Escape From New York ‘Revolutionary Summer,’ by Joseph J. Ellis

NY Times Sunday Book Review ^ | 6-30-13 | Andrew Cayton

[Pharmboy]

If you know the musical “1776,” you know the plot of Joseph J. Ellis’s breezy new book. It’s a stirring and conventional story. A handful of famous men struggle to create a republic against insurmountable odds. In the long run, their greatest challenge is the problem of slavery. But the most immediate threat is the military might of Britain. Toward the end of June 1776, as the Continental Congress nears a vote on American independence, the first of 427 royal ships carrying 1,200 cannons, 32,000 soldiers and 10,000 sailors appears off Long Island. Things look dire, a point made repeatedly in the musical by a soldier bearing gloomy reports from George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army. Enlarge This Image

REVOLUTIONARY SUMMER The Birth of American Independence By Joseph J. Ellis Illustrated. 219 pp. Alfred A. Knopf. $26.95.

In Congress, the Pennsylvanian John Dickinson, a respected spokesman for the rights of British Americans, calls for delay, arguing that independence is a dangerous step in the absence of a national government and European allies. But the passion of John Adams, the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin and the eloquence of Thomas Jefferson carry the cause of independence to fruition in early July...snip

“Revolutionary Summer” achieves its major goal: to undermine the popular myth that the birth of the United States was an “Immaculate Conception,” a victory won by local militias rather than by “a standing army of regular soldiers.” Government mattered in 1776. Ellis outlines this argument through a series of individual sketches... familiar to readers of his Pulitzer Prize-winning “Founding Brothers” and subtle biographies of Adams, Jefferson and Washington. No one is better at explicating the role of personal character in public life, particularly the ways in which a preoccupation with honor, or reputation, informed 18th-­century gentlemen’s approach to power.

[Pharmboy]

Quote: "Ellis’s book is not wrong; it’s just incomplete and superficial. Even as he explodes the notion that volunteers won the war, he underscores an equally pervasive idea that the actions of Congress and the American Revolution were one and the same."

[Pharmboy]

Book review ping to the list...Happy Fourth coming up!

The RevWar/Colonial History/General Washington ping list

For those who would rather not read multiple volumes to get at the RevWar issues, Ellis offers a reasonable alternative. He brings things together, is an accomplished writer and is very enthusiastic about the subject. Although I have nor read this book, the reviewer seems down on Ellis because he is not multi-culti enough for his tastes. Further, the reviewer once again repeats the canard that the General sent Sullivan to upstate NY to preemptively attack the Iroquois; nonsense. Most of the Iroquois nations (all but the Oneidas) had already begun attacking the Patriots.

There are few things worse than leftist historians.

[Jacquerie]

In an old Dudley Pope book about Nelson's Royal Navy, he described in some detail the enormous expense involved in building, fitting out, and manning a frigate.

I know the vast majority of the 427 ships were transports, and less expensive than man-o-wars, but the presence alone of such a fleet highlighted the resources of the mighty British Empire.

It took some incredible American ‘nads to stand and fight.

[ZULU]

“In June 2001 the Boston Globe published an article revealing that Ellis had lied to his students in lectures about American culture and the Vietnam War years by claiming to have fought in Vietnam, been active in civil rights campaigns in the south, and been an anti-war leader at Yale.[11]”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Ellis#Controversy_over_war_service

Does the Times and Ellis have an ulterior motive here, using this book to support a statist political thesis that a strong government is needed?

Do you think this book is worth reading Pharmboy? Right now I have “The Last Invasion” and “A Disease in the Public Mind” on hand to read.

[Venturer]

Today we struggle with a handful of famous men trying to destroy Republic
We struggle against insurmountable odds to save our Republic.

Our greatest struggle is with political correctness, White guilt, an administration that feels the Constitution is little more than toilet paper for them to wipe their nasty butts with.

We have thousand of perverts, baby-killers, Goody two shoe Americans who believe the country should accept anything and everything other countries send over here to pollute our citizenry with .

[Sherman Logan]

And of course a frigate was much smaller and less expensive than a ship of the line.

[Bigg Red]

Does the Times and Ellis have an ulterior motive here, using this book to support a statist political thesis that a strong government is needed?

&&&
That’s what I was thinking.
Also, I do not know anything about the reviewer, but I had to reread the first sentence because it was so moronic. The plot of a musical is this clown’s point of reference for historical fact?

[capt B]

Go to Amazon and read the reviews of his “Founding Brothers” and check the 1,2 and 3 star reviews. Gives you an idea of this “historians” views

[Pharmboy]

Yes...he has his major negatives. That’s why I mentioned above that if you read multi-volumes of RevWar history, no need to read him; but, as a short-cut, he is a reasonable author. Just be advised when he is giving opinions, not to necessarily trust him since his lefty agenda can take over.

[ZULU]

Thanks Pharmboy.