Bernard Bailyn

An examination of historiographical methods

Peter Musante





History 394 CI
Ideas that Changed History: An Integrative Experience Course

Professor: D. Gordon
April 26
th
2012



Historians are viewers, analysts, explicators of the hubbub of an infinitely
confused station house, with people running in all directions, in a constant
struggle for satisfactory solutions to their problems, their hopes and ambitions.
The fact that raw experience is confused, often bewildering, does not mean that
clear historical analysis is false, only that historians seek, retrospectively, a clearer
understanding than contemporaries could have had.
1


What is history and how do we interpret it? History is a record of the past; the
development of different schools of thought such as Social, Economic, Radical, and Marxist
historiography offers a lens by which historians attempt to extrapolate the most comprehensive
understanding of the past. Each school of thought will contend that one specific point of view
offers an epiphany by which all of history becomes clear. Bernard Bailyn does not subscribe to
one specific school of thought but rather utilizes a number of different historiographies which he
believes appropriate for analysis of specific historical periods.
6
Bailyn moves freely between
established historiographical methods and combines several at once in order to gain a more
comprehensive understanding of the past.
Bernard Bailyns works include analysis of social and political structures
5
, societal
relationships
8
, demographics
10
, primary sources
6
, and the evolution of ideas
6
. Categorizing
Bailyn into a neat package which encompasses accurately his interpretation of history may be
impossible. Gordon S.Wood said He has in fact redrawn whole sections of the map of our
historical knowledge of early American history and has greatly broadened and deepened our
understanding of Americas colonial past- generating by himself schools of scholarship.
2
Bailyns first Pulitzer Prize winning book The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
focused on pamphlets and their effect on the political and social upheaval during the pre-
revolutionary period.
6
Bailyns second Pulitzer Prize winning book, Voyagers to the West,
focused on demographics and the migration of immigrant peoples into North America.
10



Bailyn emphasizes different schools of thought as important to the clear and accurate
understanding of different periods, events and people.


The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution stressed the importance of primary
sources.
6
Bailyn utilized the pamphlets of the pre-revolution writers to further strengthen his
understanding of the goals and motivations of the American Revolution within colonial society
and its political structures. Study of the pamphlets confirmed my rather old-fashioned view that
the American Revolution was above all else an ideological, constitutional, political struggle and
not primarily a controversy between social groups undertaken to force changes in the
organization of the society or the economy
6
Bailyn demonstrates that it is possible to identify
many elements of change within an historical event.
6
Political and ideological developments
examined separately offer an inadequate explanation of the causes of the American Revolution .
6

A historical view point which considers many elements of change will offer a more complete
understanding of history. The intertwining of historiographical schools of thought is essential to
Bailyns conception of history.
Successive accounts of individual lives and the fortunes of specific
families illustrate the range of experiences, the frustrations and successes, and the
ways in which newcomers blended into the nascent North American communities.
Individuality, concreteness, detail-the stories themselves- are what matter here.
The meaning is contained in the narration. These separate small- scale histories
form trace lines- a rubbing, as it were, over the incised reality of that distant
world- which together constitute a sketch of this aspect of the peopling process.
10


Firsthand accounts are one of many primary sources by which Bailyn gains a more
detailed understanding of the past. Bailyn attributed much of his inspiration to the study of
primary sources.
2
V.H Galbraith said primary sources are inexhaustible and an invaluable
inheritance, to every part of which the historian of each succeeding generation will perpetually


refer, if knowledge is to avoid that touch of perversion...
3
Bailyn uses a mix of creativity and
hard evidence to recreate a detailed past that has brought new light to previously obscure
histories.
2

Primary sources are one piece of a complex historiography cultivated by Bailyn. One
could argue that Bailyn integrates social, political and economic history into a larger,
overarching historiography. Bailyn illustrates this through the relationship between political
leaders and civilians in England and the colonies. However glorified the monarch, the state in
ordinary form was indistinguishable from a more general social authority; it was the woven into
the texture of everyday life .
5
Social and political histories are one in the same because they
cannot be separated within the daily lives of American colonists. It was the same squire or
manorial lord who in his various capacities collated to the benefice, set the rents, and enforced
the statues of Parliament and the royal decrees
5
While other historians have given their primary
focus to one interpretation of history, Bailyn utilizes several in order to cultivate a great
understanding of history and contemporary thought. He taught us, without actually saying so in
so many words, that historical-mindedness was not merely the accumulation of knowledge about
the past but, more important, a mode of understanding, a way of perceiving reality
2
Bailyn
strives to achieve a greater understanding of history through the use of multiple historiographies.
Bailyn demonstrates further the relationship between social, economic and political
history in Communications and Trade: The Atlantic in the Seventeen Century which details the
interaction of merchant traders within the colonies and abroad To contemporaries, the
commercial system, which we may describe in abstract, geometrical terms, was not something
impersonal existing above men's heads, outside their lives, to which they attached themselves for
purpose of trade.
8
Merchant interfaces are classified by some historians as economic history


while in Bailyns opinion; colonial merchants demonstrated social and economic relationships.
8

Unconcerned with abstract economic forces, they knew that their trade was the creation of men
and that the bonds that kept its parts together were the personal relationships existing among
them.
8
Bailyn suggest that trade is based on kinship and friendships in order to promote and
secure trade among a network of international merchants. Bailyn argues that understanding the
relationships between colonial merchants transforms a previously economic history into a history
of social and economic structures.
8
Bailyn demonstrates consistently that historiographical
schools of thought can intertwine to offer a more complete, complex history.
What are the overarching themes of Bailyns historiography? Bailyn does not subscribe
to one school of thought rather interchanging and many times integrating several schools of
thought. Primary sources are the basis of a conception of history which is defined not by one
overwhelming force but the overlapping elements of change. Bailyn recognizes through study of
political pamphlets that the American Revolution is not based on tension between classes or
economic forces. The important elements of change during the revolution were political,
intellectual and constitutional controversies.
6
Bailyn identifies the active forces in society and
reflects on their significance to the events which occur during that period.
The important elements of Bailyns historiography are 1) Recognize and identify
relationships; what would seemingly be an economic relationship may be based on a more
important social relationship.
8
Understanding the depth of historical relationships will offer
insight into actions and motivations of contemporaries. 2) Understand the language through a
contemporary lens. Words are contextual, changing and mutating with the times.
6
3) Consider
the possibility that events cause chain reactions, influencing future events in previously
unforeseen ways. 4) Understand the concerns and fears of contemporary peoples.
6
Bailyn cannot


be contained within one form of historiography. The dichotomy of Bailyn is very complex and
changes through time. How does Bailyns conception of history compare with other historians?
Elements of Bailyns historiography can be found in the work of many other historians.
Ranajait Guha discusses the inadequacy of elitist history in his article On some Aspects of the
Historiography of Colonial India.
4
Guha argues that though many Indian, and a few liberal
historians within Britain contribute Indian nationalism to British colonial institutions, it is an
incomplete history.
4
Guha argues, as Bailyn would, that accurate historical interpretations must
examine all facets of society and recognize the powerful forces for change.
4
What is clearly left
out of this un-historical historiography is the politics of the people.
4
Guha contends that though
the upper class was intimately involved in the politics of the colonial period, the people played
an integral role in establishing Indian nationalism.
4

For parallel to the domain of the elite politics there existed throughout the
colonial period another domain of Indian politics in which the principal actors
were not the dominant groups of the indigenous society or the colonial authorities
but the subaltern classes and groups constituting the mass of the laboring
population and the intermediate strata in the town and country- that is, the people.
This was an autonomous domain, for it neither originated from in so far as its
roots could be traced back to pre-colonial times, but it was by no means archaic in
the sense of being outmoded. Far from being destroyed or rendered virtually
ineffective, as was elite politics of the traditional type by the intrusion of
colonialism, it continued to operate vigorously in spite of the Latter
4

Society and politics are intimately related within the context of Indian history. To
understand Indian history, one cannot subscribe to only one type of historiography, in this case
elitism, but rather examine relationships between political and social histories as well. Indian
nationalism was a product of both the actions of the upper and lower classes.
4
Guha and Bailyn
can both identify the greater underlying relationships within established social and political
structures and recognize the relationships which shape history.


Keith Baker offers an interpretation of French historiography which can be compared and
contrasted with Bernard Bailyns understanding of the American Revolution and his
historiographical methodologies. Bailyn emphasizes several factors which he considered
important in writing a historiography of the American Revolution. 1) Primary sources
6.
2) The
mindset of the people. Colonists were bombarded with political pamphlets filled with
revolutionary propaganda.
6
People feared King George III would establish a tyrannical state in
the colonies, violating their God given liberties.
6
3) The political, constitutional and ideological
ideals which were at the center of the conflict.
6
The discourse of political ideas, emphasis on
liberties, rights, etc. all culminated in an intense awareness of power which generated suspicions
of corruption and malcontent towards the monarchy.
6
The greater themes of Bailyns conception
of colonial history emphasize political, intellectual and constitutional forces with an awareness
of shifting concerns within society.
6

Baker examines the French revolution and the shift from primarily social historiography
to political historiography.
7
The shift from a social to political interpretation of the revolution
was caused by a closer examination of the primary sources. Hundreds of local and specialized
studies accumulated, it became increasingly difficult to discern anything resembling a coherent
class explanation amid the proliferation of social categories required to make sense of an
incredibly complex society, subject to extreme regional and local variation.
7
Intensive research
as emphasized by Bailyn is integral to understanding history. The close examination of historical
data allowed a new illumination of French history which exposed flaws within the social
interpretation of the revolution. The correlations between the French and American revolutions
support further Bailyns interpretation of the American Revolution as primarily political,
ideological and constitutional.


...Historians have begun to look again at the political dynamics of the Old Regime and at the
process by which revolutionary principles and practices were invented in the context of absolute
monarchy. As long as the social interpretation of the French Revolution was the dominant one,
this question remained at the margins of historical research.
7

The process of reevaluating the standard historiography of the French revolution exposed
flaws within the typical interpretations. Bailyn if studying the French revolution would consider
the underlying forces that were previously ignored. Baker and Bailyn are similar in their
consideration of the forces which play a role in revolution. Baker examines many different
elements are such as the social and political environment leading up to the revolution. He
examines the work of Voltaire, a prominent philosopher of the time, while Bailyn reflects on the
political writings of the pre revolution era, the influence of ancient writers on political thought.
Baker utilizes Voltaire to emphasize the shift in methodology, considering new influences which
affected the revolution. Voltaire wrote to Chauvelin in 1764. The French come late, but finally
they get there; enlightenment is gradually spreading to such a point that at first chance there will
be a great outburst, and then there will be a fine to do. In this sense, the enlightenment itself
was a profound revolution, already underway
7
Bailyn also emphasizes philosophical writing
and its influence on the Revolution. Testimonies to the unique influence of this opposition
literature- evidence of this great hinterland of belief from which would issue the specific
arguments of the American revolution- are everywhere in the writing of eighteenth-century
Americans.
6
Bailyn and Baker both recognize the influence of political thought upon the
revolutionaries of their histories, identifying the origins of political discourse which greatly
influenced both revolutions. Baker and Bailyn both emphasize similar historiographies,


recognizing the obscure and implicit relationships within society that offer a better understanding
of the development of historical events.
Bernard Bailyn is a historian who does not fit into any single school of scholarship.
Bailyn utilizes several different schools of thought which he deems necessary to the accurate
interpretation of the events and overarching themes of a period. Bailyn utilizes a number of
different schools of thought in his work including social, political, economic, and intellectual
history. Bailyn forms whole new methodologies derived through his own research and
interpretation of history. The emphasis of primary sources as a key inspiration and basis of his
historic mindedness, and recognition of the powerful forces which shape history can be seen
throughout his work. Bailyn has shifted through time to many different schools of thought,
earning high honors utilizing many different methodologies which have been judged to bring a
new understanding to previously misunderstood histories.










Bibliography
1. Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution.
Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 1967. Print.
2. Bailyn, Bernard, and Barbara DeWolfe. Preface. Voyagers to the West: A Passage
in the Peopling of America on the Eve of the Revolution. New York: Knopf, 1986. XXI. Print.
3. Bailyn, Bernard. Ed. Edward Connery. Lathem. On the Teaching and Writing of
History: Responses to a Series of Questions. Hanover, NH: Montgomery Endowment,
Dartmouth College, 1994. 76. Print.
4. Bailyn, Bernard. "Communications and Trade: The Atlantic in the Seventeenth
Century." The Journal of Economic History 13.4 (1953): 378-87. Print.
5. Bailyn, Bernard. "Politics and Social Structure in Virginia." Ed. James Morton
Smith. Seventeenth-century America; Essays in Colonial History. Chapel Hill: Published for the
Institute of Early American History and Culture at Williamsburg, Va., by the University of North
Carolina, 1959. 90-115. Print.
6. Baker, Keith Michael. Inventing the French Revolution: Essays on French
Political Culture in the Eighteenth Century. Cambridge [England: Cambridge UP, 1990. Print.
7. Galbraith, V.H. "An introduction to the Study of History." Historians on History:
Readings. Ed. John Tosh. Second ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Longman, 2009. 19-25. Print.
8. Guha, Ranajit Postcolonialism. Historians on History: Readings. Ed. John Tosh.
Second ed. Harlow, England: Pearson Longman, 2009. 159-165. Print.


9. Rakove, Jack N. "Bernard Bailyn." Ed. Robert Allen Rutland. Clio's Favorites:
Leading Historians of the United States, 1945-2000. Columbia: University of Missouri, 2000. 5-
22. Print.
10. Wood, Gordon S. "The Creative Imagination of Bernard Bailyn." The
Transformation of Early American History: Society, Authority, and Ideology. Ed. James A.
Henretta, Michael G. Kammen, and Stanley Nider. Katz. First ed. New York: Knopf, 1991. 16-
50. Print.


.











End Notes
(1) Bernard Bailyn. On the Teaching and Writing of History: Responses to a Series of Questions
(Hanover, NH: Montgomery Endowment, Dartmouth College, 1994), 76.

(2) Gordon S. Wood. "The Creative Imagination of Bernard Bailyn." The Transformation of
Early American History: Society, Authority, and Ideology. Ed. James A. Henretta,
Michael G. (New York, 1991), 19.

(3) V.H. Galbriath. An Introduction to the Study of History. Historians on History Ed. John Tosh.
(Great Britain,2009) 20-25

(4) Ranajit Guha. On some Aspects of the Historiography of Colonial India, Subaltern Studies I.
Historians on History Ed. John Tosh (Great Britain, 2009) 159-165

(5) Bernard Bailyn. Politics and Social Structure in Virgina. Seventeenth-Century America: Essays
in Colonial History Ed. James Morton Smith (Williamsburg , Virginia , 1959) 90-115

(6) Bernard Bailyn. Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. (Cambridge, MA, 1967)

(7) Keith Michael Baker. Inventing the French Revolution: Essays on French Political Culture in the
Eighteen Century (Cambridge, Ma, 1990)

(8) Bernard Bailyn. Communications and Trade: The Atlantic in the Seventeenth
Century." The Journal of Economic History 13.4 (Cambridge, MA, 1953): 378-387.



(9) Jack N Rokave. Bernard Bailyn. Ed. Robert Allen Rutland. Clio's Favorites: Leading
Historians of the United States, 1945-2000. (Missouri, 2001)

(10) Bernard Bailyn, Barbara DeWolfe, Voyagers to the West: A Passage in the Peopling of America
on the Eve of the Revolution.(New York,1986) preface, XXI