American Heroes: Profiles of Men and Women Who Shaped Early America

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More About This Book

Overview

From the best-selling author of Benjamin Franklin comes a remarkable work that will help redefine our notion of American heroism. As Edmund S. Morgan, the recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize, explains, Americans have long been obsessed with their heroes, but the men and women dramatically portrayed here are not celebrated for the typical reasons contained in founding father hagiography. Effortlessly challenging those who persist in revering the myths of American history, Morgan demonstrates here that the past is just not the way it seems.

Editorial Reviews

Jonathan Yardley
Herein a collection of 17 essays written over a span of some 70 years, three previously unpublished and 14 previously uncollected in book form, by one of the most distinguished and influential historians of Colonial America. It is the 18th book Edmund S. Morgan has published in his 93 years (he also has edited five others) and further evidence of the depth and breadth of his research, the nimbleness of his mind and his willingness to dissent from received wisdom.
—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly

Despite the lowbrow title, these are intelligent, opinionated essays on America between 1600 and 1800. Morgan, a revered historian and the bestselling author of Benjamin Franklin, wrote the earliest chapter in 1937, the latest in 2005. Many describe obscure events but pack a surprising punch. In "Dangerous Books," the author tells the story of Yale (where he is professor emeritus), founded in 1701 as a bastion of Puritanism, but with a library of works by English Enlightenment intellectuals. In 1721 six members of the faculty, including the rector, horrified the community by publicly renouncing Calvinism. The last official American execution for witchcraft occurred in 1692, but the popular belief in witchcraft continued well into the 19th century: in a marvelously recounted vignette, Morgan describes Philadelphia in 1787, where a few miles from the halls where America's elite were debating our Constitution, a mob abused and finally killed an old woman accused of witchcraft. Three of the 17 essays are previously unpublished. Happily, all are up to the standards of this wise, venerable (now 93) and deeply thoughtful historian. (May)

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
Library Journal

This book is a perfect gem. None of the 17 essays here has been published previously in book form, and three of them appear here for the first time. Morgan (Sterling Professor Emeritus, Yale; Inventing the People), the winner of just about every major book award, including the Pulitzer, ranges from Christopher Columbus, to the Puritans and sex (which they liked, providing it was in marriage), William Penn, the Anti-Federalists, and historian Perry Miller. Two characteristics that tie the essays together are Morgan's penchant for taking contrarian views of accepted orthodoxies and his admiration for individuals who stood up against authority. His piece on the development of Yale's library in the 18th century demonstrates that books are valuable because they keep alive the memory of dissident voices that otherwise might be drowned out by official, hagiographical versions of a nation's past. His chapter on George Washington and Benjamin Franklin points out that one of the traits that made them great was their ability to say "no" when popular opinion wanted them to act in one way or another. Both specialists and general readers will find this book both authoritative and fun to read. Highly recommended.
—Thomas J. Schaeper

Kirkus Reviews
From a body of work stretching back seven decades, a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian selects 17 essays on characters large and small who illuminate early American history. Morgan (The Genuine Article: A Historian Looks at Early America, 2004, etc.) offers something new about well-known public heroes, identifying, for example, those issues over which the famously pragmatic Benjamin Franklin refused to compromise. The author shows how John Winthrop's exhortations to the Bay colonists brought "disagreements to a happy issue," preventing a Jamestown-style collapse, and why Anne Hutchinson's dissent, while attractive to our modern sensibilities, posed such a serious threat to the Puritans. He also pens a superb 40-page sketch of William Penn's character and career. Morgan excels, though, at limning lesser-known figures. He traces the tortuous marital history of Puritan heiress Anna Keayne, examines the Puritan caricature Michael Wigglesworth, assesses the historical reputations of Yale presidents Ezra Stiles and Timothy Dwight and toasts the courage of Giles Corey and Mary Easty, who nearly died for their refusal to submit to Salem's witchcraft madness. The author also demonstrates that groups can be heroes: the Arawak Indians of Hispaniola, whose demise constitutes the sad first chapter of the European transformation of the Western Hemisphere; the Antifederalists, whose important opposition to the Constitution's ratification led to the Bill of Rights. This uniformly strong collection boasts an insightful, even startling, observation-"Government requires make-believe"-on nearly every page. If the concluding appreciation of Harvard's famed historian Perry Miller seems out of place, Morgan maybe forgiven for honoring a man who, like Morgan himself, has left us with the "record of a mind" that has thought deeply and creatively about our history. Outstanding.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780393070101
  • Publisher: Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
  • Publication date: 5/18/2009
  • Pages: 352
  • Sales rank: 618,537
  • Product dimensions: 6.40 (w) x 9.30 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Edmund S. Morgan is the Sterling Professor Emeritus at Yale University and the recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the Pulitzer Prize, and the American Academy’s Gold Medal. The author of The Genuine Article; American Slavery, American Freedom; Benjamin Franklin; and American Heroes, among many others, Morgan lives with his wife in New Haven.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Part 1 The Conquerors

Chapter 1 The Conquerors 3

Part 2 Puritans, Witches, and Quakers

Chapter 2 Dangerous Books 23

Chapter 3 The Unyielding Indian 39

Chapter 4 John Winthrop's Vision 54

Chapter 5 The Puritans and Sex 61

Chapter 6 The Problems of a Puritan Heiress 75

Chapter 7 The Case against Anne Hutchinson 90

Chapter 8 The Puritan's Puritan: Michael Wigglesworth 102

Chapter 9 The Courage of Giles Cory and Mary Easty 112

Chapter 10 Postscript: Philadelphia 1787 130

Chapter 11 The Contentious Quaker: William Penn 139

Chapter 12 Ezra Stiles and Timothy Dwight 177

Part 3 Revolutionary Leaders

Chapter 13 The Power of Negative Thinking: Benjamin Franklin and George Washington 197

Chapter 14 The End of Franklin's Pragmatism 209

Chapter 15 The Founding Fathers' Problem: Representation 222

Chapter 16 The Role of the Antifederalists 241

Epilogue The Genius of Perry Miller 251

Acknowledgments 259

Index 261

Customer Reviews

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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 6, 2009

    Shoddy, Simply Shoddy

    Is it possible to give a book fewer than one star? If so, I would nominate this book for that score.

    The book has many serious problems. First, it is marketed as though it were an original piece of work. In fact, it is merely a collection of essays that the author wrote for various historical publications over the past many decades. (A small number are listed as "not previously published", which , considering the poor quality, likely means that no publication would accept them).

    Second, the essays are symptomatic of the worst sort of political correctness. In them, we learn that American Indians were better Christians than the Christians themselves, and that the only true patriots were those opposed to the cause. We also learn the shocking fact that libraries are good! My, that was worth the cost of the book, wasn't it?

    Finally, the writing is poor and the author's arguments are facile. To cite just one example, he finds it inexplicable that settlers would have disapproved of the Indians' idleness, claiming that their "non-materialism" was in fact the highest Christian virtue. Perhaps he is unacquainted with the Seven Deadly Sins, one of which is sloth. And this is a Princeton professor? I shudder for his students.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted May 9, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    9780226537573 9780393059205 9780321328861 9780195069051 9780300101621

    Morgan's Simplicity

    This book is outstanding. Like all of Morgan's writing, this is proof positive that often less is more.

    The key to Morgan's writing is its efficiency. Unlike so many in contemporary academia, who are flat-out guilty of shameful self-indulgent over-writing (not to mention often doing so incoherently), Morgan's works are cogent. The flow of his narrative is nothing short of superb.

    These essays largely stick to what Morgan does best: Provide a structural analysis of an area of historical inquiry, pick out the main two or three themes, and stay keenly focused on them.

    His writing should be mandatory reading for all college students, not just for its content, but as a modicum of how to write clearly and effectively.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted November 25, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

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