Wood, G. S. The Creation of the American Republic.New York:
Norton, 1969.
Zvesper, J. Political Philosophy and Rhetoric: a Study of the Ori-
gins of American Party Politics.New York: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press, 1977.
African American
The term African Americanis a relatively modern one.
Put simply, it describes Americans of African origin.
However, the term is incomplete in several regards.
First, it does not include nonblack African Americans
of Semitic origin. Second, it does not reflect the signifi-
cant diversity within the group it seeks to describe:
African Americans in Mississippi may have little in
common with their counterparts in New York or Port-
land, for example.
The term is better understood as a symbol of em-
powerment among black Americans. Historically,
blacks in America referred to themselves as African.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the term Af-
rican Americandid not exist. This group was referred
to themselves simply as Africans. For example, the
African Methodist Episcopal Church, formed in the
late 18th century, used the term Africanto describe
black people.
Names or labels for former slaves have always been
mutable. As a result of the historic and contemporary
influences of RACISM, African Americans sought their
own label or identity. Instead of having a variety of
names such as colored, negro, black,or the extremely
derogatory term niggerforced on them, this commu-
nity in the early 1900s sought the label of either Afro
or African Americanin an effort to take ownership of
their collective identity. This new term would not only
refer to the descendants of slaves brought to the “New
World” in chains, but would also include their con-
temporary immigrants brought to the Americas in
search of economic and political opportunity.
Like many other ethnic Americans, African Ameri-
cans use this label as an organizing reference for gen-
eral notions of culture, language, religion, values, and
identity that has served to influence American history.
Indeed, in the realm of politics, economics, religion,
culture, music, dance, and theater, the impact of
African Americans is significant. One notable scholar
argued that the 20th century, often termed the Ameri-
can century, would be better described as the African-
American century because of the impact of that
particular community.
Contemporary African-American thought centers
around the enduring issue of equality. A broad debate
within the community is taking place concerning the
issues of middle-class African Americans, the continued
breakdown of families, and notions of empowerment
and identity. Chief among the debaters are prominent
African-American thinkers such as Cornell West, Jesse
JACKSON, Henry Louis Gates, and Kweisi Mfume.Further Reading
West, Cornell. Race Matters.Auburn, Calif.: Audio Partners,
1994.Albertus Magnus, St. (1200–1280) Medieval
theologian and philosopher
Albertus entered the Dominican Order at Padua in- He taught at several Catholic schools (including
at Cologne, where St. Thomas AQUINASwas his stu-
dent). Like Aquinas, Magnus drew from a vast store of
theology and philosophy (Arabic, Jewish, Greek, and
Augustinian). This synthesis of philosophy and CHRIS-
TIANtheology greatly affected the changing views of
political thought in the West in the Middle Ages. Par-
ticularly, his use of ARISTOTLE’s political ideals within
the context of the church of the Middle Ages changed
the outlook of Western Christianity. St. Thomas
Aquinas fully developed this synthesis in his Summa
Theologica. In 1260, Magnus was elected bishop of
Ratisbon, but he resigned from this administrative
work to devote his life to writing and scholarship. He
was canonized and proclaimed a doctor of the church
by Pope Pius XI in 1931.
alienation
The idea of being an alien or stranger in one’s own
world—of feeling lonely, strange, or of not belonging
in one’s surroundings. This concept of alienation is
present in much of Western political thought, but
especially in MARXISTcommunist sociology theory. The
earliest representation of this concept in the West is
found in Judeo-CHRISTIAN religion where individual
persons are separated from God by their willful sin and
rebellion against God’s law (the Ten Commandments,
etc.). Because human happiness and fulfillment
requires being close to God, one’s creator, the alien-
ation from God through sin and selfishness produces
misery and destruction. The Jewish people overcame6 African American