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As few books regarding American history have achieved, Jim Stempel’s The Enemy Harassed brings a previously neglected period of the American Revolution to life. In late December 1776, the American War of Independence appeared to be on its last legs. General George Washington’s continental forces had been reduced to a shadow of their former strength, the British Army had chased them across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania, and enlistments for many of the rank and file would be up by month’s end. Desperate times call for desperate measures, however, and George Washington responded to this crisis with astonishing audacity. On Christmas night 1776, he recrossed the Delaware as a nor’...
This long overdue biography of English-born N.Y. lawyer John Laurance (1760-1810) restores an important missing piece to the founding narrative of the U.S. It describes the middling Cornish emigre’s against-all-odds passage to Federalist America’s governing inner circle. Laurance spent 5 wartime years as Gen. Washington’s “courtroom Baron von Steuben” and was battlefield father of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate Corps. Never defeated for electoral office, Col. Laurance spoke as N.Y.C.’s post-war pro-mercantile voice in the Confederation Congress, state legislature, and both houses of the fledgling federal Congress. This biography casts fresh light on the rise and fall of America’s first political Party, the Federalists. Illus.
As of 2012, only 43 men have held the office of the President of the United States. Some have been sanctified and some reviled. This historical work addresses the careers of the first ten presidents, men who made vital contributions not only to the office of the presidency, but to the course of the fledgling nation. From Washington through Tyler, every term is recounted in detail and each presidential profile provides as many as a hundred quotations (with full source notes) by the president, his friends, family, historians, and others. Each profile ends with an extensive bibliography of books about the president, his principles and policies, and also provides suggestion for further reading. Rigorously nonpartisan in approach, this detail-rich text describes the early years of what may well be one of the most demanding jobs in the world.
The author charts how Americans' understanding of the pursuit of happiness has changed through the years as the nation itself has changed.
A new perspective on the Battle of Monmouth from the first-person accounts of those who took part in the battle. After spending a difficult winter at Valley Forge, George Washington led the Continental Army in pursuit of the British Army moving from Philadelphia to New York City. On June 28, 1778, the army caught up with the British and defeated them at Monmouth Court House. The principal figure in the battle is George Washington. His planning, his orders, and his actions on the battlefield dominate the story. After the first rebuff of his advance guard under Charles Lee, it is Washington who matched each movement of the enemy with decisive actions of his own. In doing so he attained a tacti...
Who set the mysterious fire that burned down much of New York City shortly after the British took the city during the Revolutionary War? New York City, the strategic center of the Revolutionary War, was the most important place in North America in 1776. That summer, an unruly rebel army under George Washington repeatedly threatened to burn the city rather than let the British take it. Shortly after the Crown's forces took New York City, much of it mysteriously burned to the ground. This is the first book to fully explore the Great Fire of 1776 and why its origins remained a mystery even after the British investigated it in 1776 and 1783. Uncovering stories of espionage, terror, and radicalism, Benjamin L. Carp paints a vivid picture of the chaos, passions, and unresolved tragedies that define a historical moment we usually associate with "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Interpreting Religion at Museums and Historic Sitesencourages readers to consider the history of religion as integral to American culture and provides a practical guide for any museum to include interpretation of religious traditions in its programs and exhibits. Combining both theoretical essays and practical case studies from a wide cross section of the field, the book explores how museums are finding new ways to connect with audiences about this important aspect of American history. This book explores the practical and interpretive problems that museums encounter when they include religion in their interpretation: How do we make sure visitors don't think the museum is taking the side of a...
Examines the accomplishments and mistakes made by George Washington, discussing why he was sensitive to criticism and slow to accept blame, but still managed to envision a free and united America.
Published under the auspices of the American Revolution Institute of the Society of the Cincinnati, Freedom: The Enduring Importance of the American Revolution is a narrative history of the War for Independence. It tells the pivotal story of the courageous men and women who risked their lives to create a new nation based on the idea that government should serve people and protect their freedom. Written for Americans intent on understanding our national origins, but also appropriate for teachers and secondary classrooms, Freedom argues that the American Revolution is the central event in our history: the turning point between our colonial origins and our national experience. This volume inclu...
Warfare in colonial North America: paths to revolution / Samuel J. Watson -- The origins of the American Revolution and the opening moves / Edward G. Lengel -- From defeat to victory in the north: 1777-1778 / Edward G. Lengel -- The war in Georgia and the Carolinas / Stephen Conway -- Yorktown, the peace, and why the British failed / Stephen Conway -- To the Constitution and beyond: creating a national state / Samuel J. Watson.