Distrustofpublicinstitutions,whichreachedcriticalproportionsinBritainandtheUnitedStatesinthefirsttwodecadesofthetwenty-firstcentury,wasanimportantthemeofpublicdiscourseinBritainandcolonialAmericaduringtheearlymodernperiod.Demonstratingbroadchronologicalandthematicrange,thehistorianBrianP.Levackexplainsthattrustinpublicinstitutionsismoretenuousanddifficulttorestoreonceithasbeenbetrayedthantrustinone’sfamily,friends,andneighbours,becausethevastmajorityofthepopulacedonotpersonallyknowtheofficialswhorunlargenationalinstitutions.Institutionaldistrustshapedthepolitical,legal,economic,andreligioushistoryofEngland,Scotland,andtheBritishcoloniesinAmerica.ItprovidedatheoreticalandrhetoricalfoundationforthetwoEnglishrevolutionsoftheseventeenthcenturyandtheAmericanRevolutioninthelateeighteenthcentury.Italsoinspiredreformsofcriminalprocedure,changesinthesystemofpubliccreditandfinance,andchallengestotheclergywhodominatedtheChurchofEngland,theChurchofScotland,andthechurchesintheAmericancolonies.ThisstudyrevealsstrikingparallelsbetweenthelossoftrustinBritishandAmericaninstitutionsintheearlymodernperiodandthepresentday.
