The British historian, jurist, and statesman James Bryce, Viscount Bryce (1838-1922), is best known for "The American Commonwealth," a significant study of United States political institutions. He also fostered a revival of interest in Roman law.

James Bryce was born on May 10, 1838, in Belfast, Ireland, the son of a Scottish schoolmaster. In 1846 the family moved to Glasgow, Scotland, where James attended secondary school and studied at the university. In 1857 he entered Trinity College, Oxford, where he had a brilliant scholastic career. In 1862 he was elected a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and was the first fellow who did not take the Anglican oaths.

Bryce's The Holy Roman Empire (1864) established his reputation as a legal historian. After practicing law in London for several years, he returned to Oxford in 1870 as regius professor of civil law, a post he held until 1893. His lectures at Oxford (published in 1901 as Studies in History and Jurisprudence) led to a revival in the study of Roman law.

An avid traveler, Bryce made the first of many trips to the United States in 1870. His interest in the life of the Armenians, which was acquired during a climbing holiday in 1876, led him to write Transcaucasia and Ararat (1877). A close friend and adviser of William Gladstone, Bryce entered the House of Commons in 1880 and from 1885 to 1907 sat as a Liberal member. During this period he completed his most important work, The American Commonwealth (1888). In this classic study, Bryce's legal training, historical knowledge, and firsthand experience of American life contribute to his cogent and influential analysis of the governmental process in the United States.

After serving as undersecretary for foreign affairs in 1886 and again in 1892, Bryce served as president of the Board of Trade and chairman of the Royal Commission on Secondary Education in 1894-1895. His visit to South Africa in 1895 led him to protest the handling of negotiations with the Boer republics, and his Impressions of South Africa (1897) influenced the Liberal position on the Boer War.

After serving as chief secretary for Ireland (1905-1906), Bryce was the British ambassador to the United States (1907-1913). During his ambassadorship he dealt with many United States-Canadian problems. He was elevated to the peerage on his return to England in 1913. During the remaining 9 years of his life, Bryce served on the International Court at The Hague, supported the establishment of the League of Nations, and published Modern Democracy (1921). He died on Jan. 22, 1922.

Further Reading

The best book on Bryce is H. A. L. Fisher, James Bryce (2 vols., 1927). It emphasizes Bryce's connections with the United States but also discusses his parliamentary career, writings, and influence on legal studies. See also Edmund S. Ions's study, James Bryce and American Democracy, 1870-1922 (1968).

Additional Sources

Bernard, Burton C., James Bryce and St. Louis: a bibliographic introduction to the writings of James Bryce, May 10, 1988, Granite City, Ill.: B.C. Bernard, 1988.

Bernard, Burton C., The James Bryce Collection at Washington University, St. Louis, October 22, 1988, Granite City, Ill.: B.C. Bernard, c1988.

(1838-1922) British politician, diplomat, jurist, and historian. He became a professor of law at Oxford before becoming a Member of Parliament in 1880. He held office in several Liberal governments. From 1907 to 1913 he was British Ambassador to the United States. His most important academic work The American Commonwealth, first published in 1888, was a detailed and highly sympathetic study of the politics of the United States in the late nineteenth century.

— David Mervin

Viscount, 1838–1922, British historian, statesman, and diplomat, b. Belfast. After his education at the Univ. of Glasgow and at Oxford, he practiced law in London for a short time before becoming professor of civil law at Oxford. He wrote significant works in several fields; the first of these was his History of the Holy Roman Empire (1864). He entered politics and became a leader of the Liberal party, occupying a variety of posts, including the presidency of the Board of Trade and the chief secretaryship of Ireland. His interest in sociology and philosophy is evident in the second of his great treatises, The American Commonwealth (1888), a classic that is still read and used. Bryce was ambassador to the United States from 1907 to 1913; he was one of the most popular ever to be in Washington, since his knowledge of Americans, as revealed in his writings, was profound. He was created a peer in 1914. His other major works are Studies in History and Jurisprudence (1901) and Modern Democracies (1921).

Bibliography

See biography by H. A. L. Fisher (2 vol., 1927, repr. 1973); E. S. Ions, James Bryce and American Democracy, 1870–1922 (1968, repr. 1970).

(1838-1922)

1888

The American Commonwealth. The English historian and diplomat publishes his assessment of American government and character in what is regarded, alongside Tocqueville's Democracy in America, as a classic analysis. Organized into six segments, the work assesses the federal government, state government, political parties, public opinion, democracy's strengths and weaknesses, and society and culture's influence on the country. The Atlantic Monthly notes that "Mr. Bryce's book is of the utmost value to American students of American civilization." A revised edition would appear in 1910.

James Bryce, also known as the Viscount Bryce of Dechmont, was born May 10, 1838, in Belfast, Ireland. He attended Glasgow and Heidelberg Universities and received a bachelor of arts degree from Oxford University in 1862.

After his admission to the bar in 1867, Bryce practiced law for the next fifteen years. He accepted a professorship at Oxford in 1870, where he taught civil law until 1893.

Bryce entered Parliament in 1880 and remained a member until 1907. During this time, he also performed diplomatic duties—serving as undersecretary of foreign affairs in 1886 and chief secretary for Ireland from 1905 to 1906. From 1907 to 1913, he acted as ambassador to the United States.

In 1913, Bryce participated at the Hague Tribunal, the international court of arbitration established in the Netherlands. After World War I, he was active in the formation of the League of Nations.

Bryce gained fame for his numerous publications, including The Holy Roman Empire: The American Commonwealth, which was published in 1888 and was an important work concerning American government; and Modern Democracies, published in 1921.

He died January 22, 1922, in Sidmouth, Devonshire, England.

Quotes:

"No wonder that, when a political career is so precarious, men of worth and capacity hesitate to embrace it. They cannot afford to be thrown out of their life's course by a mere accident."

"There is a hearty Puritanism in the view of human nature which pervades the instrument of 1787 It is the work of men who believed in original sin, and were resolved to leave open for transgressors no door which they could possibly shut."

"We have seen that the American Constitution has changed, is changing, and by the law of its existence must continue to change, in its substance and practical working even when its words remain the same."

"A political career brings out the basest qualities in human nature."

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