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This 3 page paper examines chapters 43-46 of Boorstin's book on the formation of the United States and its government. Bibliography lists 1 source.
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3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVBoorst.rtf
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formation of the United States and its government Discussion In Part Eight of his book, Boorstin refers to the "vagueness" that surrounded the establishment of the new American
nation. Unfortunately, some of his writing seems a bit vague as well, so that its hard to follow his reasoning. In Chapter 43, he takes as his premise
that the American Revolution was a "war of secession" not only from England but from European thought as well (Boorstin, 1965). "It was, in part, precipitated by the obstinate
European insistence that growing, ill-defined institutions should fit obsolete, irrelevant theories" (Boorstin, 1965, p. 393). By "growing ill-defined institutions" Boorstin means the American government, which was a difficult entity
to form. There was no agreement on the form the government should take, and the ratification of the Constitution was not a foregone conclusion-the battle for ratification, and for
the establishment of a strong federal government (as opposed to a confederation in which most of the rights remained with the states)-took several years. Boorstin also points out
that communication in the 1700s was by ship; it could take months for Britain to get in touch with her colonies, and understand what was happening there. The great distances
and lapse of time meant that Britain had trouble controlling the colonies; this is in part the "vagueness" of which Boorstin speaks. Chapter 44 deals with this same
type of vagueness but from a different perspective, that of the English. They were astonished that the American colonies would try to separate from the Crown and become a
nation, because they thought that the country had been created in a way that Boorstin describes as "topsy-turvy" (Boorstin, 1965, p. 400). In Europe, it was the pattern for
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