America’s revolution isn’t over
The American Revolution didn’t simply end with independence, military victory or the Constitution. For generations afterward, Americans continued to see the country as an unfinished political experiment.
That idea was at the center of a recent Dornsife Dialogue featuring historians Peter Mancall and Nathan Perl-Rosenthal in conversation with Dean James Bullock.
Why it matters: As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, their conversation challenges the familiar story of a revolution completed with the Declaration of Independence in 1776, victory in the Revolutionary War in 1783 or the Constitution in 1787.
In writing his latest book, The Long Revolution, Perl-Rosenthal found that many Americans thought the revolution was still going on decades, if not a century, after 1776.
In his words: “They really do think that the American experiment is an experiment,” said Perl-Rosenthal, professor of history, French, Italian and law.. “That is to say, it is a site-specific attempt to figure something out, and you do not know where it’s going to end.”
The evidence: Perl-Rosenthal examined published Fourth of July addresses delivered during the century after independence. Rather than simply celebrating the founding generation, speakers frequently used the occasion to debate the country’s condition and future direction.
Find a transcript of this audio here.
Between the lines: An unfinished revolution also meant figuring out how people with deeply different beliefs could live together. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the separation of church and state offered ways to manage those differences without requiring agreement.
The question remains: Americans are still working through questions raised by the founding, including who can participate in the republic, how political disagreements should be managed and whether the nation’s institutions can survive profound divisions.
Look further back: If Perl-Rosenthal challenges when the Revolution ended, Mancall challenges when its story begins. His book Contested Continent examines North America from roughly 1000 to 1680, tracing the forces that shaped the U.S. long before the 13 colonies declared independence.
In his words: “You can’t just look at 13 colonies hugging the Atlantic coast and think you understand the American Revolution,” said Mancall, distinguished professor of history and Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Humanities.
The bottom line: America’s 250th anniversary marks a founding moment, not a finished story. The questions Americans were wrestling with then, about participation, political disagreement and the durability of democratic institutions, are still with us.