{"product_id":"america-before-1787-jon-elster-9780691242675","title":"America Before 1787: The Unraveling of a Colonial Regime","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn original account, drawing on both history and social science, of the causes and consequences of the American Revolution\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith \u003ci\u003eAmerica before 1787\u003c\/i\u003e, Jon Elster offers the second volume of a projected trilogy that examines the emergence of constitutional politics in France and America. Here, he explores the increasingly uneasy relations between Britain and its American colonies and the social movements through which the thirteen colonies overcame their seemingly deep internal antagonisms. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eElster documents the importance of the radical uncertainty about their opponents that characterized both British and American elites and reveals the often neglected force of enthusiasm, and of emotions more generally, in shaping beliefs and in motivating actions. He provides the first detailed examinations of \"divide and rule\" as a strategy used on both sides of the Atlantic and of the rise and fall of collective action movements among the Americans. Elster also explains how the gradual undermining in America of the British imperial system took its toll on transatlantic relations and describes how state governments and the American Confederation made crucial institutional decisions that informed and constrained the making of the Constitution. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing on a wide range of historical sources and on theories of modern social science, Elster brings together two fields of scholarship in innovative and original ways. The result is a unique synthesis that yields new insights into some of the most important events in modern history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jon Elster\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691242674\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691242675\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/24\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 488\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.49lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.21h x 6.14w x 1.09d","brand":"Jon Elster","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47965148676351,"sku":"9780691242675","price":29.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_b822d0a1-46a1-4f58-a6b0-f205250cef57.jpg?v=1767278726","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/america-before-1787-jon-elster-9780691242675","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}