Deceased. Professor Henretta is the author of various books and articles in early American history, including Salutary Neglect: Colonial Administration under the Duke of Newcastle (1972); The Evolution of American Society, 1700–1815: An Interdisciplinary Analysis (1973); Evolution and Revolution, 1600–1820 (1987); and The Origins of American Capitalism: Collected Essays (1991). He is also the co-author of two survey texts: America's History, 4th edition (2000) and America: A Concise History (1998).

• Introduction Jürgen Heideking and James A. Henretta; Part I. Overview: 1. 'Wir nennen's Gemeinism' (we call it public spirit): Republic and Republicanism in the German political discussion of the nineteenth century Rudolf Vierhaus; Part II. The Republican World: 2. The concept of the Republic in eighteenth-century German thought Hans Erich Bödeker; 3. Kant's Republicanism and its consequences Otto Dann; 4. Constitutions, charity, and liberalism in comparative perspective: Germany and the Anglo-American tradition A. G. Roeber; 5. Politics and sentiment: Catharine Macaulay's Republicanism Vera Nünning; 6. Between Liberalism and Republicanism: 'manners' in the political thought of Mercy Otis Warren Rosemarie Zagarri; Part III. The Transition from Republicanism to Liberalism: 7. The Liberal Democratic Republicanism of the first American State constitutions, 1776–80 Willi Paul Adams; 8. Bennington and the Green Mountain Boys: the emergence of Liberal Democracy in Vermont, 1760–1850 Robert E. Shalhope; 9. The birth of American Liberalism: New York, 1820–60 James A. Henretta; 10. Republicanism, Liberalism, and market society: party formation and party ideology in Germany and the United States, c.1825–50 Paul Nolte; 11. Festive culture and national identity in America and Germany Jürgen Heideking; 12. Charles Follen's Perception of Republicanism in Germany and the United States, 1815–40 Edmund Spevack; Part IV. The Logic of Liberalism: 13. 'The right to possess all the faculties that God has given': possessive individualism, slave women, and abolitionist thought Amy Dru Stanley; 14. Freedom of contract and freedom of person: a brief history of 'involuntary servitude' in American fundamental law Robert J. Steinfeld.

"...a rich, pathbreaking volume that should stimulate further debate and research on both sides of the Atlantic. ...a very welcome addition to the literature and deserves a wide-readership." German Studies Review