ipl-logo

Book Critique Of Revolutionary Summer By Joseph J. Ellis

1138 Words5 Pages

Eric Tu Mr. Carter JAGS AP US History 11 July 2014 AP US History Book Critique 1. Brief Overview Joseph J Ellis’s book, Revolutionary Summer, is both a nonfiction political tale of how the thirteen colonies all agreed to separate from the British Empire and a brief military narrative of the battles on Long Island and Manhattan. This book focuses much on the non-military aspects of the conflict between the Continental Army and British Army such as the various events of the summer and fall of 1776. Important figures included in Revolutionary Summer are, delegate John Adams, John Dickinson, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, General George Washington, British Officers William and Richard Howe. Although the British army delivered several …show more content…

These important events were also known as “The Cause”. A major episode briefly described in Revolutionary Summer was Britain’s victory of the French and Indian War, causing colonists to become less dependent on Britain for protection. Another event elucidated was the Proclamation of 1763, prohibiting colonists to settle beyond the Appalachian Mountains, which many Americans took offense to. Other acts including the sugar, currency, quartering, stamp, and Townshend Acts, angered colonists who strongly believed in equal rights and no taxation without representation. Gatherings such as the First and Second Continental Congress were another contributing factor to America’s independence. Ellis also analyzes the choices Continental Army General George Washington and the British Army Officer William and Richard Howe made during the Battle of Long Island and Manhattan. Revolutionary Summer also explains why these choices affected the outcome of the war. Ellis then ends his book by analyzing the decisions General Howe could have made to win the war for Britain by stopping the Continental Army from growing stronger and overwhelming the British …show more content…

Historical Accuracy After comparing my AP textbook and other websites (History.com, Alphahistory.com, and UShistory.org) to Revolutionary Summer, the overall historical accuracy of the book was well supported. The book has also given me an analytical perspective of the different chronological events. For example, after the battle of Long Island, Washington came to realize that with the army he had he could not defeat the British in a traditional battle on open ground. Eventually the General understood that as long as he could prevent his army from being destroyed, he would finally prevail. Washington further realized that he must swallow his pride and fight a war with scattered and defensive actions, and that he would win the war by keeping his army as a fighting force, even if it meant continual retreat from the superior British army, this strategy eventually won America’s independence. Another example of an analytical perspective that Ellis has shown me would be how the British commanders, brothers Richard and General William Howe, could have ended the war by using strong numbers and artillery as a fear factor. They did not think it would be necessary nor preferable, to completely wipe out Washington's

Show More
Related
1042 Words | 5 Pages

In 1776, one of the most popular and well known founding fathers led the fight for independence in the royal colonies. In David Hackett Fischer’s book, “Washington’s Crossing”, he describes the troubles and even the unknowns of Washington’s experiences during the Revolutionary War. Fischer goes into detail about the first approach of the British as their massive naval fleet surrounds the state of New York all the way up to the point when the British became the defensive force rather than the offensive. “Washington’s Crossing” illustrates how the American Revolution wasn’t just pure success as at the beginning of the war, the Americans took many losses that almost completely crushed the revolution entirely. However, eventually the tides would

Read More
642 Words | 3 Pages

The book 1776 of David McCullough is very interesting history book. It took you back to the most relevant history time of American history of 1776. The book captures your attention with well-written narrative and format. The New york Times reviewed the book as “ the book is nonetheless a stirring and timely work, reminding us that it is soldiers rather than tavern patriots and windy politicians who have always paid the price of American idealism and determined successes” in 2005. David McCullough is a native Pennsylvanian.

Read More
737 Words | 3 Pages

Katherine Senechal Professor Infranco History 110 27 January 2016 Revolutionary Summer Revolutionary Summer by Joseph J. Ellis begins in the spring of 1776, a year into the fighting between Britain and the colonies. The battle at Bunker Hill had resulted in the death of more than 1,000 British soldiers and American deaths in the hundreds. After the British raided several New England towns, American soldiers led by Benedict Arnold trudged through the wilderness of Maine in winter, “suffered a crushing defeating in the attempt to capture the British stronghold at Quebec” (Ellis, 2013, p.4). The leader of the radical party in the Continental Congress was John Adams. Many of his colleagues found him obnoxious.

Read More
1055 Words | 5 Pages

In the book, American Creation by Joseph J. Ellis, Ellis talks about the founding of America from the start of it to the finish. He argues that the founding of the United States was not a clash between democracy and aristocracy. He stated that none of the founding fathers even mentioned democracy as one of their goals. The main question was actually how they were going to create a successful nation state. Ellis mentioned, in his book, that the main clash was between the people who favored a full sovereign national government, which were the federalists, and the people who wanted to reserve the state rights over all of the domestic issues, which were the republicans.

Read More
1058 Words | 5 Pages

This army had well-trained officers who knew how to make their soldiers obey their orders. The soldiers were disciplined and the British army was extremely organized, yet the American’s strengths in the Battle of Yorktown over-powered the British and helped the Colonists win the Revolutionary War. The total number of soldiers fighting for the Americans were two and a half times the number of people fighting for the British. The American troops had other advantages, one being that General George Washington, who led the American troops, was an experienced leader. The American soldiers were very motivated fighters, as they tried to regain their rights they had lost as Englishmen when they left England to come to the colonies- they had a better reason to win and a worse reason to lose.

Read More
1198 Words | 5 Pages

The principle adversaries of the battle were the British, and the American colonialists. When following the basic battle analysis methodology, one key factor becomes apparent: intelligence plays a vital role

Read More
1035 Words | 5 Pages

The book detailed Washington’s army as, “undisciplined, inexperienced, poorly armed, and poorly equipped” (152). His army was poorly compared to the British army who was, “far better trained, better disciplined, better equipped” (166). One of the main reasons for this was because Washington’s army was made up of much younger men, some who were as young as fifteen years old. Many had no military experience whatsoever. The American army also did not have the supplies and the equipment that the British army had, based on the local economy at the time.

Read More
1063 Words | 5 Pages

During the 1700s America and it’s 13 colonies made a bold decision to revolt from Great Britain and become their own independent nation. This started a revolution that would forever change the way Americans would live. The War of Independence or better known as the American Revolution, consisted of the 13 colonies of America trying to gain independence from Great Britain and on July 4th 1776, America finally decided to declare their independence. Many say the revolution paved the way for many other great changes to take place, while others believed not a lot was impacted due to the revolution. This raises the question, “How Revolutionary was the American Revolution?”

Read More
1539 Words | 7 Pages

Roland Emmerich’s depiction of the Revolutionary War is clouded by inaccuracies, fictional characters, and far from realistic and exaggerated depictions of authentic revolutionary America. This movie allows the general public to get a glimpse of the Revolutionary War and the spirit of independence that plagued many colonists, and certainly evokes feelings of patriotism, but if one is looking for a historically accurate film, The Partiot is not the most historically accurate. Consequently, The Patriot is capable of being a learning tool if viewers are aware of the fact that this film is loosely based on historical figures, embellishes some aspects of colonial life and military service, and has numerous inaccuracies. As a result of the factual errors, it is not a solid learning tool, but it does give a glimpse into the Revolutionary War, the time frame of the war, significant battles, and military strategies. The film also slightly conveys a patriotic, American bias, so that should be considered when viewing as well.

Read More
4917 Words | 20 Pages

Many sites and textbooks describe the American Revolutionary War as the Americans being the tricky underdogs and the British Empire being the powerful army that seemed invincible. In this project, the thesis and evidence provided showed the opposite; the British Empire stood a small chance against the American colonies. This report highlights research and analysis about the numbers, the economic and military situations, and strategies/motives that the commanders from each side chose to use throughout the war. Some suggestions of what the armies could have done at certain battles are specified.

Read More
591 Words | 3 Pages

How Revolutionary was the American Revolution? Growing tensions between Britain and their colonies created a conflict that resulted in the Revolutionary war. The colonies succeeded in becoming independent, and set off on a quite different path than Britain’s. The American Revolution’s multiple aspects created an opportunity for historians to debate the extent to which the revolution is revolutionary. The Revolution altered the current format of society by developing a new, progressive set of ideals.

Read More
555 Words | 3 Pages

C. The Battle of Long Island, which resulted in a horrible loss and the miraculous retreat across the river to New Jersey, was caused by a lack of knowledge of enemy strength and intentions. (Transition: By the end of the war, however...) II. Main Point Sentence: Washington had a sophisticated circuit of spies who supplied him with accurate information to help him fight the British to a stalemate. A.

Read More
995 Words | 4 Pages

Leaving Valley Forge In 1780 I see myself as a free American living without British rule. My decision is to not re-enlist in the Continental Army. Over the fall of 1777, General Washington set up a camp for the winter called Valley Forge. I am leaving Valley Forge for three reasons which are: there is a lot of sickness, I want to go home, and most of all, I do not want to die.

Read More
376 Words | 2 Pages

April 1776, fresh from their victory of boston, the contiental army sent the british army running, which will lead to a bigger war, because america wants independence, the british will come back with a more effective blow. New york was the place that would put this war to an end. New york was the location that settles the score. If the bristish win, it would end the war, if the colonist win, indepence will commence. An immigrant from england named thomas payne creating a best selling how to make a revoulution.

Read More
181 Words | 1 Pages

The American War for Independence otherwise known as the American Revolutionary War was an armed conflict between the Thirteen Colonies and Great Britain. This conflict began following battles between militiamen and British regulars at Lexington, Concord, and Boston. This war was instrumental to the founding of the United States, leading to the withdrawal of all forms of British authority in 1783. However, despite the importance of this conflict, there lies a level of uncertainty behind the term “revolutionary.” A revolution can be best described as a change, and there is questionable doubt on how “revolutionary” the American Revolutionary War was.

Read More

More about Book Critique Of Revolutionary Summer By Joseph J. Ellis

Open Document