1776

1790 letter the Hebrew Congregation in Newport: All possess alike liberty of conscience and immunities of citizenship. It is now no more that toleration is spoken of, as if it was by the indulgence of one class of people, that another enjoyed the exercise of their inherent natural rights. George Washington equal rights vs "tolerance". JohnAdams (PaulGiamatti) LauraLinney as AbigailAdams covers the time period from the BostonMassacre to the 50year anniversary of the DeclarationOfIndependence July 4, 1826 miniseries 8h21m with optional FactsAreStubbornThings pop ups each scene footnotes referencing the facts supporting what is viewed during a scene. JohnAdams 2001 book by DavidMcCullough won 2002PulitzerPrize. The 2008 TVminiseries covers a longer historical period than this book 1776, which relates only the first year of the American Revolution. 1776 by David McCullough 2005 captures the raw power of first person accounts from participants living history, creating a new free country. George Washington reveals his character through letters, memos, dispatches, speeches, orders, council of war minutes: as Commander In Chief I am a servant of Congress. Others on and off the field share thoughts opinions, fears, doubts, neglect, ignorance, self-indulgence, vile behavior: John Hancock, Thomas Paine, soldiers British, paid mercenary German Hessians and American rebels, Tories and Whigs in Parliament, King George III proclamations (the King's speech took 20min before a joint meeting of Parliament to announce the war against the Americas). General Howe offered multiple opportunities to George Washington to surrender. The minutes of those meetings, and diary notes subsequently show how little each participant understood the other. 1776 has two sections of maps (1776 Boston and New York), oil portaits, sketches of war scenes. Diaries and letters encapsulate the terror and day to day suffering of war in snow ice windstorm Nor'easter winters, without horses, guns, cannons, a Navy, ammunition, tents, coats, blankets, shoes, clothes, food, or pay. Heart rending letters to and from home, torn loyalties to family and to country, choices, some rewarded, others leading to guilt and shame, diary thoughts: each offers word pictures of the moment to moment events, unforseen accidents, sufferings of those who lived that year 1776. Media reactions were delayed sometimes by months for news to arrive across land or the ocean. I watched the John Adams 2008 miniseries first, which visually offered form to the events which unfold on the pages of the book 1776 published 2005. Each compliments the other. 1776 has extensive footnotes at the back, lists sources books newspapers, pamphlets, diaries, biographies, National Park Service museums (Mt Vernon, Boston, Trenton, New York), which allow one to deep dive into a particular area of interest. Tar and feathering was a common manner of expressing displeasure. Negro soldiers' loyalty and sacrifice as part of Washington's rebel army convinced him of the immorality of slavery and he freed his slaves in his will. Smallpox raged throughout the Revolutionary war; Abigail Adams had herself and her children variolated against smallpox to protect them from death. Dysentery ravaged the Continental Army unaccustomed to the discipline of public health, while British and Hessian soldiers remained healthy, adhering to public health principles of hand washing, toileting hygiene, separating latrine downstream outflows from drinking water inflow sources. Loneliness, homesickness, lack of preparation education or training for war among young men, some too young to shave (ages 10 serving as fifes), armed only with sticks and no discipline make the winning of the Revolutionary War seem an accidental miracle. 1776 is a tribute of editing the observations of ordinary people in extraordinary moments. The author weaves together the bits and pieces of thought, emotion, secret fears and allows us to trudge in the mud of war, and see who does what. And the vagaries of weather and wind. With no wind the ships could not sail. When the tides are in mud flats are difficult to traverse. Who plunders homes, ravishes the women, who devotes time and attention to the elderly the sick, the pregnant women, the children, the prisoners and their well-being? It is not sufficient to kill, bodies must be identified and buried, wounded must be treated, families notified. General Washington takes the time to attend to the myriad tasks of leadership, and allows his personal whims and impulses to be reined in by the will of Congress, the wisdom of other Generals in councils of war, allowing for more fruitful outcomes. 1776 is a year in the life of the history of the United States. Read alongside the John Adams miniseries it is gripping. 4th grade reading level. The interweaving of quotes from letters and diaries engages a sense of being present and witnessing the wartime suffering. Like any book on the Revolutionary War you already know the ending, but the journey of blended voices from letters and diaries is fascinating. 5* 1776 David McCullough

Es historia pero se lee como una novela. El autor consigue mantener un ritmo narrativo que no desfallece a lo largo de la exposición de los sucesos históricos del año crucial de la Revolución Americana.

Positives: 1. Highly engaging. Very hard to put the book down 2. Seems to be an honest narrative. It does not talk only about the glories of Gen Washington and his men, but also of the troubles they were plagued with - diseases, desertion and destitution Negative (Spoiler - some may consider): Abrupt start and end. Starts right after the battle of Bunker Hill and ends somewhere in the middle of the war. No context setting whatsoever, and a hasty conclusion. Rather than being a narrative of the American Revolution, it is only about the events of 1776. Positives strongly outweight the negative. Thus, no star deducted.

Gran libro relacionado con la Historia de EUA. Llegó rápido y en excelente estado. gracias

I learned so much from this book. It’s very detailed and accurate historically.