English Nationalism as a Foundation of American Nationalism
Thoughts on Max Savelle's "Nationalism and other Loyalties." (1962)
Max Savelle, “Nationalism and Other Loyalties in the American Revolution,” The American Historical Review 67, no. 4 (Jul. 1962), 901-923.
Many scholars see nationalism as a product of the 19th century or at the earliest, the late 18th century. Not Max Savelle (1896-1979), a former scholar from the University of Washington. Savelle argues that the emergence of modern states, particularly the 18th century British Empire, led to a British national identity. This “English mythos, idea of Anglo-Saxon love of liberty” in turn was transferred to the Americans who divided over what national ideals were most important to defend.
I am very sympathetic to this concept of an early British nationalism. Across numerous sources I have seen this British identity functioning much more as a national identity than a “imperial” identity. Here are a couple of ideas that I found interesting that Savelle proposed.
Americans see themselves as Britons (most scholars would not agree with this) but they were seen as a “different sort of Briton.” In other words, though Americans believe they are the same as those in Great Britain, the English don’t see them that way.
Idea that tensions between American Whigs and Tories is over a conflict of “national ideals.” While Whigs stood for “the maintenance of the old loyalty…against the policies and actions…of misguided ministries,” Tories “clung to the old loyalty despite the policies of the same ministries however misguided. In essence, Tories wanted reform, but were unwilling to risk the empire. He most emphatically argues that “The Tories were idealists; the Whigs were realists.”
This is very much a New England centric argument, which to me suggests once again that there are multiple different growing American identities.
Overall this was a fascinating essay and one that can be useful for scholars exploring the roots of American nationalism. I also think this can be useful for those examining how nationalism works within the growth of the British Empire
Robert Swanson
Link to essay here.