Table of Contents

List of tables and maps; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. The revolutionary frontier, 1763–1800; 2. The failure of the covenanted community and the standing order, 1791–1815; 3. Religion and reform in the shaping of a new order, 1815–28; 4. From an era of promise to pressing times, 1815–43; 5. A clamor for reform, 1828–35; 6. The great revival, 1827–43; 7. A modified order in town life and politics, 1835–50; 8. Boosterism, sentiment, free soil, and the preservation of a Christian, reformed republic; Conclusion; Appendices; Notes; Index.

Promotional Information

The Democratic Dilemma seeks to explain Vermonters' extraordinary faith and idealism.

Reviews

"...Offers a solid analysis of early nineteenth-century Vermont as it adjusted to rapid social and economic change, and faced conflicts between democratic ideology and the inequalities produced by a competitive economy...Roth adds an important dimension to our understanding of the New England frontier, and the manner in which New Englanders bridged post-Revolutionary conflicts between democratic equality and economic competition." Jeffrey P. Brown, the Historian