Covenant in the Nineteenth Century: The Decline of an American Political Tradition

This book explores the decline of the political ideas of covenant and political compact as Americans passed from the Revolutionary period into the 19th century. A distinguished group of political scientists focus on the transformation from covenant to compact in the late 18th century, the diminishing use of both among intellectual and political pacesetters in the early 19th century, their partial revival at the time of the Civil War, and replacement by Social Darwinism in the late 19th century. By examining 19th-century politics, law, literature, and theology, they reconstruct the impact of the covenant idea on American politics and political thought. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Federalism.