Our nation has produced comparatively few statesmen since the
eighteenth century--only Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt
seem to clearly qualify--whereas the American Revolution elevated
several of its key players to a status of the first political
order. Even the shortest list must include Franklin, Hamilton, and
the first four presidents.
The opening essays in Don Higginbotham's new collection look at
the epochal achievements of the Revolutionary era through the
perspectives of war, leadership, and state formation. Higginbotham
examines how the blend of key personages influenced the creation of
a federal system and led to the establishment of a new kind of
militia and of West Point, a military academy distinctly different
from its counterparts in Europe. The collection also provides a
fascinating view into the character of George Washington through an
essay examining his relationships with women.
The concluding essays turn to the post-Revolutionary era to
examine how the North and South, despite profound and persistent
bonds, began to grow apart. Higginbotham traces the deepening
sectional crisis within the context of the election of Lincoln, and
he ends his book with the approach of a second revolution--that of
the Confederacy.
All of the essays demonstrate Higginbotham's belief that history
is not shaped simply by vast, impersonal forces but that, on the
contrary, significant and lasting change is to a large extent
brought about by the interaction and decisions of individuals. Our
unique and remarkable history is a reflection of remarkable
people.
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