I think we have all heard of the Mason-Dixon line, with regard to the Civil War and the lead-up to it, but I did not know who Mason and Dixon were, or how the line came to be. The line predates the era that it is almost synonymous with by almost a century. And the Read More
Tag: Early American History
The Birth of America, by William R Polk
The subtitle of this book is, “From Before Columbus to the Revolution”, which is about 300 years of history. These are 300 years of history we don’t usually think about. Polk starts with information about the Native Peoples, as well as their interactions with the newer arrivals to the continent. Sadly, most of the information Read More
Mayflower Lives, by Martyn Whittock
This is not your typical Mayflower history. Oh, it talks about all the basic things – how most of the Saints spent a few years in Leiden, how the Speedwell, didn’t. But this book takes twelve of the passengers, plus the Mayflower captain and a Native American, and goes into detail about their lives. And Read More
Roger Williams and The Creation of the American Soul, by John M Barry
Most of us, if we have studied early American history at all, have heard of Roger Williams. He is one of the people the Puritans booted out of Massachusetts, remember? He disagreed with the leaders of the Bay colony about what seems to us today to be minor points relating to their religious beliefs, and Read More
Our First Civil War, by H W Brands
The subtitle of this book is “Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution”. The title makes the point that before the war, colonists considered themselves to be British. That is one reason they were upset when they felt their rights as British citizens were being slighted by those in charge back in England. The subtitle Read More
Over My Dead Body, by Greg Melville
The subtitle of this book is “Unearthing the hidden history of America’s cemeteries”, and that is basically what Melville accomplishes with this book. Each of the seventeen chapters discusses at least one cemetery, and sometimes more when he compares and contrasts other, sometimes nearby, cemeteries. For example, the (previously) whites only cemeteries, compared with the Read More
That’s not in my American history book, by Thomas Ayres
This book is a compilation of people and incidents in American history that most people either don’t know about, or have learned incorrect information about. These short essays range in time from before the founding of the country, up to about the most recent turn of the century. Ayres is an investigative reporter, so he Read More
America Walks into a Bar, by Christine Sismondo
This is a fairly comprehensive look at drinking establishments from before the Revolution through Prohibition and up to the more recent past. The author had a little fun with the book and chapter titles. The chapters track the bar’s evolution: from A Pilgrim Walks into a Bar, to A Crusader Walks into a Bar, and Read More
The Trees, by Conrad Richter
I had never heard of this book, which I find a little surprising, as it is very reminiscent of the “Little House” series. I think one reason that this has not had the same amount of interest is that the family detailed in this book is not as “photogenic” as the Wilder family. Also, this Read More
The Cause, by Joseph J Ellis
The subtitle is “The American Revolution and its Discontents, 1773-1783”. This book is somewhat of an overview of some of the people involved in the Revolution, without going into too much detail about specific battles. This author discusses the major players in the time period instead. He spends much of the book, understandably, on George Read More