The Liberal Tradition in America Louis Hartz US

“The Liberal Tradition in America” Louis Hartz

US History: Non-Feudal America: A “Liberal, ” Non-feudal History People came to America to escape “feudal and clerical oppression. ” As such, you would predict that America is free of these oppressions. That is, that is a fundamentally “liberal” society.

US History: Non-Feudal America: Non-Feudal, Non-Revolutionary, Born –Equal America skipped feudal stage of history…and “one of the central characteristics of a non-feudal society is that it lacks a genuine revolutionary tradition. ” That was, in other words, “born equal. ” America: Unconsciously Liberal America is so liberal, it is unaware of it. American society is rooted in Locke, but Locke is unknown to the society.

US History: Non-Feudal No Democratic Revolution America did not endure a Democratic Revolution. As a result, America, though a symbol of revolution, were not revolutionaries. Instead, they were removed from the tumult, as well as the reasoning and culture of revolution as codified in Europe. The lack of a feudal past gave the Americans a unique frame of mind not found anywhere else in the 18 th century.

American Political Culture A Dynamic Colonial History Written constitution is an example of the dynamic nature of American colonial history. It was traditionalist in America, but rationalist and radical in Europe. American: Rationalists (Bentham) or Traditionalists (Burke): Did European Labels Work? They were neither, which is to say they incorporated both ideas. European ideals forged in the shadow of feudalism did not neatly apply to America, where feudalism never took root.

American Political Culture America Conservative and Liberal Gunnar Myrdal: “America is…conservative…but the principles conserved are liberal, and some, indeed, are radical. ” America: A Classless, Liberal Society America’s non-feudal past saved it from an obsession with class. Americans did not view themselves as different parts of a corporate whole, but as participants in way of life. (15) Instead of unique social classes, and corresponding ideals and social practices, American lived by one code that applied the principles of equality to all: liberalism.