The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Oxford History of the United States) | 
|  | | | Title: | The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Oxford History of the United States) | | Author: | Robert Middlekauff | | Publisher: | Oxford University Press, USA | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 09 March, 2007 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 019531588X / 9780195315882 | | List Price: | $24.95 | | You Save: | $8.48 | | Amazon Price: | $16.47 | |
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Product Description
The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically acclaimed volume--a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize--offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.
Beginning with the French and Indian War and continuing to the election of George Washington as first president, Robert Middlekauff offers a panoramic history of the conflict between England and America, highlighting the drama and anguish of the colonial struggle for independence. Combining the political and the personal, he provides a compelling account of the key events that precipitated the war, from the Stamp Act to the Tea Act, tracing the gradual gathering of American resistance that culminated in the Boston Tea Party and "the shot heard 'round the world." The heart of the book features a vivid description of the eight-year-long war, with gripping accounts of battles and campaigns, ranging from Bunker Hill and Washington's crossing of the Delaware to the brilliant victory at Hannah's Cowpens and the final triumph at Yorktown, paying particular attention to what made men fight in these bloody encounters. The book concludes with an insightful look at the making of the Constitution in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 and the struggle over ratification. Through it all, Middlekauff gives the reader a vivid sense of how the colonists saw these events and the importance they gave to them. Common soldiers and great generals, Sons of Liberty and African slaves, town committee-men and representatives in congress--all receive their due. And there are particularly insightful portraits of such figures as Sam and John Adams, James Otis, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and many others. This new edition has been revised and expanded, with fresh coverage of topics such as mob reactions to British measures before the War, military medicine, women's role in the Revolution, American Indians, the different kinds of war fought by the Americans and the British, and the ratification of the Constitution. The book also has a new epilogue and an updated bibliography.
The cause for which the colonists fought, liberty and independence, was glorious indeed. Here is an equally glorious narrative of an event that changed the world, capturing the profound and passionate struggle to found a free nation.
The Oxford History of the United States
The Oxford History of the United States is the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, a New York Times bestseller, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. The Atlantic Monthly has praised it as "the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship," a series that "synthesizes a generation's worth of historical inquiry and knowledge into one literally state-of-the-art book." Conceived under the general editorship of C. Vann Woodward and Richard Hofstadter, and now under the editorship of David M. Kennedy, this renowned series blends social, political, economic, cultural, diplomatic, and military history into coherent and vividly written narrative.
Amazon.com Review
Many histories of the American Revolution are written as if on stained glass, with George Washington's forces of good battling King George III's redcoat devils. The actual events were, of course, far more complex than that, and Robert Middlekauff undertakes the difficult task of separating the real from the mythic with great success. From him we learn that England taxed the colonials so heavily in an attempt to retire the massive debt incurred in defending those very colonials against other powers, notably France; that the writing of the Constitution was delayed for two years while states argued among themselves in the face of massive military losses; and that demographic shifts during the Revolution did much to increase America's ethic diversity at an early and decisive time. Vividly told, this is a superb account of the nation's founding.
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Customer Reviews:
• A Modern Classic 30 October, 2008
Middlekauf's book is the best single treatment of the American Revolution in print. He is fair and equitable in his treatment of all sides in this conflict. In fact, he might have gone too far in these efforts. One puts the book down feeling the British officials were often wronged by the American colonialists. Middlekauf devotes about half the book to the coming of the war, forty percent to the military conflict itself and about ten percent to the post-war years, including the writing of the U.S. Constitution. He gives everyone their moment in the story, including loyalists, sailors, and militiamen, but the core of his account is the battle between the two conventional armies. He breaks the mold and gives enough attention to actions in the South to inform his readers that the war was not one by New England alone. Perhaps the best thing about this book is how Middlekauf integrates political and military issues together. He shows that this conflict was political in nature and how military operations affected sentiment in both America and the United Kingdom and how that sentiment often determined what a commander could or had to do. This integration is one of the reasons the U.S. Naval War College uses this book as a required reading despite its limited discussion of naval operations.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AJMTHZZ89MLO8
• Good And Comprehensive General Overview 27 December, 2008
This is a good, comprehensive overview of the American Revolution by an American historian. Middlekauff covers the key events that provoked the colonists to rebel against England, describing the various taxes and punitive measures that Parliament tried to impose on the colonists in order to pay off debts incurred during the Seven Years' War that ended in 1763. He then covers the military and political highlights of the war itself including the major battles in both the northern and southern states. Finally, he discusses the aftermath of the war including the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the ratification process that followed it. Middlekauff also provides some social history background to give his readers a feeling for what life was like for various groups of people during the revolution, including soldiers, women, loyalists, and native Americans. Middlekauff's coverage of the American Revolution is thus comprehensive, giving enough pre-Revolution history to set the stage and enough post-Revolution history to avoid leaving the reader stuck in mid-stream.
One thing that did bother me was the author's choice of chapter titles which were somewhat murky and unclarified by the text. For instance, Chapter 1, "The Obstructed Giant", apparently refers to the obstruction of the (large) British Empire by the American colonists; but "Giant" here could also refer to King George III or the British Parliament. Chapter 2, "The Children of the Twice-Born" is even murkier; while Middlekauff does refer to this phrase in the chapter's last paragraph, his reference does not really clarify in what sense the Revolutionary generation were "twice-born". He's probably referring to Puritan beliefs that each person had to experience a personal religious awakening or rebirth in order to become a full member of the Christian church; but he doesn't make this clear.
I also felt that some interpretive statements made my Middlekauff might not really be backed up by evidence. For instance, on page 402, he states that the British government "decided almost without thought to attack the French in the West Indies." He provides a footnote referring to pages 181-186 of "The War for America 1775-1783" by Piers Mackesy; but Mackesy in those pages details various cabinet meetings that the British ministry held to plan these attacks and explains why a good offense in the West Indies was the best defense for the British. Mackesy even states on page 186 that "the St. Lucia expedition had been considered with care, and was far from being the senseless diversion of effort which it has sometimes been called." So, in this case, it appears that Middlekauff had his own preconceptions about England's military strategy and referenced Mackesy's authoritative account of British military strategy without fully reading what he wrote. In fairness, British military strategy is not Middlekauff's focus. I expect he is much more reliable on events that took place in the 13 colonies themselves.
Despite the above criticisms, I think Middlekauff's book is well organized and very educational for those looking for a deeper understanding of the American Revolution. It is certainly a good starting point and a good choice for those who might only have enough time or interest to read a single book about the American Revolution.
The Oxford History of the United States, which this revised edition of 2005 is part of, appears to have several good books. I have previously read James McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era" and have just received Daniel Walker Howe's "What has God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848". I read McPherson's book several years ago after watching Ken Burns' Civil War documentary and thought it was very good. The Howe book has generally received very positive reviews by Amazon readers. Before reading it, I'll first be reading "The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800" by Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrick and "1812: The War that Forged a Nation" by Walter Borneman.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1FJXTO8P18EMQ
• The Glorious Cause 12 December, 2008
The revised edition of this excellent work is a treasure of information and insight into the most critical moment in American history. The perspective from both the British and American sides is invaluable both for understanding why the revolution was necessary as well as why it was inevitable.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A238TXVY2XASWB
• Classic, Very Patriotic Opus 11 October, 2008
This standard work provides a good general read on the events surrounding the Rev War. The author writes well, which makes reading the sometimes detailed narrative a joy. Like most American works on the subject it is very patriotic, and more than a little biased in its views.
The core of the book centers on the war itself, and while the author omits some details, he does provide good background information. The constant references to the Glorious Cause the rebels were involved in became a bit annoying after a while, and such sentiments do reveal the very strong bias of the author in telling his story. Basically you're not going to find many works that give a balanced perspective of both sides in this conflict. So for a starting place this book does provide a comprehensive background and a good narrative of the war. Some chapters do go behind the scenes to try and examine the sinews of the war and these do make for good reading.
Over all a classic and quite extensive work that provides a good read on the events leading up to and including the Revolution, with some good emphisas on the military campaigns. Those readers just wanting to learn about the Founding Fathers and the political reasons of the conflict might find the book strays from those points, but for a comprehensive albeit pro-rebel account this is a classic. The story is carried through the conclusion of the war up to the internal bickerings that result in the framming of the Constitution. Cogent arguments concerning why the colonies opted to surrender their powers in favor of a more centralized government make for instructional reading. Discussions about Virginia and the status of slaves and why these issues were not included in the Constitution make for interesting discussion. The author is not a revisionist, so his views try to examine these issues within the context of their time. While the great men of events get their due, much is still left from the perspective of the commoner. This book makes for a very good starting place for any study of the Rev War period.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2BIAR1V0PWO27
• Complete History, Well Written 26 September, 2008
This is a good, well written history of the War of Independence primarily from the American veiwpoint. Siince there is much already written about this subject, there are fewer new insights than in some of the other books in this series. The best books in this Oxford series are "What has God wrought" and "Freedom from Fear."
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2A1NWLGU0XLNJ
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