I’ve posted here in the past about the HBO mini-series from this past spring, John Adams. I’ve also said that I’ve had a deep interest in the American Revolution for quite some time now, and that series finally motivated me to begin a more serious study of the topic in my free time. I believe I’ve also stated that I’ve formed a great number of thoughts about the perspective this particular part of history provides which applies to our situation today, and likely every period in American history, because we live directly under the words and actions of that period more so than any other. But I’m not sure what to do with those thoughts. Regurgitating the facts and stories researched by others certainly isn’t appropriate for this space, but I’m unsure how to organize my own conclusions (and anti-conclusions) into something coherent to present to all three people who read this page. I’m not sure that information means anything to anyone except myself, and I’m not sure it would be interpreted as much more than the lunatic ravings of a fly-over country simpleton without the brainpower to fully comprehend the subtleties more sophisticated minds find obvious. I disagree with that characterization, but I’m aware enough to know how anything I post could be viewed.
I’m learning as I go. I’m realizing things I was not aware of before because of the shallowness of my American history education during my time in government schools and my apathetic sentence in state college. As I realize things, I have the inclination to present them here as a way of alerting others to the lessons I’ve learned in the hope that I can perhaps spark the desire to acquire a better perspective in someone the way John Adams, the mini-series, sparked it in me.
I suppose I’m thinking of this like writing a term paper or a thesis, except publicly, for an audience whose composition I have only the vaguest idea of. Is not the process of learning a major part of the lesson itself? Would sharing that process and sharing that lesson with others, whoever they may be, be pointless and pretentious, or would it be a curiosity, an entertainment, something of value to others in some way? Would my impressions and conclusions initiate serious thought and reasoned debate with others, or would they cause a lot of eye rolling and hurried clicking over to something more engaging, like XTube? Can any kind of meaningful dialog come from a blog’s comments section or a forum? This assignment would have to be self enforced. There is no teacher and there are no grades and there is no deadline at the end of the quarter. Will I have time to keep up, or will I be overwhelmed by day-to-day life (as I usually am) and let this fall by the wayside?
Perhaps I should start with a reading list of what I’ve digested so far. I’d be interested in re-reading many of these books and posting a summary and my thoughts every few days or few chapters. Would such a task be worthwhile?
- John Adams by David McCullough
- 1776 by David McCullough
- A Magnificent Catastrophe: The Tumultuous Election of 1800, American’s First Presidential Campaign, by Edward J. Larson
- Duel:Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America, by Thomas Fleming
- Washington’s Secret War, by Thomas Fleming
- John Adams: Party of One, by James Grant
- Washington, by James Thomas Flexner
- His Excellency George Washington, by Joseph J. Ellis
- George Washington: A Biography, by Washington Irving, edited and abridged by Charles Neider
- Miracle at Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention, May to September 1787, by Catherine Drinker Bowen
This is the problem with blogging: I have a platform from which to speak my mind, but limited time and an unknown audience to which I speak. Am I spinning my wheels? Am I over-thinking this? Should I quite fretting and just do it, or spend my time doing something more productive? Am I paralyzing myself by analyzing this? Can you tell I’m running in a mental hamster wheel here? 
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November 4th, 2008 at 12:12 am
Go for it.
Like you I find the study of history to be fascinating and enlightening. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
On an slightly related note I drove through the Walla Walla & Clearwater regions last summer on my way to somewhere else, and a month later saw a book about the people of that region from the time of Lewis & Clark until the 1880s right in my own bookshelf… and started reading it. I’m blown away by the behavior of some Americans of that time, many of them operating in an official capacity. Promises made and broken, allies betrayed and decimated, land stolen and people’s lives destroyed. I plan on pondering it for a while and writing about it on my own site.
We can explore history together!
November 4th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Chuck, you are my favorite commenter on this site.
November 4th, 2008 at 1:23 am
I second the motion. Go for it.
I’ve already read two of the books on your list (”John Adams” and “His Excellency George Washington”) and listened to a third (”1776″) in unabridged audiobook form.
I’ve read another book about Benjamin Franklin whose title and author escape me (and can’t find the book itself), but I found to be quite good (using Amazon to jog my memory it was either “The First American” or “Benjamin Franklin: An American Life” )
There’s a couple of books that I enjoyed the first few chapters of and… I must have put them aside for some reason. These books are: “American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence” by Pauline Maier and “Founding Brothers” by Joeseph J. Ellis (the author of “His Excelency…”).
Also there’s a several other books that I’ve purchased, but have yet to read at all:
“American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson” again, by Joeseph J. Ellis
“Thomas Jefferson: American Humanist” by Karl Lecmann, a more obscure book, pubilished by the University of Virginia.
So if you do go down this path, you’ll be indirectly kicking me in the seat of the pants to get reading these unread books, re-reading a few others. and probably picking up some of the books on your reading list.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Nothing pretentious or pointless about it. You’re sharing important stuff you’ve discovered, putting it in context for yourself. I’ll be interested in your assessments of specific books.
I listen to a podcast of The Thomas Jefferson Hour (http://www.jeffersonhour.org/), performed by Clay Jenkinson. He covers a lot of material about the 18th century that I didn’t hear about in school, and has made me very curious about learning more.
November 4th, 2008 at 8:59 pm
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism.
George Washington
Go for it, if you need any help or need to bounce off ideas, call me. This is my favorite time in US History.