The War That Made America Summary

How were national and personal identities formed during the 18th and 19th centuries?

In Fred Anderson’s monograph, The War that Made America, he writes about the course of the French and Indian War, and how it shaped the colonists’ views about England. As the war progressed, the colonists began to realize what it meant to be British, and they also began to distance themselves from the British. Colonists began to create their own identity when they disagreed with British policies, and this conflict of ideologies later led to the creation of the United States. In Soul by Soul, Walter Johnson describes how slave-owners and slaves created their own identities based off of each other. Johnson describes how slave-owners depended on their slaves

as a basis for their reputation and success in society. He also writes about how slaves changed their identities because of slavery, and how they maintained their identities despite slavery. Both of these monographs are tied together by describing what can change a person’s identity. In the The War that Made America, Anderson demonstrates how the colonists developed their own national identity when they realized they had different military and governmental goals than the British, and in Soul by Soul, Johnson depicts how slave-owners developed their identity with the process of owning slaves, and how slaves shaped their identities as a result of slavery.
Anderson writes about how Americans began to form their own national identity during the French and Indian War when they realized they did not like Britain’s extremely militaristic actions. During the war, the British demanded that the colonists devote all of their efforts to the war, which included giving food to feed soldiers, giving wood to build ships, producing more guns for the soldiers, and enlisting to help fight the war. Colonists were not accustomed to this strategy of total war because Britain did not heavily enforce its laws in Colonial America before the French and Indian War. The colonists were startled by all of Britain’s extremely militaristic actions. They initially responded to Britain’s demands by refusing to give them their demanded resources, and only gave in when they were promised high wages. Colonists initially refused to help the British because they did not want to focus all aspects of their society on the war; colonists were only used to creating a militia once a war started, and not always having a standing army. This difference in beliefs led the colonists to question their identity. They did not want to change their whole society based off of one war. The colonists’ refusal to comply with Britain’s wishes demonstrates their growing independence and the creation of their own identity. Also, the British had to incentivize colonists to fight, which was the only reason why many volunteered, so their allegiance to the British was false and only based on monetary gain. Since the colonists rejected Britain’s military goals, they began to develop their own idea of what an army should be and what should be expected of it. Colonists began to create their own identity as they disagreed with Britain’s military expectations.
Additionally, Anderson describes how Americans realized they wanted their own governmental identity when the British began to pass laws with which the American colonists disagreed. The French and Indian War was very costly to Britain because the British were responsible for paying soldiers who served in the war, and the British had to repay the colonists who supplied them with many resources. Additionally, the British were already heavily indebted because they were also fighting in the Seven Year’s War in Europe at the same time as the French and Indian War. All of these debts converged, and the British needed to find a solution quickly. In order to solve their debt, the British had to raise taxes so that their government would remain stable. These taxes were imposed on all citizens and the colonists. The taxes enraged the colonists because they had no representation in Parliament, so there was no way for the colonists to oppose these taxes. This taxation led to colonists to believe that if the British could take a small amount of money from their pockets, without their knowledge, then they could take much larger amounts as well. Colonists felt violated when they learned of the taxes that they had to pay, but could not consent to. This conflict between the colonists and the British fueled the colonists to think that the British were attacking them. The colonists did not want to be apart of a system where they felt victimized, so they started to create their own idea of how a country should run. When the British unjustly taxed the colonists, they in turn started to create their own national identity because of Britain’s failures to rule reasonably.
Johnson also tackles the idea of identity in Soul by Soul: he argues that slave-owners relied on their slaves for their reputation in society.

Life in the South before the Civil War was completely dependent on slaves. White men could only move into a higher class by purchasing more slaves. The more slaves a man owned meant that he was responsible for more people. White men identified themselves through how much authority they had over their wives, children, and slaves. With more slaves, there were more people dependent on the white man, so he had more authority over more people. White men were defined by how many people relied on him and how much authority he had. White slave-owners were also defined by how they treated their slaves. Some slave-owners acted paternalistic towards their slaves, and helped to unite slaves’ families. Slave-owners did this so that their slaves would like them and fulfill their fantasy of a happy slave who loved his owner. Some masters felt like the only way they could be a good owner was through treating their slaves well. However, some slave-owners took pride in breaking their slaves in order to make their slaves completely dependent upon their master. Slave-owners wanted to be completely powerful over their slaves, and often this meant destroying their slaves’ values. If a master had total control over slaves, that meant he was a good master. Slave-owners built their identity with how much authority they had over their

slaves.
Lastly, Johnson describes how slaves shaped their identities as a result of slavery. In the slave pens, slaves built communities to share their experiences and pass on information about masters. Slaves were forced into close quarters in the slave pens, but they were able to share a common identity with the stories of their experiences while there were no white men around. From some of these stories, slaves learned how to read buyers and act accordingly so they could be purchased to work in an area in which they had more experience. Slaves learned how to manipulate buyers by acting a certain way, to either please or scare them off, and listening to bargains so that the slaves would know what would be expected of them if they were bought. As slaves manipulated buyers, they created a sense of agency for themselves because they could control, to a limited extent, who would buy them. Slaves gained independence and their own identity as they controlled their purchase. Additionally, slaves were defined by their appearances because slave-owners thought certain characteristics demonstrated different skills. Although slaves themselves had no control over their appearances, they still influenced slaves’ identities because appearances could influence which slaves a buyer purchased. Slaves tried to influence the buyers’ actions, but ultimately the buyers had more power and could purchase anyone they wanted. Slaves were able to maintain their identities by creating communities in slave pens and acting in ways to influence a buyer’s purchase, but ultimately the buyers had the most power over which slaves they bought.
Both The War that Made America and Soul by Soul explore themes of identity and what can shape a person’s identity.

In both monographs, a separate entity is responsible for shaping a person’s identity. In The War that Made America, the colonists’ conflicting ideologies with the British led them to create a new American identity based off of being different from the British. In Soul by Soul, slave-owners created their own identity from their dominance over their slaves, and slaves created their identity through their responses to enslavement. Both of these monographs demonstrate how an outside source, no matter what it is, can shape a person’s identity. Through these books, the audience learns that their identity is separate from themselves. How a person reacts to a situation, whether it be a war, taxes, or slavery, determines their identity. In the 18th century, colonists created a national identity through their responses to British demands. In the 19th century, slave-owners and slaves produced a personal identity based off of their dependence on one another; slave-owners depended on dominance over slaves, and slaves depended on their agency in face of slavery. In times before the American Revolution to the Civil War, people were united by the fact that they depended on an outside source to determine their uniqueness and their

identity.