken, "was probably the first American to write about Americans in the really frank spirit . . . a simple, sound and sensible tract, moderate in tone and extraordinarily astute in its conclusions." Cooper provides a concise statement of the principles of American democracy and of its social ramifications. He was concerned that these principles and our institutions would be perverted--especially by the confusion of an equality of rights with equality of condition. Aucune description trouvée dans une bibliothèque |
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Google Books — Chargement... GenresClassification décimale de Melvil (CDD)973.5History and Geography North America United States 1809-1845Classification de la Bibliothèque du CongrèsÉvaluationMoyenne:
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It got much worse, James. Mencken liked it, which guarantees it to be annoying while perhaps semantically correct. ( )