The American Revolution was a war of independence that took place from 1775 to 1783 by the thirteen colonies of Great Britain North America. The American patriots defeated the British rule winning freedom from Great Britain and became the free United States of America. Numerous historians have participated in writing informative books, journals or articles among other resources about the American Revolutionary War. Some of the historians include Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Bernard Bailyn. This essay seeks to find different historians involved in the American Revolution, comparing and contrasting authors, and how they engaged in the craft of history.
Thomas Paine was an Englishman philosopher and writer who backed revolutionary causes in Europe and America. He wrote a pamphlet titled Common Sense that was advocating for England’s political independence. He engaged in the craft of history when he wrote about the grievances of fellow officers on the Sussex Coast. The pamphlet had information that attacked the monarchy of George the III and consistently called for independence (Paine, 2001). After his works on The American Crisis papers during the Revolutionary War, he went back to Europe and provided an inspiring defense of the French Revolution with the Rights of Man.
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Alexander Hamilton was born in the British West Indies and was later General P.A. In 1788, as one of America's Founding Fathers, he persuaded New Yorkers to accept to approve the constitution of the U.S. He then functioned as the country’s first secretary of the treasury, from 1789 to 1795. Alexander Hamilton was an American statesman and among the founding fathers of the United States. He took part in the revolutionary war in 1777. In his book, Revolutionary, he explains revolutionary battle scenes during independence. More so, he gives the history of colonies that were under British control and the time that the Americans declared their independence (Lodge, 2005).
Born on January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States of America, Benjamin Franklin was a political theorist and author among other titles. He became a hero for being an agent of several colonies for fronting the repealing of the Great Britain Stamp Act. He served as a diplomat during the war and worked with various leaders to garner support and resources for the American colonies. He was a skillful negotiator and persuader, and his efforts led to the French signing the Treaty of Alliance with the United States of America, that provided the freshly formed republic international approval in addition to military financial, and political aid which in several ways assisted the colonies to overpower the British in the War for Independence. In his book, American Life , he talks of the life of an ordinary American during Britain’s rule and the need for freedom (Isaacson, 2005).
Bernard Bailyn was an American historian and author who specialized in revolutionary and colonial history especially political ideas that motivated patriots. In 1953 he received his Ph.D. from Harvard, where he has been teaching from 1949. The Peopling of British North America: An Introduction (1986); and Voyagers to the West (1986), was awarded Pulitzer Prize. Bailyn's writings changed the study of the early History of America and the American Revolution by putting new weight on the purpose of ideology and "republican" perceptions in the thinking of the leaders of the American Revolution. He co-authored and edited several books including The Great Republic in 1977, which discusses the effects of the American Revolution (Bailyn, 2017). In his work, Bailyn talks of the ideological origins of the American Revolution, which analyzed pre-revolutionary liberty.
In Thomas Paine’s Pamphlet “Common Sense” first published on January 10, 1776. The book was written in a style which was formal, convincing though respectful towards the audience, with an old English touch to it that symbolizes what exactly he was engaging in. He was attempting to enlighten people on what was happening around them, how it was the opportune time to use their common sense and fight for their independence from the British Empire, though not dictating to readers where he wants them exactly to do. For example in the first paragraph when he wrote Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one; for when we suffer or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect from a country without government our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. The government, like the dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers paradise (Paine, 2017).
From the quote, it is evident that the style is informative though simple to avoid clouding the reader and its syntax, his choice on vocabulary shows that the author was well educated to the detail of formality. The tone used is also naturally calm and considerate not to offend the audience any manner, shape or form. His usage of motifs for example constant reminder to readers that he is not implying what they should do, but just stating what could be done. The style is effective as it helps to develop better the theme due to the verity that the style assists intensify the significance of what is required to be implemented by the people besides exhibiting awareness to the reality that it’s their individual opinion but by simply conveying message in his own words “that he will put on, or rather that he will not put off, the true character of a man, and generously enlarge his views beyond the present day.” The style is what further strengthens the information Paine is attempting to convey to the people which triggers the reactions of the people; his pamphlet is what shifted ideas massively across the colonies for independence which made United States of America (Paine, 2017).
On the other hand, Ben Franklin uses a plain, logical, and journalistic. In the autobiography, he depicts America not yet a country but a group of random colonies. It is more of a fresh civilization taking its initial baby steps. The people residing in America are anxious and happy, brave and bold, and are contemplating on what rights they require and need. As a matter of fact, America needs plenty of things, and Franklin's in the point of assisting them to shape or provide a number of them. His notion of America more of a thought experiment, where people keep contributing to the elements of a new civilization (Kane, 2015). Franklin sources of writing were from rather the things he had experienced and his nature to make a name for himself.
When writing about happenings he incorporates in the Autobiography, he’s candid concerning what befalls him and his feelings towards it. He commits himself to engage the audience in his writings, almost as if he is talking directly to the audience. Franklin adopts a smart and self-depreciating tone. He is well aware of what is going on in his head, and he is always focused on improving himself. With all his achievements, we expect him to be egotistic, but instead, he is not scared of poking holes in his personal image. This technique of being open and straightforward is useful as it draws in the audience. We can sympathize with him (Kane, 2015).
Ben Franklin also had an extreme exciting style of writing. He wrote with adequate information to provide a good picture of how things stood for him, though he does not directly delve into details of the things. His works share similarities to puritan such as his use of brief declarative sentences. For example, when he describes how he solved his problem with getting access to Philadelphia. He wrote "She proposed to lodge me till a passage by some other boat occurred. I accepted her offer, being much fatigued by traveling on foot.” Besides, his comments on topics like human nature in the center of his stories. For example, when he wrote about his arrival in Philadelphia, he comments that people are extra generous when they have minimal to share. Different from Puritans, Franklin adopts of details in his works (Kane, 2015)
In the book Revolutionary on Alexander Hamilton., the author Martha Brockenbrough recreates the multifaceted personality and eventful life of Hamilton life. Martha Brockenbrough is an author of two books for adult audiences and eight books for juvenile audiences. She has several other works on the way such as a biography of Donald Trump, Unpresidented and, coming in Fall '18. Martha has been awarded several awards such as Pacific Northwest Bookseller Association Award, and Washing on a State Book Award for her book The Game of Love and Death . Besides, she emerged as a finalist in Kirkus Prize. In the book Revolutionary, Martha author delves into this articulate, principled, and passionate founding father, starting from his proscribed birth to his deadly contest with Aaron Burr. Hamilton’s desolate childhood and exertions for survival and an education situate a tone that reveals him as the accomplished self-made person whose defects destroyed both his personal life and political career. The sequential narrative is founded on thorough research to current information of Hamilton a student, orphan, Revolutionary War champion, womanizer, father, and doting husband, public servant and politician. She uses a patriotic, hopeful, lyrical, reflective tone in this autobiography (Stevenson, 2017).
Probing into the relationship of Alexander Hamilton with Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams, Burr, James Madison, Maria Reynolds, and Schuyler sisters, the author tempers what in any other day would be a glowing complement by delving into Hamilton’s all-consuming womanizing, ambition, and compulsive dedication to being an individual of honour. Audiences no well enlightened with American history will recognize the value of the clear, amicable syntax and storytelling that captivatingly presents complex events and ideas. Her judicious employ of primary and secondary sources guarantees historical precision as the title gives intuition into Hamilton’s thoughts and provides a welcome scattering of amusing anecdotes. The pose fortifies as the well-paced work progresses. Martha Brockenbrough style is effective, as she manages to deliver a properly researched biography of Alexander of Alexander Hamilton that touches on his important achievements as well as on his flaws (Stevenson, 2017).
Conversely, The Great Republic co-authored by Bernard Bailyn focuses to recount and aims to narrate and construe American history in the environs of a central assembly of numerous overarching themes: the integration of minority and majority interests in central the body politic; the associations between America and the rest of the world; and the purpose of concepts in modelling the American society and its institutions. Baylin focused in American colonial and revolutionary-era history, studying merchants, demographic patterns, loyalists, international associations across the Atlantic, and political ideas that inspired patriots. Baylin is popular for punctilious investigation and for interpretations that are at times confront the normal wisdom, particularly those touching on causes and consequences of the American Revolution (Bailyn, 2017).
In his most protuberant work, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution, Baylin psychoanalyzed pre-Revolutionary political brochures to demonstrate that colonists believed the British wanted to institute a tyrannical government that would shorten the historical British rights. Therefore, he contended that the Revolutionary rhetoric of freedom was not guilelessly propagandistic nonetheless pivotal to the comprehension of the scenario. This evidence was employed to dismiss the theory of Charles A. Bear, the main comprehension of the American Revolution that the American Revolution was chiefly a situation of class warfare and the rhetoric of freedom had no meaning. Bailyn insisted that the perception of was deep-seated in the revolutionaries, an attitude he stated represented the "transforming radicalism of the American Revolution (Bailyn, 2017)." The ideological Origins was very effective has it achieved a number of things such as, examining resources that are under-appreciated, creating a foundation for revolutionary ideas, and restoring how confrontations shifted and grew. However, it didn’t delve much into recapturing the vagueness of the moment.
Bailyn contended that republicanism was the center of the values French radical thinkers had fought for to confirm. He used intellectual sources of the American Revolution within a wider British political structure, giving details on how English nation Whig beliefs about civic, ancient rights, corruption, and phobia of autocracy were, in the colonies transmuted into the belief of republicanism. Bailyn's adopts a rather complex style of righting. His attitude to the collection of Whig ideas is artfully diachronic instead of structural that is, argued libertarian connotations change via time as "the colonists" strive to give meaning, and to go after, the property of independence (Bailyn, 2017).
Therefore, the historians of the American revolutionary war were involved either directly or indirectly about the historical battle of 1775 to 1783. Also, the historians got involved in founding the United States through representing the people in one way or another like Diplomacy, activism and authoring enlightening information that demanded freedom for Americans. Lastly, the historians discussed above existed during the time of the American Revolution and also took part in the attainment of independence. This is because they all wanted the United States to be a free nation from the rein of British rule that had coined the people.
Reference
Bailyn, B. (2017). The ideological origins of the American Revolution . Harvard University Press.
Kane, S. (2015). Dating Ben Franklin: Investigating the Early Years of Historical Figures and Classic Authors. English Journal , 104 (3), 19.
Paine, T. (2017). Common sense . Sheba Blake Publishing.
Stevenson, D. (2017). Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary by Martha Brockenbrough. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books , 71 (1), 7-7.
