
We Have Not a Government
The Articles of Confederation and the Road to the Constitution
George William Van Cleve(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Published on 13. October 2017
Book
Hardback
400 pages
978-0-226-48050-3 (ISBN)
Description
In 1783, as the Revolutionary War came to a close, Alexander Hamilton resigned in disgust from the Continental Congress after it refused to consider a fundamental reform of the Articles of Confederation. Just four years later, that same government collapsed, and Congress grudgingly agreed to support the 1787 Philadelphia Constitutional Convention, which altered the Articles beyond recognition. What occurred during this remarkably brief interval to cause the Confederation to lose public confidence and inspire Americans to replace it with a dramatically more flexible and powerful government? We Have Not a Government is the history of this contentious moment in American history. In George William Van Cleve's compelling book, we encounter a sharply divided America. The Confederation faced massive war debts with virtually no authority to compel its members to pay them. It experienced punishing trade restrictions and strong resistance to American territorial expansion from powerful European governments. Bitter sectional divisions that deadlocked the Continental Congress arose from exploding western settlement.And a deep, long-lasting recession led to sharp controversies and social unrest across the country amid roiling debates over greatly increased taxes, debt relief, and paper money.
Van Cleve shows how these remarkable stresses transformed the Confederation into a stalemate government and eventually led previously conflicting states, sections, and interest groups to advocate for a union powerful enough to govern a continental empire. Touching on the stories of a wide-ranging cast of characters--including John Adams, Patrick Henry, Daniel Shays, George Washington, and Thayendanegea--Van Cleve makes clear that it was the Confederation's failures that created a political crisis and led to the 1787 Constitution. Clearly argued and superbly written, We Have Not a Government is a must-read history of this crucial period in our nation's early life.
Van Cleve shows how these remarkable stresses transformed the Confederation into a stalemate government and eventually led previously conflicting states, sections, and interest groups to advocate for a union powerful enough to govern a continental empire. Touching on the stories of a wide-ranging cast of characters--including John Adams, Patrick Henry, Daniel Shays, George Washington, and Thayendanegea--Van Cleve makes clear that it was the Confederation's failures that created a political crisis and led to the 1787 Constitution. Clearly argued and superbly written, We Have Not a Government is a must-read history of this crucial period in our nation's early life.
Reviews / Votes
"Instead of asking how the Constitution came to be adopted, Van Cleve asks why the previous government, the Articles of Confederation, failed--and why it failed not only in our own modern eyes, but in the eyes of its contemporaries. Pairing an enormous amount of scrupulous research with the unique perspective of a legal scholar, Van Cleve bridges the divide between scholarship and the curious reader. He writes with smooth, powerful, unobtrusive beauty."--Daniel Walker Howe, author of "What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, winner of the Pulitzer Prize "More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 24 mm
Width: 16 mm
Thickness: 3 mm
Weight
680 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-48050-3 (9780226480503)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

George William Van Cleve
We Have Not a Government
The Articles of Confederation and the Road to the Constitution
E-Book
12/2022
University of Chicago Press
€22.46
Available for download
Person
George William Van Cleve is research professor in law and history at Seattle University School of Law. He is the author of A Slaveholders' Union, also published by the University of Chicago Press.