In this Virginia History Blog on Revolutionary Virginia, we look at recent reviews beginning with “Patrick Henry: Proclaiming a Revolution” which features his oratory. George Washington is treated in two titles, “George Washington, Nationalist” focuses on Washington’s thirteen year career at the formation of the Union, while “George Washington, Wonder of the Age” surveys his entire adult career.
Two new books on Jefferson are reviewed, “Thomas Jefferson, Architect of American Liberty” is a general biography of the polymath, and “Jefferson’s Body” focuses on his physical persona and his relationships to “other”. “Unity in Christ and Country” is a study of the Presbyterian movement to unify their denomination and achieve interdenominational unification theologically, as well as efforts to support nationalism.
Patrick Henry: Proclaiming a Revolution
John A. Ragosta wrote Patrick Henry: Proclaiming a Revolution in 2017. Reviewed in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. It is available at Routledge, on Kindle and online new and used.
This book is one of a series of the Routledge Historical Americans. It is intended for reference for students via their libraries, but accessible to the general reader in paperback. In the 157-page biography, Ragosta recounts the contours of Patrick Henry’s career, his fame as an orator and reputation as a patriot, his influence in Virginia politics through decades of formative American history, and also his character as a devoted husband and loving father.
Along with the reports of five of Henry’s major speeches, Ragosta provides a provocative and informative appendix essay asking, “Are Patrick Henry’s Speeches Accurately Recorded?” There are seven illustrative photographs and an authoritative list of Henry’s wives, children and grandchildren.
To buy “Patrick Henry: Proclaiming a Revolution” on Amazon, click here.
George Washington, Nationalist
Edward J. Larson wrote George Washington, Nationalist in 2016. Reviewed in the Journal of Southern History and the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Available from the University of Virginia Press, on Kindle and online new and used.
Larson explores Washington’s career over the thirteen years from his resignation as commander in chief of the Continental Army to the end of his presidency March 4, 1797. He describes Washington’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering to strengthen the national government in a time calling for inspired political action rather than philosophical reflection.
Washington demonstrated his nationalist leadership from quashing the Army’s Newburgh Conspiracy to his hosting the Mount Vernon conference to plot a new Constitution. Washington’s attendance at the Constitutional Convention and his signature on its cover letter to Congress ensured that the state legislatures would give the proposal prompt consideration.
To buy “George Washington, Nationalist” on Amazon, click here.
George Washington, Wonder of the Age
John Rhodehamel wrote George Washington: The Wonder of the Age in 2017. Reviewed in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. It is available from Yale University Press, on Kindle and online new and used.
This survey of George Washington’s life incorporates the latest scholarship on America’s greatest statesman, showing him to have been a greater politician and diplomat than he was a general. Washington created a public character that gave him the moral authority to lead quarrelsome former English colonies into nationhood.
He evolved from a hot-headed British colonial officer ambitious for his own advancement to a mature national patriot who diverted his personal ambition towards a higher cause. Rhodehamel traces Washington’s career from the French and Indian War through the Revolution, Constitution, presidency, retirement and death.
To buy “George Washington, Wonder of the Age” on Amazon, click here.
Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty
John B. Boles wrote Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty in 2017. Reviewed in the Journal of American History. Available at Basic Books, on Kindle and online new and used.
This is a general biography of Jefferson, meant for the general reader assembling sources from a wide range of current material. Jefferson was a polymath, accomplished in science and political theory, diplomatic and literary history, agriculture, art and music. He founded the national political party supplying the Virginia Dynasty of U.S. presidents lasting six consecutive terms.
In addition, Jefferson wrote publications including a survey of Virginia history and politics for interested French society in his Notes on the State of Virginia, A Manual of Parliamentary Practice used by the Senate into mid-twentieth century and an pamphlet written after his presidency arguing for United States claims west to the Mississippi River in 1812.
To buy “Jefferson: Architect of American Liberty” on Amazon, click here.
Jefferson’s Body
Maurizio Valsania wrote Jefferson’s Body: A Corporeal Biography in 2017. Reviewed in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. Available from the University of Virginia Press, on Kindle and online new and used.
This book is a two-part exploration of Jefferson’s self image and his view of the “other”. In the first part, Jefferson’s life-long ambition to achieve a bodily “golden mean” is explored. He walked extensively and rode horseback daily for hours a day.
Physicality was also a consideration in the location of Monticello atop a “little mountain” to reflect Jefferson’s social station. He cultivated an “agreeable society” of other well read and politically active correspondents.
In part two, Valsania takes up Jefferson’s attitudes towards Indians, blacks and women. An interesting investigation looks at the career of Jefferson’s daughter Martha as a sometime First Lady of Virginia and social hostess at the White House.
To buy “Jefferson’s Body” on Amazon, click here.
Unity in Christ and Country
William Harrison Taylor wrote Unity in Christ and Country: American Presbyterians in the Revolutionary Era, 1758-1801 in 2017. Reviewed in the Journal of Southern History. Available at the University of Alabama Press, on eTextbook and online new and used.
Following a North American theological split in the Presbyterian Church by the mid 1700s, the French and Indian War entered into its second year plaguing frontier settlements of many Presbyterian communities. American Presbyterians concluded that the war was a sign of God’s displeasure at their church schism. The leadership not only sought reunification of their denomination, but also an interdenominational unity for the good of Christianity and nation.
Despite best efforts after their internal accommodation in 1758, continuing interdenominational and political faction brought no unity until the common cause of American Independence. While there was some success in the North with likeminded Congregationalists an 1801 Plan of Union, the revolutionary inter-denominational agreement soon unraveled in the South among churches without regular leadership. Presbyterians in the South weakened their connections with the national church as the slavery debate developed, leading to a sectional split.
To buy “Unity in Christ and Country” on Amazon, click here.
Additional history related to Virginia during this time period can be found at the Table of Contents of TheVirginiaHistorian website on the page for Revolution, Constitution and New Nation Era 1750-1824. Titles are organized by topics, political and economic Virginia, social history, gender, religious, African American, and Wars in Virginia 1750-1824.
General surveys of Virginia History can be found at Virginia History Surveys. Other Virginia history divided by topics and time periods can be found at the webpage Books and Reviews.
Note: Insights for these reviews include those available from articles in the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary Quarterly, the Journal of the Civil War Era, the Journal of Southern History and the Journal of American History.