A republic of men

by Mark E. Kann

What role did manhood play in early American politics? In A Republic of Men, Mark E. Kann argues that the American founders aspired to create a "republic of men" but feared that "disorderly men" threatened its birth, health, and longevity. Kann demonstrates how hegemonic norms of manhood - exemplified by "the Family Man," for instance - were deployed as a means of stigmatizing unworthy men, rewarding responsible men with citizenship, and empowering exceptional men with positions of leadership and authority, while excluding women from public life. A Republic of Men compellingly analyzes the ways in which the founders used the language of manhood to stabilize early American politics by reestablishing order in the ranks of men and reinforcing men's patriarchal prerogative over women.