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Authors: W. Cleon Skousen
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-- the eighteenth century termed public virtue.... The eighteenth century mind was thoroughly convinced that a popularly based government 'cannot be supported without virtue'." 34
Self-Doubts
The people had an instinctive thirst for independence, but there remained a haunting fear that they might not be "good enough" to make it work.
These self-doubts were actually the eye of the hurricane during those final pre-revolutionary years when Americans were trying to decide whether they had the moral capacity for self-government. Great names of later years were among the doubters in those pre-revolutionary days. John Jay, Robert Morris, Robert Livingston, and even John Dickinson were among them. Their doubts gradually diminished as their patriotic indignation was aroused by the harsh and sometimes brutal policies of the British crown. They were also moved by the powerful expressions of faith and confidence pouring forth from men of "admired virtue" such as John Adams, George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Josiah Quincy.
Spirits continued to rise so that by the spring of 1776, thousands of confident voices were heard throughout the colonies affirming that there was sufficient "public virtue" in the people to make republican principles work successfully.
Thomas Paine
One of the most strident voices in the debate was Tom Paine, whose Common Sense had been a best-seller. He followed up this initial success with other writings assuring Americans they were ripe for independence. He pointed out that most of the people were "industrious, frugal, and honest."
He added that few Americans had been corrupted with riches the way people had been debilitated in Europe, where all they wanted was "luxury, indolence, amusement, and pleasure." Furthermore, there was a spirit of equality and public virtue unheard of in other nations because "the people of America are a people of property; almost every man is a freeholder." 35
Nevertheless, there were many newspapers in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston which printed numerous letters pointing out dramatically and gruesomely the deficiencies of American society in many serious respects.
This self-examination over a period of several years resulted in a remarkable reform movement which spread up and down the entire Atlantic seaboard.
The Tide of Reform
Many Americans became extremely self-conscious about their lack of "public virtue" because of non-involvement in the affairs of government. They began to acknowledge their obsession with self-interest, the neglect of public affairs, and their disdain for the needs of the community as a whole. Gradually, a spirit of "sacrifice and reform" became manifest in all thirteen colonies.
Looking back on that period, one historian wrote:
In the eyes of the Whigs, the two or three years before the Declaration of Independence a!ways appears to be the great period of the Revolution, the time of greatest denial and cohesion, when men ceased to extort and abuse one another, when families and communities seemed peculiarly united, when the courts were wonderfully free of that constant bickering over land and credit that had dominated their colonial life. 36
How the Moral Reform Accelerated the Revolution
Many Americans became so impressed with the improvement in the quality of life as a result of the reform movement that they were afraid they might lose it if they did not hurriedly separate from the corrupting influence of British manners. They attributed this corruption to the monarchial aristocracy of England. Even Americans such as John Jay, Robert Morris, and Robert Livingston were beginning to see that the people were exhibiting a potential capacity for virtue and morality which would guarantee the success of a free, self-governing society. Therefore, it became popular to express the sentiment that the sooner they became independent the better.
The
Self-Doubts
The people had an instinctive thirst for independence, but there remained a haunting fear that they might not be "good enough" to make it work.
These self-doubts were actually the eye of the hurricane during those final pre-revolutionary years when Americans were trying to decide whether they had the moral capacity for self-government. Great names of later years were among the doubters in those pre-revolutionary days. John Jay, Robert Morris, Robert Livingston, and even John Dickinson were among them. Their doubts gradually diminished as their patriotic indignation was aroused by the harsh and sometimes brutal policies of the British crown. They were also moved by the powerful expressions of faith and confidence pouring forth from men of "admired virtue" such as John Adams, George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, and Josiah Quincy.
Spirits continued to rise so that by the spring of 1776, thousands of confident voices were heard throughout the colonies affirming that there was sufficient "public virtue" in the people to make republican principles work successfully.
Thomas Paine
One of the most strident voices in the debate was Tom Paine, whose Common Sense had been a best-seller. He followed up this initial success with other writings assuring Americans they were ripe for independence. He pointed out that most of the people were "industrious, frugal, and honest."
He added that few Americans had been corrupted with riches the way people had been debilitated in Europe, where all they wanted was "luxury, indolence, amusement, and pleasure." Furthermore, there was a spirit of equality and public virtue unheard of in other nations because "the people of America are a people of property; almost every man is a freeholder." 35
Nevertheless, there were many newspapers in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston which printed numerous letters pointing out dramatically and gruesomely the deficiencies of American society in many serious respects.
This self-examination over a period of several years resulted in a remarkable reform movement which spread up and down the entire Atlantic seaboard.
The Tide of Reform
Many Americans became extremely self-conscious about their lack of "public virtue" because of non-involvement in the affairs of government. They began to acknowledge their obsession with self-interest, the neglect of public affairs, and their disdain for the needs of the community as a whole. Gradually, a spirit of "sacrifice and reform" became manifest in all thirteen colonies.
Looking back on that period, one historian wrote:
In the eyes of the Whigs, the two or three years before the Declaration of Independence a!ways appears to be the great period of the Revolution, the time of greatest denial and cohesion, when men ceased to extort and abuse one another, when families and communities seemed peculiarly united, when the courts were wonderfully free of that constant bickering over land and credit that had dominated their colonial life. 36
How the Moral Reform Accelerated the Revolution
Many Americans became so impressed with the improvement in the quality of life as a result of the reform movement that they were afraid they might lose it if they did not hurriedly separate from the corrupting influence of British manners. They attributed this corruption to the monarchial aristocracy of England. Even Americans such as John Jay, Robert Morris, and Robert Livingston were beginning to see that the people were exhibiting a potential capacity for virtue and morality which would guarantee the success of a free, self-governing society. Therefore, it became popular to express the sentiment that the sooner they became independent the better.
The
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