Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
Abstract
Gordon Wood's classic book Creation of the American Republic has long influenced legal thought and originalist scholarship in particular. It played a central role in the Republican Revival movement, an effort by leading scholars such as Cass Sunstein and Frank Michelman to recover a progressive originalism at the same time as conservative originalism was starting to shape constitutional jurisprudence. But, while the Republican Revival nominally relied on Wood, it misread central elements of his book - his concept of virtue and his belief that republicanism had largely been displaced at the time of the drafting of the Constitution.
The time has come for what might be considered a Republican Revival Revival. Recognition of the influence of competing ideologies (including republicanism) at the time of ratification will prove a fruitful path for future originalist thinking that will challenge current originalist jurisprudence, but, if it is to be historically accurate and to recognize Wood's insights, it will need to reject the central tenets of the original Republican Revival.
Publication Citation
Yale Journal of Law & Humanities, Vol. 36, Special Issue in Honor of Gordon Wood, 1014-1021.
Scholarly Commons Citation
Treanor, William M., "Creation and the Republican Revival" (2026). Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works. 2699.
https://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/facpub/2699
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