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Gordon Wood, James Madison, and American Memory
Sheehan, Colleen A.
Sheehan, Colleen A.
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Abstract
Gordon Wood’s exploration of the American Founding reveals a historian who is not content simply to recount the events of the past. Engaging with seminal works such as Revolutionary Characters, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787, or The Radicalism of the American Revolution, is like joining the author on a remarkable journey through time as he listens to the Founders recount their latest escapades or discuss what is on their minds. As one colleague astutely noted: “It’s difficult to conjure another writer so at home in the period, so prepared to translate its brilliant strangeness for a modern audience.” With unparalleled skill, Wood has illuminated the origins of American identity, aiding his contemporaries in their quest for self-understanding. This has not been a smooth road, given the current divisiveness and distress in the nation. Reflecting on Wood’s contributions, I am reminded of the character Tom Wingo from Pat Conroy’s acclaimed novel, who serves as keeper of his sister’s memory, helping her to recall and confront the traumatic events that have disrupted their lives. Similarly, for the last half century, Gordon Wood has played the vital role of keeper of America’s memory.
In The Creation of the American Republic, Wood presents the American Revolution as a moment of profound ideological transformation. He argues that the revolutionary generation initially embraced a neoclassical republicanism focused on virtue, homogeneous interests, and the subordination of private desires to the common good. However, this classical ideal proved untenable in a large, diverse, and increasingly commercial society. For Wood, James Madison is emblematic of the transition to a new kind of politics, one that accepted faction and self-interest as ineradicable features of modern political life.