Chapter V, TRANSFORMATION, p. 162.
“
The ideas that the colonists put forward, rather than creating a new condition of fact, expressed one that has long existed; they articulated and in so doing generalized, systematized, gave moral sanction to what had emerged haphazardly, incompletely and insensibly, from the chaotic factionalism of colonial politics.
— Bernard Bailyn
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The ideas that the colonists put forward, rather than creating a new condition of fact, expressed one that has long existed; they articulated and in so doing generalized, systematized, gave moral sanction to what had emerged haphazardly, incompletely and insensibly, from the chaotic factionalism of colonial politics." in the context of "Chapter V, TRANSFORMATION, p. 162." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Bernard Bailyn" (Quotes, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution (1967))
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
About Bernard Bailyn
Bernard Bailyn (September 9, 1922 – 7 August 2020), was an American historian, author, and professor specializing in U.S. Colonial and Revolutionary-era History. He was a professor at Harvard from 1953 and won the Pulitzer Prize for History twice, in 1968 and 1987.
About Bernard Bailyn
Bernard Bailyn (September 9, 1922 – 7 August 2020), was an American historian, author, and professor specializing in U.S. Colonial and Revolutionary-era History. He was a professor at Harvard from 1953 and won the Pulitzer Prize for History twice, in 1968 and 1987.
View all quotes →