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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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…
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
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.
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
The American Revolution was an important historical event in America and is widely seen as the precursor to the declaration of independence. 1776 is a historical book by McCullough about the events surrounding the American Revolution in the year 1776. The book dwells on military elements of the revolution. The book also details the military command chain of the British Army as well as that of the continental Army. The author digs a little about the politics of the time but the political aspects remain mostly in the background. McCullough writes a flowing story with fair coverage of the events of the Revolution, using detail and objectivity through reliable archival sources from both countries that took part in the war.
George Washington was selected Commander in Chief of the Continental Army because of his courage and bravery, his ability to motivate and command respect from his followers, and his strategic ability in battle. His reputation as a daring and successful leader inspired confidence and loyalty in his followers. If it weren't for George Washington, it would be a different America today. Washington's military experience started when he was selected by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to travel to the Ohio Valley to tell the French to leave. He was only twenty-two years old, inexperienced, and naive.
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...
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.