Elana Paxos
Mr. Taray
AP U.S. History
21 August 2016
1776 Book Critique
“Persistence and spirit have done wonders in all ages” (McCullough 1). 1776 is a phenomenal nonfiction book written by David McCullough, a two time Pulitzer Prize winner. Although there were numerous characters who played a huge role in the book 1776, there were three very significant characters including General George Washington, King George III, and Nathanael Greene.
General George Washington was a natural born leader who lacked military background. Washington was an exceptionally great navigator for a man who hardly had any education. Like anyone else, General George Washington had both his strengths and weaknesses and McCullough does an excellent job simulating
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them as they were observed during the time period. He deliberately examined his enemies with a close eye and strategized a well thought out plan for attack with the help of honorable young men who he turned into outstanding soldiers. On the other hand, King George III was instantly given a peculiar deception due to his actions towards the rebellious colonies. He treated the colonies poorly and constantly belittled them. Once they apologized and developed respect, King George III kindly welcomed them back with open arms. Lastly, Nathanael Greene who was one of the most memorable revolutionary heros, was a self taught man due to having no educational background. On top of that, Greene had very limited battle experience going into the continental army, besides his favorite books of battle strategies. There was one major conflict in McCullough’s book which was the American Revolutionary War which began in 1775.
If you cannot already tell by the title, the book takes place during the most significant year of the war 1776, the year of the Declaration of Independance. Although in reality the war did not come to an end prior to 1783 when the Treaty of Paris was signed. McCullough mainly focuses on General George Washington unlike most authors who center their books on the rights and independence of the colonies themselves. The text immediately draws the reader in and takes them to the trenches trailing Washington's battles one by one alongside his untrained, unprepared …show more content…
militiamen. Personally, I am not one to stay up all night and read. However the moment I started 1776 I fell in love. It is a page turning book, once you begin reading there is stopping you. One thing I really enjoyed was the fact that unlike most authors McCullough’s focal point was not the political actions, instead he focused on the military aspects during this time period. For example, rather than centering the book on the Declaration of Independence, it displays the contrast among two military forces. I also really like that McCullough included images of the characters as well as maps to help the reader get a better understanding as well as a better visual while reading. Some things I did not particularly fancy was the text itself was quite repetitive and could have been shortened instead of repeating the same information during multiple occasions. The writing style also was a little more difficult and the material was a bit dry at times when in fact it could have been a very interesting topic. However, overall I did really enjoy the book. McCullough did an absolutely fantastic job of capturing all the important historical events throughout the American Revolutionary War. He made sure to accumulate as much factual information as possible through his own independent research before writing 1776. This nonfiction book is as close to 100% acurate as an author could get. McCullough and his unbiased theis had a huge impact on the overall outcome and all of his efforts goes to show throughout the entirety of his book. He used an abundant amount of quotes said by the leaders themselves. For instance, one of General George Washington’s most famous quotes is, “The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army” (McCullough 113). This is one of my favorite quotes said by General George Washington because it explains that the future of the United States and the rest of the world God has created, relies on the army and whether or not they succeed. General George Washington writes to his brother, “I am wearied almost to death with the retrograde motions of things” (McCullough 244). On of the many overlying themes of the book would easily be that it does not matter who you are or how strong you are, but war can take over your life and demolish the faith someone has. There were many interesting encounters throughout McCullough's book.
One of my particularly favorite parts took place one treacherous winter in New Jersey. At this time it seemed all hope was lost when General George Washington failed to have a strategy to move forward in the battle. The Hessians, who were settled in the City of Trenton, let their guard down. The Americans quickly realized this and took advantage immediately. Washington’s troops sents masses of men and artillery across the frigid Delaware River and astonished the Hessians. They fought hard but the hessians were finally captured. Although the victory at Trenton restored the Americans faith, the war would last quite a few more years with much more warfare, mortality, and destruction to come their way. I found this so fascinating because it shows even when you are at rock bottom and do not have very much faith left, you can always turn it around and thing will get better just like it did for General George Washington and the
Americans. I would undoubtedly recommend McCullough's book to anyone who is interested in American history. I truly enjoyed every aspect of the book and I feel I took in a lot of useful knowledge about not only they year of 1776 itself but also the journey of General George Washington and his troops. The perspective undeniably was very unique in that instead of focusing on the politics of the time period the authors focal point was the military. There was a lot to learn for McCullough's book including that the reason the whole american revolutionary war started was because the British started taxing the colonist because they were in debt, which later caused them to revolt leading to many issues. Therefore when Great Britain violated the rights of their colonies, the Declaration of Independence was created and signed to guarantee their freedom. You gather all of this information while feeling like you are really alongside General George Washington during 1776. This book is most definitely a must read for those interested in learning more about the year of the declaration of independance.
However, the author 's interpretations of Jefferson 's decisions and their connection to modern politics are intriguing, to say the least. In 1774, Jefferson penned A Summary View of the Rights of British America and, later, in 1775, drafted the Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (Ellis 32-44). According to Ellis, the documents act as proof that Jefferson was insensitive to the constitutional complexities a Revolution held as his interpretation of otherwise important matters revolved around his “pattern of juvenile romanticism” (38). Evidently, the American colonies’ desire for independence from the mother country was a momentous decision that affected all thirteen colonies. However, in Ellis’ arguments, Thomas Jefferson’s writing at the time showed either his failure to acknowledge the severity of the situation or his disregard of the same. Accordingly, as written in the American Sphinx, Jefferson’s mannerisms in the first Continental Congress and Virginia evokes the picture of an adolescent instead of the thirty-year-old man he was at the time (Ellis 38). It is no wonder Ellis observes Thomas Jefferson as a founding father who was not only “wildly idealistic” but also possessed “extraordinary naivete” while advocating the notions of a Jeffersonian utopia that unrestrained
1776 is a must read for a student of the Revolutionary War. It offers insights into the personalities of George Washington, his subordinates, and how one man can truly change the history of the world. Without George Washington, the Continental Army would not, in all likelihood, have survived 1776 and the United States would have had a dramatically different history. I recommend this book for every serious history student.
The 1770s proved to be a time of much chaos and debate. The thirteen colonies, which soon gained their independence, were in the midst of a conflict with Great Britain. The colonies were suffering from repeated injuries and usurpations inflicted upon them by the British. As a result of these inflictions, Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry addressed these injustices, and proved to be very persuasive through providing reasoning and evidence that moved many colonists to believe that to reach contentment and peace the colonies had to rid themselves of British rule. Henry and Paine were successful in swaying their audience, not only because of the rhetorical strategies used, but also because they were passionate about the cause they were committed to.
David McCullough author of 1776 puts faces and feelings to the events of the Revolutionary war making this an exciting novel even when the ending is known. Acting as a companion to an earlier work of McCullough’s, John Adams, 1776 is a strictly military view of the era versus political. Although the reader may have to get accustomed to the vast amount of characters introduced McCullough makes sure that those you are supposed to remember you will. Every character introduced is described incredibly well and throughout the novel you begin to feel as if you know the character and are going through the battle with them, specifically General George Washington with whom the reader emphasizes constantly with throughout the war. With the great description of the characters and events we feel as if we are there and in doing this the author creates understanding, the reader by knowing all sides and characters’ personalities the feels they know why the Revolution happened the way it did.
The Revolutionary war, sparked by the colonist’s anger towards taxation without representation, was a conflict between the United States and its mother country Great Britain. This event had been considered the most significant event in the American history. It separated the thirteen colonies from the tyrannical ruling of King George. The revolutionary war was not a big war, “The military conflict was, by the standards of later wars, a relatively modest one. Battle deaths on the American side totaled fewer than 5,000”1. However, the war proved that the thirteen colonies were capable of defeating the powerful Great Britain. Over the years there were many Hollywood films made based on the revolutionary war, 1776, Revolution, Johnny Tremain, and The Patriot. But, no movie has stirred up as much controversy as the Mel Gibbson movie The Patriot. The patriot is very entertaining but it is historically inaccurate. Too much Hollywood “spices” was added to the movie for viewing pleasures.
During the War for American Independence, 78 men were commissioned as general officers into the Continental Army by the Continental Congress. Many of these generals commanded troops with differing levels of competence and success. George Washington is typically seen as most important general, however throughout the war a number of his subordinates were able to distinguish themselves amongst their peers. One such general was Nathanael Greene. At the end of the Revolutionary War, Greene would become Washington’s most important subordinate, as demonstrated by Edward Lengel’s assessment of Greene as “the youngest and most capable of Washington’s generals.” Washington and Greene developed a strong, positive and close relationship between themselves. Greene began his life in the military after having been raised a Quaker. With limited access to literature and knowledge in his younger years, Greene became an avid reader which equipped him with the knowledge necessary to excel as a general during the war. Through his devoted study of military operations, firsthand experience and natural abilities as a soldier, Greene became an excellent military commander. He would become known for his successful southern campaign, during which, he loosened British control of the South and helped lead the war to its climax at Yorktown. Throughout the war, he was involved in a number high profile battles where he built a reputation of being an elite strategist who also understood unconventional warfare, logistics, and the importance of military-civil affairs and had a natural political/social acumen. The thesis of this paper is that Greene’s proven reputation of being a soldier, strategist and statesman would cause him to become the second greates...
...ct most of his military blunders came in the year 1776. But he always learned from his mistakes. McCullough also examines the mistakes the British made, that may have cost them the victory in the war. 1776 is truly eye opening. It takes a more human look at men like Washington and his generals, and is full of letters and stories written by actual soldiers from both the British and American armies. One of the things that I enjoyed about this book was the way McCullough manages to also show the way the British felt towards the Americans and their opinions and thoughts about the rebels. The book ended on a high note, with Washington's historic crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night. It was the turning point of the war for the future president and his army, and it provided the first great victory for the young American county. The rest, as they say, is history.
The framework for this novel was placed by Ellis around the pivotal figures of the American Revolution, dubbed the revolutionary generation. He begins in the prologue by disclaiming to the reader that the events discussed in this novel should be interpreted in hindsight, as well as foresight, claiming that the topics discussed may be factual, but also misconstrued in different ways. It seems that the main idea of this novel is that, while being essentially accurate, the topics discussed may be representative of given individuals’ personal recollection. It will bring to light the different ideas of the founding brothers, as the novel calls them, and compare and contrast them in a non-biased manner.
He suffered from stage fright and often “blushed and faltered”, (18) even at his inauguration as President, “he trembled and several times could scarce make out to read his speech” (18) This weakness of his is often glossed over as it doesn’t seem to fit in with his image as the towering, imposing “founding father”. Yet today, it is essential for a President to be able to deliver impressive and clear speeches to the whole country. Finally there are some criticisms that he was not as effective General as is often believed. Thomas Paine claimed that he was a bad general whose strategy consisted of “doing nothing” (19). Although Paine had a personal agenda in condemning George Washington as he resented not being appointed Postmaster-General, and then later by not being rescued from French persecution by the government, it is true that George Washington did lose more battles than he won (20) and often did seem to do nothing for long periods of time. There is also the issue of his harsh treatment towards his own soldiers, any who were caught deserting or plundering were “flogged” (21) and he even a “Gallows near forty feet high erected” to terrify the rest into obedience.
American independence was achieved through the unification of colonists against the British crown. This unity required cooperation among the colonies and support for the newly formed Continental Army. George Washington was the general of the Continental Army and was expected to meet the expectations of colonists eagerly awaiting freedom. To encourage the general in his endeavors, poet Phillis Wheatley wrote “To His Excellency General Washington.” Using literary devices in the poem, Wheatley promotes the merit of the American Revolution.
Throughout the book, Gary B. Nash narrates the war in chronological order to recount the war as it happened and emphasize the events that allowed for people of different class, gender, and/or race to stand up and call for American Independence or to turn on their country and join the British forces. In short, Nash emphasizes that the revolution was a “people’s revolution” [Page XV] and as such divided each chapter with
During 1776, the United States was at war to gain its own independence from the hands of the tyrant King George III and his kingdom. As the fightt continued, the spirits of the U.S. soldiers began to die out as the nightmares of winter crawled across the land. Thomas Paine, a journalist, hoped to encourage the soldiers back into the fight through one of his sixteen pamphlets, “The American Crisis (No.1)”. In order to rebuild the hopes of the downhearted soldiers, Thomas Paine establishes himself as a reliable figure, enrages them with the crimes of the British crown, and, most importantly evokes a sense of culpability.
On March 23, 1775, history was made. However, this was not the typical type of groundbreaking history. It was the beginning of a revolution so profound, that it altered the life of every person in America. In his speech to the Virginia Convention in 1775, Patrick Henry insists that it is time for the Americans to rise up and fight back against the British powers by invoking anger through descriptions of their past oppression, and by unifying the delegates through ideas of the potential enslavement of their people.
The Revolutionary Period (1765-1790) was considered the second literary movement in American society. This period of literature occurred during the age of the enlightenment; which was known as the Age of Reason because there were thoughts, ideas and opinions that were surfacing. One of the periods greatest thinkers was Benjamin Franklin, who wrote a few stori...
George Washington: soldier, statesman, leader. He is the fifth-most Googled U.S. President, coming in after the likes of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. Polling sites list him invariably in their “Top Ten BEST U.S. Presidents!” lists. As the first President of the United States, George Washington was exploring previously uncharted territory. No maps existed for this area; there were no previous examples to draw from. Despite this, evidence suggests that Washington was an excellent national leader.