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Pa r t I I Seven Echoes of American Constitutionalism A Global Perspective Part 2 of this book is organized around seven “echoes,” or peak periods, of American constitutional influence. Each occurred following a war, revolution, or similar upheaval. The first echo, 1776 to 1800, resounded after the American Revolution and set off a round of Americaninfluenced constitutions in northwestern Europe and adjacent hinterlands. It was followed by six peak periods when American constitutionalism gradually spread around the rest of the globe. This survey indicates how persistent, though unevenly, interest in the American model was in the world from 1776 to 1989. Although the model was never duplicated in its entirety in any one country, the example of America as a republic with a constitutional system guaranteeing selfgovernment by a free people continued to inspire and instruct countries seeking new patterns of governance. There were other periods, called interludes , however, when interest in the American model flagged for various reasons. In Europe, the richness of the constitutional traditions often made it difficult for American constitutionalism to compete. For instance, the monarchical system showed great flexibility in meeting the challenges of aristocrats, the rising bourgeois class, and radical political movements of all sorts. These interludes were significant because they showed that the spread of American constitutionalism was not a series of uninterrupted triumphs, as portrayed in some accounts of Whig history. Rather, there were sporadic setbacks and periods of quiescence along the way when the American model did not advance. ...

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