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JAMES BURKHART
GILBERT
of the national past - Was it marked by constant struggle between
opposing ideas or was it characterized by agreement or consensus?–
has never been very fruitful. Neither position, struggle or consensus,
is
inherently radical or conservative, since two sorts of questions are
in–
volved: the truth of the matter and the political uses of each inter–
pretation. Staughton Lynd's article, "Beyond Beard," and Barton
Bern–
stein's introductory essay to the volume overlook this point. Bernstein
places New Left historiography in the tradition of Beard and Frederick
Jackson Turner. But these historians owe only a small debt to
Beard.
Bernstein misses an important sign in his collection. The least valuable
articles do indeed emerge from a Beardian analysis, but the best shrewdly
use the insights of the "consensus" historians. Staughton Lynd's
"Be–
yond Beard" is an explicit attempt to revive Beard. But one has the
impression that Lynd's attempts to trim the loose ends of Beard's theories
have cut the whole fabric of analysis. There is no need to revise Beard.
On the contrary - he should be rescued from historians like Lynd
who have sought to transform his sense of political and economic
struggle in American history into a moral contest.
The Bernstein collection reveals the very complex and contradic–
tory origins and insights of New Left historiography. Very properly, it
can be considered an attempt to answer the needs of today's social
critics. But also, the work represented here is at the very center of
American historiography, reflecting and absorbing the traditions of writ–
ing American history. In some cases, New Left history has been con–
structed out of new methodologies or put together from fresh evidence
which was uncovered because historians asked different sorts of ques–
tions about the past. At other times the techniques are conservative. But
with all of its ambiguities and exaggerations it ranks among the most
exciting work being done today in historical research.
James Burkhart Gilbert
