The American Attack on British Institutions Part 2

by: Rick Brainard

Date: 03/15/04

The next social change during the American Revolution was the attack upon the privileged. Americans particularly disliked privilege because of their experience with British nobility. Americans felt that this privileged status was too much of a British institution of control.

Many people may want to be like the privileged but they do not want to be subservient. Americans had a particular distaste for hereditary privilege. In the United States, there is no nobility but there is an aristocracy based on wealth, which is present even today. The founding fathers were trying to displace these aspects of privilege and subservience in American society. For example, the colonist ousted two wealthy Tory families, the Johnsons and Pipernells, from the country. As explained before, there is no nobility in this country because nobility is a British institution.

Wealth is another matter entirely. Many people harbor distaste for wealth but they want to be like those with wealth. They want the money, the finery and the social status that come with such wealth. In 1776, Maryland outlawed titles and the Articles of Confederation abolished titles on the national level. In 1785, the nobility could not gain citizenship until they gave up or renounced their titles. Congress would not even recognize the Baron Von Stuben until he dropped the 'Baron' title from his name.

In 1787, the Congress passed a law where foreigners with titles cannot become citizens until they renounced their titles nor could American citizens receive them. The American attitude towards aristocracy was so entrenched that there was considerable hysteria when two former officers of the Continental Army, Henry Knox and Von Stuben created the order of Cincinatus. The public believed that this institution was creating an American form of aristocratic nobility because the orders bylaws allowed only officers of the continental army to join.

A cause for further public concern was that the eldest sons of each member automatically become a member of the order. The order of Cincinatus was the brainchild of Henry Knox and Von Stuben. The first elected president of the order was George Washington. The members of this society paid dues. The public was fearful that the members would use this money to buy power or public office. Jefferson and Madison advised Washington to drop the hereditary factor in the organization.

Part 3: Attack on Land Ownership