The Radicalism of the American Revolution

Republicanism began to slowly replace the monarchy in the American colonies. Wood argues, however, that republicanism and monarchy were so alike that those living at the time had trouble defining republicanism. For most, republicanism was a way of life and putting that into practice as a government was unthought of. Republicanism was simply a way to protest the monarchy. Others made the distinction between monarchy and republicanism as the difference between peace and order, and liberty and independence. Others believed that all governments held principles of both monarchy and republicanism. In The Spirit of the Laws (1748), Montesquieu argued that most governments were a combination of the two. Montesquieu even voiced the idea that England was a republic disguised as a monarchy. Wood maintains that, with an unbiased look at the English constitution and the role of the king as more of an umpire than a ruler, it could be argued that England was indeed a republic.

The ideals of republicanism saturated England through the Enlightenment, an intellectual and philosophical movement that focused on happiness, reason, and political ideals. Many were influenced by Roman writers, such as Cicero and Virgil, who expressed “republican ideals and political and social values that have had a powerful and lasting effect on Western culture” (100).