by Carol Berkin
The issues raised in this crisis did, however, have important consequences for American nationalism. With the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, Republicans were challenging the Federalists to define the union the Constitution had created, to clarify the powers it had given the federal government, and to weigh the relative sovereignty of that government and the states. In these resolutions, states’ rights advocates struck a blow at the nationalism Federalists had nurtured for a decade. The men who drafted the resolutions and the legislators who passed them rejected the Federalist argument that the necessary and proper clause and the Preamble’s charge to ensure domestic tranquility justified the acts. But, more than this, the resolutions asserted that the states, not the people, were the source of the Constitution’s authority, and therefore the states retained the right to judge the constitutionality of any federal legislation.
Despite the intractable disagreement over the nature of Constitution and the powers of the federal government, the most striking aspect of this debate was this: both sides accepted the legitimacy of the Constitution and the government it created. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were a challenge to a particular interpretation of the Constitution, not to the Constitution itself. The legislators responsible for the resolutions repeatedly expressed their loyalty to the Constitution and to its federal government; their goal was not to deny its validity but to better define its powers in order to prevent further abuses.
The arc of nationalism can thus be traced through the crises of the 1790s. The trust placed in Washington as an individual, so critical in the approval of his handling of the Whiskey Rebellion, was transformed during the Genet affair into a respect for the office he held. The XYZ affair helped Americans recognize their shared identity, a national identity that limited the power of provincialism to shape their views and their political choices. And the challenge to the Alien and Sedition Acts demonstrated that there was no longer an anti-Constitution movement but a loyalty to the Constitution that could withstand a difference in interpretation of the powers it invested in the federal government. This loyalty was fundamental to the acceptance of the notion of a loyal opposition in politics. And this idea of a loyal opposition helped sustain the Union until the struggle over the survival of slavery created a breach too broad and too deep to be mended without bloodshed.
Not even the crisis of the Civil War solved the problem of defining federalism, however. It remains with us in the twenty-first century. The government the Federalists created did not then, nor does it today, fully consolidate sovereignty. Thus, the challenge of localism to nationalism continues, with its drive to strengthen state sovereignty, to rein in the ability of the federal government to direct the economic growth and shape the social norms of American society—in short, to constrain the “enterprize and vigour” of the federal government. Nevertheless, the Federalist achievement must be acknowledged: its guardianship of the Republic succeeded. The government it designed in 1787 was no longer an experiment in 1800; it was the national government of a sovereign people.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SOMEWHERE, USUALLY IN the middle of researching and writing a book, an author’s thoughts turn to those few pages entitled “Acknowledgments.” Thinking about all the people you have relied upon does more than make you feel fortunate; it reminds you that the lone historian, toiling away in the solitude of her study, is a myth. Writing history is collaborative work. Archivists and librarians—the people who have preserved and collected, inventoried, indexed, published primary sources on paper or, these days, online—have provided the treasure chests of information you plunder as you write. A thousand times a day, you realize that Founders Online, the Pennsylvania archives, JSTOR, and the Annals of Congress have put the past at your fingertips. Just as often you are reminded that the authors of the biographies, monographs, and articles piled high beside your desk are your guide to the past you are exploring. Without them, you would be wandering in the dark. Unlike Oscar winners, historians cannot thank every one of these people individually; we must be content to provide a bibliography as our thank-you note.
There are individuals, however, who must be acknowledged. Cindy Lobel, Angelo Angeles, Phillip Papas, and Rebecca Dresser are the members of a group still affectionately called the “dissertation salon,” although these former students have gone far beyond that stage of their career and are now professors and historians. We have been meeting at my home for more than fifteen years now, discussing each other’s work, offering criticism and praise, reminding one another to do more “sign posting” or to clarify and elaborate, while we indulge in croissants, bagels, and assorted other brunch delights. They are, for me, that fabled community of scholars, and I am ever grateful to them. Although Meg Berlin and Cecelia Hartsell live too far away to be members of our salon, they too patiently read versions of chapters, listen to me moan and groan when work is not going well, and provide insightful and tactful suggestions for improving the text. Among my usual suspects—those friends and colleagues I turn to when I can’t track down a source, need technical advice (“Michael, why won’t my printer print??”), and need to talk through an idea or interpretation for the ninetieth time—I must include three future stars of my profession, Michael Hattem, Christopher Minty, and Sarah Shapiro, along with current scholars of impeccable credentials, Richard Bernstein, Mary-Jo Kline, and Stuart Blumin. I am indebted to Sarah, who helped me organize the footnotes to this book. A special thanks also to Michael Ryan, the chief archivist at the New-York Historical Society, for his assistance and for serving as a model of erudition and intelligence.
My agent, Dan Green, has once again done double duty; he not only finds the right press and the right editor for me, he also reads the drafts of each chapter. After all these years I am still bowled over by the acuity of his comments, by his encouragement, and by his tolerance for both my corny jokes and my lengthy reviews of cops and robbers movies. As the editor for this book, I have the good fortune of another remarkable Dan, Dan Gerstle. His careful reading and keen analysis played a major role in shaping the manuscript. I dread to think what I would have done without his advice.
As always, family members, both human and feline, have provided me the laughter and delight that sustain me. Mr. Magoo did his part by purring loudly and soothingly while he blocked my view of the computer screen. And my daughter Hannah and her husband Eamon and my son Matthew and his wife Jessica have given me the most wonderful of gifts: my granddaughters, Talulla Thomas Joyce and Noa Grey Berkin. The last book was yours, Miss T; this one is for Noa.
Carol Berkin
New York City 2017
Credit: Lara Heimert
CAROL BERKIN is Presidential Professor of History Emerita, Baruch College and the CUNY Graduate Center. She is the author of many acclaimed books, including A Brilliant Solution. Berkin lives in New York City.
Also by Carol Berkin:
The Bill of Rights: The Fight to Secure America’s Liberties
Wondrous Beauty: The Life and Adventures of Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte
Civil War Wives: The Lives and Times of Angelina Grimke Weld, Varina Howell Davis, and Julia Dent Grant
Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America’s Independence
A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution
First Generations: Women in Colonial America
Jonathan Sewall: Odyssey of an American Loyalist
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR A SOVEREIGN PEOPLE
“Carol Berkin’s path-breaking A Sovereign People highlights the way that high Federalists won the hearts and minds not only of the rich and powerful, but of ordinary people from all walks of life, leading them to look to the nation and the Constitution rather than to the states for the source of their identity. Her astute analysis of four foreign and domestic crises brings the critical decade of the 1790s to life, capturing the tensions, the hopes, and the fears of the people charged with creating the basis for a new and as yet untried nation. A tour de force.
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—Sheila Skemp, Clare Leslie Marquette Professor Emerita of History, University of Mississippi
“Carol Berkin has written a convincing reinterpretation of the four major crises of the 1790s. This essential book shows that the Whiskey Rebellion, Genet Affair, XYZ Affair, and Alien & Sedition Acts actually helped bind the nation together, increasing support for the government, a sense of American identity, and respect for the Constitution. Everyone interested in the history of this vital decade needs to have her book.”
—James H. Broussard, director, Lebanon Valley College Center for Political History
“With a masterful command of a complex history, Berkin uses her clear and concise style to help us rethink the founding of the United States. With powerful logic, and with an important timeliness, Berkin reveals how Americans discovered a shared national identity, and learned to love the new Constitution—despite often disagreeing with each other. A brilliant and important book.”
—Doug Bradburn, founding director, The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon
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