The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Oxford History of the United States) | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert Middlekauff
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
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Avg. Customer Rating:  42 reviews
Sales Rank: 18832
Media: Paperback
Edition: Rev Exp
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 752
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.4
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 2
ISBN: 019531588X
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.3
EAN: 9780195315882
ASIN: 019531588X
Publication Date: March 9, 2007
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Amazon.com
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.
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 37 more reviews...
 American Revolution - an overview both economic and military August 15, 2008
I have read a few books on the American Revolution, but they always leave me somewhat underwhelmed. This book, despite having good reviews (generally) is no exception. To be sure, there are many very good points to the book - it's extremely readable, covers both economic and military issues, gives good background, includes adequate maps, etc. However, it also contains the same problems that other Revolution books have.
I think these problems stem from a root cause, and that is that they are written by Americans. There is some weird blind spot that Americans have when writing about their own early history, that they seem don't have when writing about WWII, the Civil War, etc. I believe it stems from the same three underlying assumptions that permeate Revolution-era books:
1. Armed rebellion was inevitable.
2. Colonial victory and Independence was inevitable
3. The Colonies were Right and the British were Wrong.
The first two assumptions are especially annoying to those of us in other former colonial countries that did not achieve independence through military action. Of just the former British colonies, a small sampling of non-revolutionary countries includes Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc. Middlekauff falls squarely into this trap. If North American revolution was so inevitable, why didn't Nova Scotia join the rebellion? Why not Canada (modern Quebec and Ontario) - especially since the French Quebecoise had long enjoyed virtual independence from France and were not reconciled to more regulatory British rule. What about Florida, newly captured from Spain? What about the British Caribbean possesions, sugarcane growers having the same trade issues as tobacco growers? No, Middlekauff allows the 13 colonies to float virtually alone (to be sure, Benedict Arnold's invasion of Canada is reported, as is the British counter-invasion from Canada, but no discussion is made of why the French Quebecoise didn't aid the Americans).
The third assumption is similarly hard for modern-day descendants of American slaves to accept. As an institution, slavery survived in the United States long after it had disappeared from the British Empire (although African colonies suffered various versions of Apartheid). The revolution was fought for the benefit of wealthy merchants and landowners. I doubt that the average tenant or laborer saw any real economic or political benefit to independence in their lifetimes.
To be fair to Middlekauff, he does not make the second assumption. Much time and effort (I would argue a little too much!) in spent discussing deliberations in the British Parliament and to the responses of the States and of Congress. This part of the story is necessarily dry, but at least it explains legitimate grievances and how the resentment in the Colonies was allowed to build (but, as I mentioned, does not explain why such a resentment did not build up in Canada, Nova Scotia, the Caribbean colonies, etc.). But Middlekauff is at his best when describing the military activities that led to American victory. Not just the battles, but the manoeuvers, supply problems, the nature of armies in the late 18th century, etc. When described in such accurate and vivid detail, it's hard not to conclude that British military power was predestined to fail in the absence of real (British) political will to make significant concessions to the Colonies.
Or, maybe this book was unsatisfactory because the American Revolution is just not as inherently interesting as the Civil War or WWII. Whatever the case, this book is readable, certainly, but I didn't enjoy it a lot, especially when compared to McPherson's entry in this History of the United States series (Battle Cry of Freedom).
Kindle Edition is Older Edition August 7, 2008
Unfortunately, the Kindle version seems to be the first edition of the book. The book was recently updated with additional pages and it would have been better to offer the newer edition as a Kindle book.
Hard read August 6, 2008
I am a history buff. I read all non-fiction history, anything and everything. But, this was the hardest book for me to read ever. I read about a fourth of it and gave up. Good luck.
Only fair for the Oxford series August 6, 2008
Glorious Cause was my introduction to the Oxford History series.While I had purchased others, this was the first of the series I read.I was somewhat disappointed because I expected much more.While I found the passages on key battles and the Revolutionary War in the South excellent, I felt coverage on other key events on the period lacking.Volumes of books on the Declaration of Independence,Franklin,Adams,etc have been written but I felt were barely covered here.Especially frustrating - Middlekaupf covered the courageousnees, ability and leadership of Benedict Arnold yet only mentioned his treachery of Washington and the colonists in a time reference to another event.Glorious cause was a fair read with much overview information with very little insight.I do look forward to the other books of the Oxford series.
 A Great Book to Read on the American Revolution July 30, 2008
After reading David Kennedy's "Freedom from Fear" in the Oxford History series, I realized that I wanted to read more in preparation for teaching AP US History. I found "The Glorious Cause" to be fantastic! It gives stories about the people behind the events that brings the American Revolution alive as no ordinary textbook does. Despite its length, the book reads quickly and is interesting!
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