1776

Summertime always seems to bring out the patriot in people. I’m no different, so I usually try to do something to remind me of the importance of the Independence Day season. I just finished reading 1776, by David McCullough, a narrative of the events that happened in the American colonies/states during that year.

Everyone needs to read this book.  I understand that war histories aren’t everyone’s thing, as my wife reminds me, but this book is so much more than a history of some war that happened a long time ago.  It is about the birth of a nation in the midst of terrible and trying conditions.  It is about the faith and perseverance that the first Americans had to keep going in the face of seeming impossible odds.  And it is an eye-opener to how events really went down that decided the future of this country.

I’ve always thought any book that examines Washington’s life and decisions, if only in part, would be worth a read.  1776 does that, but it also shows us how without so many others and their decisions – officers and soldiers alike, the outcome of the war could have been very different.  You will view Nathanael Green, Henry Knox, and others in new light and with much appreciation for what they did to assist Washington.  And I view the common soldiers with new respect after reading about the conditions that they had to fight through and the courage that many of them had to stay with the army.

Possibly my favorite thing about the book is how McCullough makes note of events that happened during the war that could not be explained.  There were a number of occasions when fogs and storms appeared just when the American needed them.  Many people at the time attributed this to Providence, and I would agree wholeheartedly that that is exaclty what is was.  For those who believe that the founding of this country was made possible by diving intervention, as I do, there are parts of this history that are truly amazing.

It really is a great read that will have you appreciating our great country.  And what better time to read it.

Tags: American Revolution, David McCullough, 1776, Independence Day, George Washington

Founding Fathers

I am about 30 pages into David McCullough’s ’1776′ and I can already tell I am going to like it a lot. His biography of John Adams was excellent, and the first book of his that I have had the pleasure of reading. I know he has written a number of other books, so I will have to add them to my list to.

After I put down ’1776′ a few days ago, I remembered something that a former co-worker of mine liked to say. He was the type I would find it almost impossible to have a conversation with, because for some reason he felt he had to disagree with everything I said. I never discovered his true beliefs on most subjects, because he was usually so caught up in disagreeing that his statements of belief would usually contradict, depending on who he was talking to.

One day another co-worker and I were talking about something one of my college professors had said about the American Revolution. ‘Disagreeable co-worker’ heard the words American Revolution and immediately stepped in to assert his conviction that the founding fathers weren’t such good guys – in fact, they were criminals. I don’t think he really believed this, becasue I had heard him praise them on earlier occasions, but this time he wanted to disagree. He claimed to be an ardent patriot, but on this day he believed that our country had been founded upon a base of criminal acts. I ignored him like I usually did, but I was annoyed at his narrow understanding of this country’s founding.

What would our world be like if every citizen felt he had to submit to every corrupt or unjust government? What if nobody stood up to them? Thank goodness that the founding fathers did just that, out of the belief they were not throwing down government in favor of chaos or anarchy, but in order to set up a just system of government. English government in the colonies was not justly adminstered – had it been, there might not have been any spark to start a fire in the first place. They didn’t provide an environment where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness could be sought without impediment, so something had to be fixed.

If you look at the Revolution and the founding fathers in strictly black and white – that is to say, Britain set up laws that the colonists disobeyed, period – then you need to open a book and read a bit more into the causes. I’ve come to the conclusion that the founding fathers followed their consciences and did what they felt they had to do. I doing so, they disobeyed laws, but didn’t abandon government. They replaced unjust with just, and founded this great nation that we live in and benefit from today.

I will continue to hold them in the highest esteem and I know I’ll thoroughly enjoy my reading of ’1776′.

Tags: David McCullough,1776 book,American Revolution,Founding Fathers