The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy: Republicanism, the Class Struggle and the Virtuous Farmer - Paperback

by Douglass G. Adair (Author), Joyce Appleby (Foreword by), Mark E. Yellin (Editor)

The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy, available for the first time in this Lexington Books edition, is Douglass Adair's first major work of historical inquiry. Adair was a mentor to many of the nation's leading scholars and has long been admired for his original and profound observations about the founding of the American republic. Written in 1943, The Intellectual Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy has been praised widely as the seminal analysis of the origins of American democracy. The passage of time has not dulled Adair's arguments; instead, his critique of economic determinism, his emphasis on the influence of ideology on the Founders, and his belief in the importance of civic virtue and morality to good republican government have become ever more critical to our conception of American history. With judicious prose and elegant insights, Adair explores the classical and modern European heritage of liberalism, and he raises fundamental questions about the nature of democratic government. This book is for any serious reader interested in American intellectual history, political thought, and the founding of the republic.

Author Biography

Douglass G. Adair was Professor of History at the College of William and Mary and Claremont Graduate School. He was the editor of the William and Mary Quarterly in the 1940s and 1950s, during which time he led the journal to the prominence it enjoys today. Mark E. Yellin teaches at North Carolina State University. He has been a contributor to the Review of Politics and the American Political Science Review.