Expanding Ethics

From the aftermath of Yorktown through the rise of political parties in the early republic, this chapter shows that legislation and policy (from the Treaty of Paris to the Constitution to attempts at abolitionism) were based on these new concepts of honor and virtue. It also shows the institutionalizing of egalitarian honor in schools, organizations (like the Society of the Cincinnati), occupations, and politics. It charts the development of business ethics in the form of professional honor for lawyers, doctors, and even job applicants. Most importantly, this chapter engages the new conceptions of honor that developed during the early republic, including the rise to prominence of Franklin’s ascending honor (which in part was adapted into the notion of republican womanhood) and Thomas Jefferson’s version that made honor entirely internal and akin to modern ethics. The chapter examines how these new ideals impacted all classes of society including women and African Americans. While most citizens agreed that honor and virtue were defining elements, they differed greatly on how these concepts related to governance, policy (especially the French Revolution), and society. Contestations over the interpretation of national and personal honor would in turn spark in-fighting, dissention, and revival belief systems, highlighted by the development of political parties.

From Tension to Victory

This part studies the persistence of the old order of honor, dishonor, and the loss of virtue during the middle–late years of the war. It presents the varying conceptions of honor and virtue that existed, and the internal and societal battles between the old and new concepts. This chapter also notes contestation between within the martial and civilian society over who best exemplified America’s lofty principles—a conflict that remained until Benedict Arnold’s treason at West Point refocused the country. It advances a new claim that Arnold’s treason was vital to America’s winning the war by helping to formalize a unified image of dishonor and thereby revive the country’s focus on egalitarian ethics.

The Old World Meets the New

This chapter stretches from the early eighteenth century to the end of the French and Indian War. With a focus on how European ideals permeated early American society, Chapter 1 traces Washington and Franklin’s individual definitions of honor and virtue and how they changed over time. It discusses how their mindsets were largely the result of self-education and personal experience, allowing for a comparison between the northern and southern colonies. It also illustrates the extremely early emergence of an American concept of honor, highlighted by Franklin’s 1723 original concept of merit-based “ascending honor”. The chapter shows Americans as first moving closer to Europe ideologically, before a transformation in ethical ideals saw a greater divergence from the mother country. It also frames the Revolution as being sparked by these preexisting ethical changes.

March 16, 1824

On March 16, 1824, former major general Andrew Jackson was invited to the White House to receive the Congressional Gold Medal from President James Monroe in a ceremony filled with “pomp and parade.” The medal was a long overdue reward for his service at the Battle of New Orleans, but it also signalled a formal and public recognition of Jackson’s character. This narrative epilogue will explore how Andrew Jackson came to define a new generation of individuals who sought to make their own path in the world and move from beyond the shadow of their Revolutionary ancestors and their ideals. This section will illustrate how Jackson embodied a nineteenth-century American culture whereby honor became linked with glory and ambition was no longer a vice.

Maintaining Moral Superiority

This section analyzes the early years of the Revolution, including the ethics of the war and Americans’ attention to maintaining moral superiority. It shows that the patriots wanted to win, but win well. They wanted the new country to succeed, but not at the cost of honor or virtue. Thus, this chapter shows attempts to discourage the old European notions of honor that still existed in favor of the democratized version. It shows how ethical ideals played a role in all aspects of military establishment from battlefield tactics, to the treatment of prisoners, to the recruitment of soldiers. It also presents an expansion of honor and a broadening of ethics as part of a wider social revolution that included those of different genders, races, and classes as equal participants and claimants to honor. It looks at martial and civil policies that enforced conduct and recognized women’s and African Americans’ contributions. All people could claim their share of honor and virtue through proper conduct, duty to the nation, and, above all, ethical behavior.

The Counterrevolution in American Ethics

Escorting the reader through the turn of the nineteenth century to the War of 1812, this chapter uses dueling (especially the Hamilton-Burr duel) and tensions between political parties as a lens to examine conflicting definitions of national honor and the temporary decline of personal honor. However, it also illustrates the revival of personal honor in the sons of the Revolutionary generation at the dawn of the War of 1812, especially as exhibited through reactions to British impressments and the Chesapeake-Leopard Affair. This chapter presents a counterrevolution in ethics that was contested between the Revolutionary generation (with specific focus on Adams and Jefferson’s conception of natural aristocracy) and their descendents. The nature of this conflict exhibits the continually evolving concepts of ethics, honor, and virtue. But the resistance to a return to an older form of honor illustrates the continuation of the Revolution’s ideals.

A Matter of Honor and a Test of Virtue

This chapter traces the period from the end of the French and Indian War to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. It analyzes the formation of a communal sense of self before and during the Revolution, based on recognition of British slights to Americans’ personal honor. The origins of the American Revolution are thus cast as a defense of honor on the part of the patriots. This chapter illustrates how ethical changes that occurred during the colonial period directly led to the American Revolution. The central theme is the progression of American honor, virtue, and ethics from simply a direct British offspring to something that is more individualized under the context of a nascent proto-nationalism. This chapter contends that the patriots viewed the American Revolution as a matter of honor and a test of virtue. Men like Washington felt that British policy had attacked their honor, and they were forced to react. America would win or lose based upon maintaining its virtue. It also offers new causes of the war. The chapter shows that the coming of the Revolution was understood by the patriots as more of an ethical question than a question of taxation or sovereignty.

A Shared Identity

This chapter looks at the dissemination of these ethics by America’s colleges through honor codes, disciplinary measures, books, and classroom lessons. American schools became instrumental in establishing a commonality of thought and a sense of camaraderie based upon honor culture that helped to translate into unity during the Revolution. The lessons taught in classes and the rules that governed the colleges became a continuing guide and foundation for the progression of honor as an ethical concept throughout early America. This is the first study of its kind and shows how early college rules would directly impact the patriots’ behavior during the Revolution.

What Are Honor, Virtue, and Ethics and How Did They Influence the American Revolution?

The introduction frames the ethical concepts of honor and virtue historically and historiographically, while examining the influence of these ideas on the modern world. It contends that honor and virtue, as they existed in the seventeenth through nineteenth centuries, still exists, but are now commonly understood as ethics. It also tracks the changing definitions over several centuries. The introduction establishes the framework that shows how the American Revolution was caused by a shift in ethical principles during the colonial era.