| By examining the intersection of changing political and intellectual cultures, and with the colonial statesman and scholar, Cadwallader Colden, as its focus, this dissertation offers a new account of pre-Revolutionary New York. Colden first emerged in that province as part of an intelligentsia based at the governor's court. His position evolved as New York's political and intellectual life was dramatically enlarged and altered by the development of more public, urban, and popular forms of association, as well as by the growth of a partisan print culture. In the late 1720s Colden withdrew to his countryseat in rural Ulster County. From there, he helped to construct an elite, transprovincial community of scholars. He also envisioned a separation of country philosophy from urban politics, but this ideal was challenged by the emergence of a vibrant intellectual culture in the city, as well as by the rise of a new generation of creole politico-intellectuals. After returning to the heart of New York politics in 1746, Colden was censured for his printed material, and his scientific persona became the subject of ridicule. Such public attacks on Colden only increased after he became lieutenant governor of New York in 1761. Throughout this time, Colden advocated new forms of intellectual and political life that accepted but sought to contain popular participation. He condemned the politics of his opponents as irrational demagoguery, and fought to preserve a traditional, deferential social order by promoting values of moderation, gentility, reason, and restraint. Colden's attack on public dissension was an essential part of these efforts, as was his promotion of elite scientific activities. By articulating a new and innovative conservatism, Colden shaped American thought in ways that lasted well beyond his death in 1776. |
