Eyewitness to the Revolution: David Ramsay's contemporary account of America's War for Independence emphasizes the pivotal role of colonial culture in the conflict.

The History of the American Revolution, by David Ramsay (edited by Lester H. Cohen), Indianapolis: Liberty Press, 1990 edition (originally published 1789), two-volume set, 701 pages, hardcover. To order, see the ad on page 4.

David Ramsay's The History of the American Revolution, published in 1789, provided late 18th-century Americans with more than a simple retelling of the political and military actions associated with the break from England. Ramsay's two-volume work, written at a time when Americans lacked a coherent cultural identity, sought to provide the loosely united former colonies with a sense of cultural nationalism.

Indeed, for Ramsay the development of a strong unifying culture was imperative if the nation were to survive and prosper. He, as well as other cultural nationalists, bemoaned the fact that Americans continued to manifest a slavish respect for English arts, literature and politics, ultimately failing to nurture their own. The American propensity to identify almost exclusively with a foreign nation became one of Ramsay's primary concerns. He feared that social and cultural divisions would arise and lead to hostility, distrust, and fragmentation. A new nation founded upon the principles of liberty, virtue, and republicanism needed to articulate and identify with these principles or risk chaos and disintegration.

Cultural nationalists like Ramsay developed a line of thought that is as relevant today as it was then: The idea that politics and culture were inextricably linked. The close relationship between these elements ensured that changes in one were likely to affect the other. A culture without virtue, or one that lacked a shared sense of republican principles, would inevitably devolve into chaos. Ramsay presented a simplified version of American history, one that promoted national unity based upon moral rectitude and reverence for past individuals and institutions.

Ramsay's history is written in a purposeful 18th century style intended to shape opinion. He felt, as other writers did, that it was not sufficient merely to recall the events of the revolution, but to promote his brand of unifying nationalism as well. Readers of Ramsay's history encountered all of the political and military events presented in coherent fashion. He had access to a tremendous amount of documentation and personally knew many of the principles. His proximity to the events gives his account an immediacy that surpasses any modern work. Subsequent historians have faulted Ramsay for his oversimplifications, especially when dealing with the political nature of the early colonists. But Ramsay's intent was to craft a history that might moderate the potential forces of disunity. He did this by expanding on the English principles of liberty and justice and making them identifiably American. When American colonists resisted taxation without representation they did so because it violated their rights as E nglishmen. In Ramsay's estimation they had preserved and developed the true meaning of these rights not merely because they were English, but because their American character was imbued with a sense of liberty forged by a uniquely American experience.

Spiritual Roots

Ramsay's History of the American Revolution does not begin on the eve of the war, or even with the political acts that immediately preceded it. Rather, he first introduces the political and spiritual characteristics of the English colonists. For Ramsay, these first colonists were the embodiment of the order and morality. They possessed a liberty of conscience that led them to the New World and enabled them to progress beyond their Old World counterparts still mired in monarchical politics and rampant clericalism. Their sense of virtue naturally impacted their politics and contributed to an understanding and spirit of liberty that is rare even today.

The distance between England and her colonies nurtured this liberty of conscience.

Ramsay notes that colonists "perceived the obligation of dependence much more feebly than the parent isle, who not only saw, but daily felt, the fangs of power." The distance from England, therefore, contributed to a sense of independence and love of liberty not encountered elsewhere.

According to Ramsay, religion also played an important part in the development of an American sense of liberty. The majority were Protestants who naturally favored the "right of private judgment." Ramsay's propensity to simplify issues to create a sense of homogeneity is evident in his dealings with religion, but there is something to the idea that distance limited the interference of clerical authority in the colonies, creating an independence not seen in Europe. For example, the Church of England, the state religion in the motherland, functioned largely as an independent entity in the colonies and, according to Ramsay, was unfamiliar with the political trappings "which make religion an engine of the state." In Ramsay's words, "their religion was their own ... neither imposed by authority, nor made subservient to political purposes."

Politically, the first settlers viewed themselves as inheritors of the privileges of Englishmen. Ramsay makes good use of this point in laying the groundwork for the taxation disputes that ultimately led to the independence movement. It was the right of all Englishmen to give money only with their free consent and only through the House of Commons, as it alone represented them. Taxes were essentially the gifts of the people to their government. Only the people, by virtue of their rights, could consent to taxation. Commenting on the issue of taxation consent, Ramsay wrote: "While this right rests in the hands of the people, their rights are secured." It was arbitrary taxation imposed without consent that ultimately led to the break with England.

The idea that all men were created equal without distinction of rank is explicit in Ramsay's writings. Americans were not as encumbered with the class distinctions that plagued Europe and for the most part held to the idea that equality was natural and God-given. The rights of life, liberty, and property were ultimately bestowed by God and not by any government. That simple fact provided the colonists with the determination to resist the encroachments on their liberty. Ramsay wrote that they were "strongly convinced of their right to refuse and resist parliamentary taxation." It was, in their estimation, a violation of "their right to exclusive disposal of their property."

Sense of Unity

Ramsay's History of the American Revolution is particularly valuable for the modem reader because cultural unity continues to be relevant, especially in troubled times. In Ramsay's estimation it was the American ability to forget "local attachments and partialities" that insured the success of the Revolution. It was the sense of common danger that compelled the various colonies to rally to the aid of Massachusetts in time of distress. For Ramsay this was proof of the existence of an identifiable American cultural polity based upon shared assumptions and ideas. This cultural unity that Ramsay so valued, even if it was not as robust as he envisioned it, was to serve as the bedrock of American nationalism.

The modem American obsession with cultural diversity and the attendant denigration of western culture would have shocked Ramsay and his fellow cultural nationalists. They would have viewed such an obsession as a catalyst for division and hostility, as indeed it is.

In his treatment of the military actions, Ramsay gives a good account of the obstacles facing the patriots. The Continental Army and the state regiments were often poorly fed and clothed, and were rarely paid. At times it seemed more difficult simply to field the army than actually to engage the opponent. Examples of extraordinary self-sacrifice extended beyond the military to encompass the average citizen. Stoppage of trade with England forced the colonies to do with less but it did not dampen the American spirit. They simply manufactured themselves what in previous times had been imported from England. Southern patriots battled a strong British military force and a significant number of hostile loyalists. Fighting on the southern frontier was marked by a particularly brutal brand of warfare that claimed the lives of many innocent civilians.

These examples and others serve to remind all Americans that selfless patriots purchased our freedoms with their own blood, and in doing so gave birth to a nation united by the fundamental principles of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." These shared ideals overcame the regional, religious and ethnic differences that might have led to political fragmentation and have come to constitute the underpinnings of our national character. Ramsay knew the importance of forging a national identity using these fundamental principles to build the national character. It is a lesson that has recently been suppressed as we move further away from our political and cultural past but, given the current state of affairs, needs to be revisited.

Mr. Telzrow is Curator of History at the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin.