Abstract

The American experiment with democracy faces challenges due to the waning of the moral and religious underpinnings of the original social contract. Religion has played a key role in the development of an American civil society from the pre-revolutionary era to the present. The lessons of historical interpretation have much to offer in illuminating the nation's civil society. This essay evaluates Gordon S. Wood's thought, contrasting it with Alexis de Tocqueville and others, in light of the American tradition of political thought. Wood is a proponent of the civic republican approach to history, which advocates an expanded public sphere and is sceptical of the private realm of civil society. This approach, however, is outside the mainstream of American thought, for civil society has formed an essential component of American life from the earliest days of the colonial and national periods. A promising way to repair the breach in the American social contract is through a renewed awareness of the role of Christianity in the nation's genesis.