Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815

Chapter 1

“Most of the Revolutionary leaders thought of property in pre-modern, almost classical terms… They conceived of it as a source of authority and independence, not as a commodity” (9).

Masculine and martial virtues were valued for ancient republics but during Enlightenment this shifted as intellectuals believed those virtues weren’t compatible in modern states. Civility and politeness became more important.

Political elites believed that gentlemen, propertied elite who did not have to work for a living, were the class who was supposed to hold political office but this assumption is challenged with one of the results of the Revolution being a greater number of political offices and a more democratic politics

The political leaders at the time believed that all men were created equal in their rights but not in their talents

If political leaders were laborers, artisans, merchants, etc they could not be disinterested