…with the insipid offerings on Discovery, such as the Story of Us and The Revolutionary War.
You know I do genealogy. And you know I’m American. It has not gone unnoticed by me that my ancestors were a mixed bag…and that in the minds of many we weren’t so much rebelling from England (the view King George took of the event) as dissenting from the way the English government was working. In effect, we weren’t fighting the English. Many of us were English.
And insipid programs that rehearse the same old children’s stories about the Pilgrims and the Indians and the horrid British, as if we were something else at the time…rather bother me.
So on this 4th of July, let me salute some of my ancestors who weren’t English: they were Dutch, who lived peacefully in New York, and who changed hands when the English and Dutch had a war: New York was ceded as part of the peace treaty.
Others of my ancestors belonged to the Powhatan tribe, who were getting along quite nicely before a band of fairly well-behaved Englishmen decided to land a boat on their shores. The Englishmen claimed the Powhatans’ land, but at least had the grace to marry their way into the community—before they claimed the rest of the continent.
Then there were the Quakers from Devon. Some of mine were part of the Quakers, who weren’t so much here for religious freedom as to avoid the gruesome fate of other people the Puritans ruling England from time to time were persecuting that week (it was Catholic v Protestant, and some who thought themselves holier than either—with really gruesome fates for the loser du jour: disemboweling alive, burning alive that sort of thing: what nice people! all in the name of their piousness)—
Our Pilgrim fathers—read Puritans—I had a few of those, too, named things like Temperance, mostly in Massachusetts—and thank goodness they had the good taste to take a hike from Salem during the witch trials. Or maybe they had had a feud with one of those bratty children who started it…who knows?
I had families half of which were in England and half in the colonies in 1776…and what were they to do?
I had a great-great-grandfather or two fighting on this and that side of the English Civil wars I and II, I had people running from the shelling of Gloucester; and I had people fighting in the various wars: the French and Indian Wars; Queen Anne’s War; the Revolutionary War; you name it.
I had people on both sides of the American Civil War, one of whom, yes, was a slaveholder who freed all his slaves and built them houses for their families at his own expense, and hired them thereafter for wages, because he had thought twice about the situation, and this was years before the Civil War. His son, my third-great grandfather, was a spy for the Confederacy.
I had people who wanted no part of the Civil War, and took the newly invented railroad out to Ohio and Missouri and hiked the rest of the way to get away from other people who wanted to kill civilians over politics.
My people in general ALL had relatives on this side and on that of every issue so nicely glossed over in these programs, and the issues, as always happens in real life, had a lot of fine print about who was involved on what side and why.
So let us celebrate the 4th, but let’s not hate anybody. You just never know who you’ll find out you’re related to.
Thank you for pointing this out. The watered-down propaganda that they loosely call “history” is a insult not only to our intelligence, but to the memories of the individuals that participated in it.
American history is filled with greed, deceit, and prejudice. But regardless of how embarrassing it can to be to us as a nation, it is still ours and we should embrace the good, bad, and the ugly, for it is what made the U.S. what it is today. I’m sure Mexico remembers the Alamo far differently than Texas does.
I sit here writing on what most Americans call the 4th of July, and watch as they eat, drink, and be merry, instead of giving solemn thanks to the individuals that authored the document that made us a nation of lofty ideals and freedom. And the sacrifice of those that made it a reality, that stood up for many reasons not in history books.
I strive to live up to them everyday. I gave up academic and athletic scholarships to serve in the infantry under some of the harshest conditions imaginable.
Then later as a federal servant, I was faced with the choice of coming forward to expose corruption within my agency or having a career. I chose to go whistle-blower, and am blacklisted to this day from participating in the profession I loved and excelled in. Many have called me an idiot for what I did, but I felt it was my duty as an American and civil servant to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.
My ancestors did not come to this country till after the turn of the last century. They came to make a new life here after escaping the oppression of Europe. I hope I have made them proud.
On this day in 1776, if you were to do a poll, I am not sure a majority of the colonists would be in favor of independence. Does anyone know for sure?
I cannot fathom the minds of people who say, “We need to stamp out corruption in our agency/department/branch/etc., so I’m relying on you to come forward with any reports of corruption you might have.” So, when the honest employee comes forward and makes the report, complete with proof, that employee is no longer employed because they are no longer trustworthy. Seems like the cart before the horse, we want out people to be honest, but we castigate them if they are, and then wonder why we can’t stamp out the problems. This is not unique to government employment, private enterprise also has its problems.
My family came from Germany, England, France, Ireland, and possibly Scotland. The Germans and French fought over Alsace-Lorraine, The Irish and the English had their difficulties in the 19th and 20th centuries. The English and the Scots have a history since at least the 14th century. The English and the French have had their wars, too. No wonder I’m so screwed up inside – I don’t get along with myself!
All too often, we forget the basic reasons for our separation from Britain. The various taxes that were imposed on the colonies by Parliament, but not imposed on Englishmen living in England. The restrictions that trade could be with the mother country only. The Quartering Act, the Stamp Act, this act and that act, without proper representation in Parliament would have caused enough of a stir, and even after the Boston Massacre in 1771, it was still 5 years and 3 months before we actually took it upon ourselves to “dissolve the bonds” which tied us to Britain. When you are compelled by your government to leave the country for an extended period of time and go to another country where the language is different the customs are different, and the freedoms are different, you can quickly see why we believe we are in the greatest country in the world. We don’t need internal “passports” to go from one state to another. We can freely travel outside the country, we can access information freely, speak, write, congregate, etc., freely. This is why my oath of enlistment contained the words, “I…solemnly swear to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic…” Maybe it’s not chic to swear an oath these days, with so many professional athletes who sign contracts, then want to renegotiate them a year later. I happen to believe an oath is a binding contract the same as a written contract. Regardless, we who served in the military have done so largely as a volunteer force after 1973, and we have been able to recruit some of the finest individuals in all of the country. People thank me for my service, but it’s more important that I thank them for their support, for giving me the opportunity to travel to different places in the world, to get an education, to find out things about myself I didn’t know before, and after I retired, to continue my education. So, Thank You, People of the United States!
Well said Joe!
Joe,
Unfortunately what you said about corruption in federal service is spot on. I was a triple threat, honest, hardworking, and highly competent. Don’t think I stood a chance. I let family, friends, and free-time fall to the wayside to serve my country and government. Then was given a tough choice and chose to do what was right and the government I had devoted myself to didn’t lift a finger to aid me, but I never did break my oath.
If no good deed goes unpunished, then it seems I have allot to answer for.
I think if you go far enough back in anyone’s family tree you’ll find ancestors who fought each other. I mean look at the Queen of England – she’s related to Mohammed!
I just finished watching my favorite musical “1776” and you realize it wasn’t such a sure thing – this United States of America – and a lot of compromises had to be made in order to get the Declaration of Independence signed long after the war had begun in Lexington and Concord.
“1776” is a great show to be in – if your director is diligent, you can REALLY get into the history of the thing. And if you’re a guy, there are a lot of roles to play that don’t require much talent beyond being able to carry a tune. If you’re a woman, the roles are few (2), and they both require LOTS of talent.
I love that movie. “Sit *down,* John!” 😆 It’s such a good bit.
It’s a great movie with witty dialog taken from the actual correspondence and writings of the signers. When I was young and studying about it in school it never really sank in what a close call we had, that not everyone thought it was a good idea to break away from the mother country.
“But no you gave us Congress good god sir was that fair?” Still applicable *g*
I don’t watch much television, but occasionally I have sat through a few specials and…egads, it seems you are treated to four repetitions of what the producers are going to tell you, each followed by three minutes of commercials, finally after twenty minutes, a minute of actually giving the promised tidbit of information, which is usually a letdown considering the breathless suspense the show attempts to evoke. The signal to noise ratio is disgustingly low. If that’s the kind of thing the insipid shows on the Discovery channel serve up, I would despise it too.
Fortunately, we don’t have to shoot the minions of our lords who are sent out to impose orders in order to get those lords to take our grievances seriously. And most of us don’t risk getting burned, hung, shot, jailed, or mobbed for holding politically unpopular religious views.
Some of my ancestors were at least mobbed and driven away from homes they had built with their own labor and sweat, two and three times, well after and in spite of the promies of religious liberty given in the Constitution. I’ll agree the record of the United States is far from ideal, but I have issues with those who would claim it is therefore hypocritical and evil. Most people in most places in history would have cause to envy the peace, and freedom, and wealth that most of us have inherited, not earned. I fear that many of us are in danger of squandering them, like many a child of wealthy parents.
“So let us celebrate the 4th, but let’s not hate anybody. You just never know who you’ll find out you’re related to.”
Ain’t that the truth…
🙂
Forrest
Finally! A blog that I always wanted to write.
Of course, we all know the U.S.A was created as a christian nation, that’s what the war of independence was all about. LOL! — I am being sarcastic (just in case).
When 1776 premiered in Seattle, I tried to get anyone to go with me. (I hate seeing things alone.) Couldn’t get anyone interested. (I really got into the bicentennial, but no one around me seemed to.) It was years before I finally got to see the movie. It’s now an annual event. Christmas, it’s “Lion in Winter” (a tradition “inherited” from Lynn Abbey) and July 4th, it’s 1776. Both have incredible dialogue and great human insight, but mostly, they’re lotsa fun!!!!
I recently found a book that has given me great insight into the founding of the U.S. and that has stimulated me to examine what I really would like this country to become. Read Timothy Ferris’ “The Science of Liberty – Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature” published by Harper Collins 2010. Mr. Ferris has written several science popularizations including “The Red Limit” and “The Whole Shebang”
Also, Jane says you need a hug, so here is a virtual hug in absentia from one of your ShejiCon salads…
Awww. Thanks. I’m having chemistry problems with the pond, but the fish (I’m sure they’re in there) all seem to be fine.
Nothing more frustrating than having your fish location go all bad on you. Hope your pond clears up really fast.
Here’s another big HUG
I have a video from the American Rifleman that portrays early history quite
realistically, a substantial number of the founding fathers were quite
human, and less than scrupulous characters. Very well done.
I seem to recall that algal blooms are almost inevitable when the conditions
are right, the rate of reproduction being geometric isn’t much help when
you are trying to curb one. Building a tent might interfere with the whole
idea of having a pond (shutting off the sunlight), removing the water is
also counter, so you’ll have to continue doing chemistry until it works.
As an aquarist I’m sure you’re quite familiar with the level of irritation
involved in getting it right. Tank conditioning on start up is frustrating,
I hate losing fish.
This has me thinking about how to do a power filter, which doesn’t involve
back breaking labor or pond diving. I’m sure there are commercial ones that
only require the sacrifice of your food budget, not good either.
I’m running a pot filter in addition to the skimmer and waterfall filter. That’s 3 filtrations, but the broad shallows have our number, for sure.
The fish are all ok, I’m sure: they do eat algae, and the waterfall means high aeration; but I’m going after that UV filter tomorrow.
One aspect of the American Revolutionary War which is seldom acknowledged by Americans is the huge contribution of the French.
Almost certainly the war would have been lost without French support.
The French provided vast quantities of military supplies, as well as loans and financial support. French ports were open to American ships, French officers joined Washington’s army. Regular French troops and the French navy provided massive and decisive support.
The Yorktown campaign was almost entirely won by the French. A French fleet under Count de Grasse defeated the English navy at the Battle of the Chesapeake preventing supplies and reinforcements getting to General Cornwallis, and preventing his escape by sea. The strategy of the whole campaign was devised by Count de Rochambeau, who dissuaded Washington from attacking New York. The Marquis de Lafayette played a vital role. The siege tactics at Yorktown were almost entirely devised and conducted by French officers, and half the land forces who took part in siege were regular French soldiers.
I dug at an archaeological site called Cantonment Wilkinson. It is a little known piece of American history in S. Illinois where the American Army was secretly massing troops for a war with the French. Funny how loyalties change. You can see me in the documentary.http://virtual.parkland.edu/ias/member_com/CURRENT_RESEARCH/cwFigure2b.jpg I’m the guy in the Boonie cap. A few members of the Louis and Clark expedition were selected from there.
Cantonment Wilkinson was the largest military base in the country containing approximately 1,500 Infantry, Artillery, and Dragoon (i.e., cavalry) soldiers. The cantonment had its inception in a late 1790s diplomatic crisis between the United States and France. The French had begun seizing American ships on the high seas and it appeared that all-out war was imminent. In response, George Washington and Alexander Hamilton developed a plan for a large American military base or cantonment in the Ohio River valley. Once the war started, troops from this “Reserve Corps” would move into the Mississippi River Valley and capture the river and New Orleans and from the Spanish who were expected to ally themselves with the French. General James Wilkinson was put in charge of this operation despite rumors that he was a traitor in the pay of the Spanish. Wilkinson ordered smaller posts such as Ft. Massac to be abandoned and added their garrisons to the Reserve Corps.
It is just a forgotten brushy field now.
Interesting!
Benjamin Franklin had been in Paris schmoozing hard for French aid. France and Britain had been at war intermittently—Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of King John (and Richard) had title to a section of France; the entanglement of France and England goes all the way back to the time when France was Neustria; and prior to that in the time of Julius Caesar, when he observed that there was a regular sea traffic between the Celts in Britain and those in Gaul. And at the moment France had been quite upset by the Dutch war, had ambitions on the Mississippi and was absolutely inclined to prevent Britain from spreading its control of the East Coast of the Americas, among other causes. The situation on the continent was a mess: France, the Netherlands, and Spain were all invested in the New World, seeking economic redemption; and France was careening toward the Revolution (1789, a little over a decade after 1776). So Europe, always simmering in near-war, had been radically destabilized by 2 situations: religious upheaval, in gruesome Protestant/Catholic goings-on; and economic disaster, because of completely unregulated speculative ventures—you could lose your shirt in England (South Sea Bubble); in France, where no noble thought they should pay taxes and no peasant had any money to pay(Charles de Colonne, the finance minister who had no money); and in Holland, speculation run amok (starting with the Dutch Tulip Bubble in the 1630’s). And Spain, which had had a fuss with England—the Spanish Armada (1580’s)—a lot of it cloaked in the Protestant/Catholic mess, and funded by New World gold…
Anyway, in all this background, European politics needed no great encouragement to go another round in the Americas: all it needed was a little whiff of success. Communication, be it remembered, was not by cellphones: messages proceeded only as fast as wooden sailing ships, and situations could vastly change before the orders launched in reply ever got there.
One thing Europe did know, however, was that it was a lot more comfortable to have actual fighting take place on somebody else’s soil. They just needed to have a prospect of winning this round. And a weaker England was to the advantage of France.
“One thing Europe did know, however, was that it was a lot more comfortable to have actual fighting take place on somebody else’s soil.”
Something we now practice all too well. Conflicts are like toxic waste, no one wants it in their back yard, but are more than happy to push it out on someone else.
I still think you’d do a bang-up job on a historical fiction novel, CJ. Your take on cultures interfacing and people somehow muddling through, being ordinary and outside the ordinary would fit so well.
My ancestors here in the States were mostly farmers, ordinary folk. You’ll find Oklahoma Sooners. Orphans. Intermarriage (and I hope I can find the photo) with at least one Indian woman (Cherokee or Chocktaw, probably, but I don’t know). On the other side of the family, people who would have been neighbors with the Cherokee and others, including an area story that indicates a tragedy, white versus Indian brothers-in-law or blood-brothers, on opposite sides of a dispute between settlers and natives. A Civil War era document where the family deeded the farm to the mother, and a tradition of strong women on both sides of my family. Possibly not slave owners, though I can’t know what those people thought on the matter, because fires in the late 1800’s and 1900’s destroyed priceless documents and handmade quilts and furniture. Two brothers who immigrated from Hanover or Copenhagen to the Colonies, and who were probably German or Dutch, and who found countrymen here with whom to be neighbors, friends, and marry — along with English and Scots and French and perhaps Melungeons (a group of mixed and unknown origins). There are family stories of wanderlust / itchy feet, of “Indian blood” (which is altogether likely, given what I said earlier), but no idea how or if this was acknowledged on the one side of the family, and of being generally of a stubborn and individual streak. Some idea that at least some of them were religious. Known that one was a skilled carpenter. …No idea who in the family tree might have been same-sex oriented, but with that many relatives, it’s probable. In the Civil War era, some fought for the Union and others for the Confederates and some were lucky enough to stay on the farm to make a go of it, while being overrun by both sides to such a degree, I’m sure they were all heartily sick of both sides by the end of it, yet they were proudly American. Also, a father who nearly went to Korea, except he’d caught walking pneumonia without knowing it, on a forced hike several days before they’d got the news their unit was shipping out, so he stayed in hospital. There’s a story about going by train through East Berlin, too, and getting stopped by the Russians.
My family history has upright people and scoundrels and who knows what that was not thought good to mention of the family history, or that did not get passed down because someone died before it could be. People who loved. People who loved the land and fought the land and lived with it. People who were always hungry for what was over the next hill, itchy feet eager to go exploring, because other people or living on the farm or in town was perhaps not the finest they could hope for. Or perhaps they were just ornery, cussedness, or curious by nature, or their ideas didn’t quite suit the rest of the folks. Familiar with that in my own time.
I’d be thrilled to find proof of some of the things I can’t quite put a finger on, but which seem to be so, reading between the lines. I wish things hadn’t been lost to fires or floods or sheer tempers or whatever secrets or high ideals (low ideals?) might have been kept…but ended up being not kept.
I am concerned for what I see in my own country now, but I see also people who care about it and are, as usual, outspoken and eager to change things, a healthy attitude, enough antidote to the other, I hope.
So here we are, a misfit crew of knaves and wenches and upstanding citizens, even those who might not be able to stand or speak. 😉
When’s the next starship off this mudball, anyway? I’d like to go a-wandering too. Never mind that I’m not the truly adventuring type. I want to see what’s out there.
It’s now the 5th. — E pluribus unum. Not homogeneous, but a bunch of very different people with varying ideas, coming together to work it out, out of necessity and out of neighborliness above separateness. Or so we fervently desire.
My family is almost 100% German/Austrian in origin; some branches immigrated in the mid-1800s, other just prior to WWI. The posts here have me thinking about an old photo I saw in my grandmother’s collection many years ago – one very elderly Amerind looking woman with 8 strapping middle-aged sons taken (allegedly) during the Civil War. Family oral history says the woman was “adopted” by her parents as an infant — they had 7 boys and needed a daughter to help with the “woman’s work” on their Wisconsin farm. My mother says she vaguely recalls being told the woman was Cherokee – missionaries brought her to Wisconsin so she could be raised by good Catholics. A family genealogy done by a cousin many years ago listed her as adopted, dates uncertain, family history unknown. Given the time period and the rigors of travel, I’ve always questioned the story – wouldn’t an Ojibwe ancestry be more likely?
I am going to track down that picture – it’s been many years since I’ve seen it – and try to find out more about her. What astounded me about the family photos was the number of sons…daughters were in rare supply (at least when photos were taken). And how old the women looked by the time they were forty.
I’ve added ‘Lion in Winter’ to my must-watch list. I adored ‘1776’.
CJ, have you thought about doing a historical novel? (Please forgive me if I missed any!)
For the record: All German on Mum’s side, British, French, Scottish, and American Indian on Dad’s.
Happy Birthday Dear Country!
People aged faster then, poor nutrition, the toll of child bearing on a woman’s body, life was harder then.
Much of my family has been here since long before the Revolution. It’s strange at times to be in the same place where your great-greats lived. But typical of any family there are other nationalities, A Swiss grandmother and a Dutch grandfather….the interesting thing is that both considered themselves Americans rather than Swiss or Dutch, but there are some odd stories there.
RI villages differ from other New England villages in that we have no village greens. Due to the fact that the state was founded on religious freedom there was never one church dominating a town. When I read Roger Williams writings in high school my immediate reaction was “No wonder he was thrown out of Massachusetts.”
This is a strange little state, first to declare independence, last to join the union and only then because Massachusetts and Connecticut were going to divide it between them. (Which may not have been a bad idea, but that is another story.) Home of Lovecraft, Poe…..A mayor who turned Providence in a new city but could not resist corruption.When I read Providence by Geoffrey Wolfe I asked how he could get away with it without being sued. The response was that everything attributed to real people was a matter of public record.
Heat Wave in the Northeast! Take care all!