NEW YORK IN THE CRITICAL PERIOD,

1783-1789. By E. Wilder Spaulding '22. 334 pp., Columbia University Press.

Some years ago, Dr. Charles A. Beard published a volume entitled An EconomicInterpretation of the Constitution of theUnited States, which was destined to exert a profound influence upon the study and writing of American history. Though the evidence presented in support of Dr. Beard's viewpoint seemed convincing to most scholars, it is safe to say that his general thesis was regarded by many as partaking of the character of an hypothesis. It was desirable, even necessary, that the interpretation formulated by Dr. Beard should be further tested through the medium of more intensive studies of certain aspects of American political development. To whatever circumstances the inception of Dr. Spaulding's work may have been due, it is true that his monograph does provide such a test, with respect to the political attitude of New York during the "critical period." The volume presents a detailed and scholarly study of the bitter conflict between the forces of Federalism and Antifederalism in that state during the period from 1783 to 1789, and the author has considered this struggle in the light of the social, economic, and political conditions which prevailed during the years in question. It should be explained that the terms "Federalism" and "Antifederalism," as Dr. Spaulding uses them, refer, respectively, to the views of those who favored and those who opposed the movement for a stronger national union, rather than to the principles of the two political parties which evolved during Washington's administrations.

The attitude of New York during the formative years of the Union is particularly important because of its strategic geographical location, which made its adherence to the new Constitution a vital necessity. The fourteen chapters contained in the volume fall rather naturally into three groups. In the earlier chapters, Dr. Spaulding carefully analyzes every important aspect of the social and economic life of New York which may have influenced the political attitude of the State. There are detailed discussions of population characteristics, land tenure, business conditions, and general culture, and the author endeavors constantly to discover how these factors may have influenced men's political viewpoints. He applies his method to the cases of individual leaders and, what is far more difficult, seeks to determine the motives which influenced various groups of the population at large. These chapters are among the most interesting and original of the entire volume. The writer next proceeds to a discussion of certain specific questions which in one way or another involved the issue of nationalism versus state individualism. Among these questions may be noted that of the currency, the matter of state imposts, Federal requisitions for funds, the Loyalists, western lands, and frontier defense. And finally, the volume concludes with a detailed account of the struggle over the Constitution itself, as it manifested itself in New York, culminating in the victory for ratification at the Poughkeepsie Convention of 1788.

The personalities and political leadership of such men as George Clinton and Alexander Hamilton loom large, the former the champion of the forces of Antifederalism and the latter the protagonist of union. At the same time, the activities of many less conspicuous leaders are by no means neglected. As might be expected, the author discovers considerable evidence of a sectional alignment with respect to the issues of the period. New York City and vicinity, for example, favored ratification of the Constitution, while the upper part of the state was inclined to oppose a stronger union. The volume is of unusual current interest because it deals to a considerable degree with a period of economic depression, one which illustrates "the old cycle of inflation, speculation, crisis, hard times, and gradual revival." It is significant that the condition of the farmer at this time was relatively healthy, which caused him to be satisfied with political conditions as they were, and therefore opposed to the ratification of the new Constitution.

Every page of the text and the long and impressive list of sources mentioned in the bibliography bear witness to the painstaking care and real scholarship which have gone into the writing of the volume. There may be those who are irked by the attention to detail which characterizes critical historical scholarship. It may only be observed that the truth is seldom a simple matter, and that it is only upon the basis of such studies as this one by Dr. Spaulding that any significant and sound generalizations in regard to the larger trends of history can ever be made.