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A review by jdintr
West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776 by Claudio Saunt
4.0
"Fourscore and seven years ago, our forefathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation...."
That's the line every American schoolchild memorizes at some point along the way. It's a line that Claudio Saunt translates in a fascinating new way in his book, West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776.
For while the nation established in 1776 was indeed "new," the continent upon which it was founded was hardly new. It was crowded with native peoples and divided among claims from three other European empires. And while early citizens of the thirteen United States liked to stress the global impact of their revolution, including "the shot heard round the world," Saunt points out that a lot of significant events happened, lines of history which eventually merged with those of the new nation.
Most surprising is Saunt's history of events on the West Coast--Russian fur trappers having their way with native Aleutians and plotting an empire that might eventually branch out from Siberia and encompass California, even as Spanish bureaucrats and missionaries rushed to settle San Diego and San Francisco ahead of the the Russian threat.
But Saunt doesn't just stay on the West Coast. He finds events in Canada, the Great Plains, even the Southeast where Native Americans struggled to come to terms with the new world that had been decided in Paris in 1763, the one which made the Mississippi River the border between Spanish Louisiana and the British claims and colonies. The blow to trade was significant for both the Sioux of the Upper Mississippi and the Osages--both tribes had profited from playing French interests off against those of Britain and Spain, and they saw their supplies of manufactured goods fall dramatically.
In every chapter, Saunt takes great pains to connect events with more notable Revolutionary events going on. It's a clever balance that he strikes.
I highly recommend this book for readers of unseen American history, and those who--like me--feel that our nation's whole history matters today, not just those tied to a specific region or culture in 1776 or any other year.
That's the line every American schoolchild memorizes at some point along the way. It's a line that Claudio Saunt translates in a fascinating new way in his book, West of the Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776.
For while the nation established in 1776 was indeed "new," the continent upon which it was founded was hardly new. It was crowded with native peoples and divided among claims from three other European empires. And while early citizens of the thirteen United States liked to stress the global impact of their revolution, including "the shot heard round the world," Saunt points out that a lot of significant events happened, lines of history which eventually merged with those of the new nation.
Most surprising is Saunt's history of events on the West Coast--Russian fur trappers having their way with native Aleutians and plotting an empire that might eventually branch out from Siberia and encompass California, even as Spanish bureaucrats and missionaries rushed to settle San Diego and San Francisco ahead of the the Russian threat.
But Saunt doesn't just stay on the West Coast. He finds events in Canada, the Great Plains, even the Southeast where Native Americans struggled to come to terms with the new world that had been decided in Paris in 1763, the one which made the Mississippi River the border between Spanish Louisiana and the British claims and colonies. The blow to trade was significant for both the Sioux of the Upper Mississippi and the Osages--both tribes had profited from playing French interests off against those of Britain and Spain, and they saw their supplies of manufactured goods fall dramatically.
In every chapter, Saunt takes great pains to connect events with more notable Revolutionary events going on. It's a clever balance that he strikes.
I highly recommend this book for readers of unseen American history, and those who--like me--feel that our nation's whole history matters today, not just those tied to a specific region or culture in 1776 or any other year.