A Republic of Scoundrels

October 9, 2023
Historians Head (A Crisis of Peace) and Hemmis demonstrate in this wide-ranging and entertaining collection how Revolutionary-era America was “a time of fluid national identity.” Aiming to explore the “full, contradictory” story of America’s origins, the editors assemble a team of fellow historians to profile a wide range of “self-interested and sometimes unscrupulous individuals” whom, the editors argue, should also be considered America’s “founders.” Subjects include Revolutionary War traitor Benedict Arnold, “one of the greatest scoundrels in American history”; Irish-born congressman Matthew Lyon, a member of the House of Representatives who “mocked the president, brawled on the chamber floor, and spat in a colleague’s face”; Thomas Green, who launched an attack against Spanish Natchez (in modern day Mississippi) on behalf of the state of Georgia; the Kemper brothers—Reuben, Nathan, and Samuel—who instigated “a rebellion that threatened the uneasy peace between the United States and Spain in the Gulf South”; and Aaron Burr, who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804 and afterward plotted to found a new country west of the Appalachian mountains. While some entries are more accomplished than others, together they add up to an informative volume that successfully portrays America’s founding as a rocky and complicated affair. Revolutionary War buffs will be engrossed.

November 1, 2023
The American pantheon of Founding Fathers includes Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, and Hamilton, well-known figures who have become lionized and practically canonized, despite their flaws and complications. In the essays here, readers are treated to portraits of a series of Revolutionary-era notables of more questionable character, including traitors, shysters, and outright killers, scoundrels all--but who nevertheless made an impact on the development of the nascent United States. This includes big names like Aaron Burr and Benedict Arnold but also includes soldiers, insurrectionists, con men, and opportunists who sought to exploit the chaos of the nation's early years in pursuit of power or gain. Some succeeded, but most failed, being relegated to historical footnotes at best and ignominy at worst. These essays seek to remedy that. Despite their questionable motives or poor judgment, the actions of many of these men helped nudge the new country onto the path of stability and growth. How this was the case makes for fascinating history. Readers seeking a fuller picture of the founding of our country will find this a rewarding read.

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October 1, 2023

A host of knowledgeable scholars and historians explore the charlatans, thieves, traitors, and others who helped found the U.S., as they shine light on their misdeeds in a collection of highly readable essays. Via detailed accounts of the lives of Benedict Arnold, James Wilkinson, the Kemper brothers, and many others, each essay examines the influences and cultures in which they lived and how those could have affected their poor decisions. The book also mentions facts about many of the founding fathers who enslaved people, and how others contributed to the legends of the biography subjects, such as Arnold's second wife Peggy Shippen, who is fabled to have seduced him into betrayal. Editors Head (history, Univ. of Central Florida, Kentucky Wesleyan Coll.; Fate of the American Revolution) and Hemmis (history, Texas A&M Univ.) have overseen a strong project with this work. VERDICT With authoritative narrative in each essay, this book won't make readers love these scoundrels of U.S. history, but they might just learn something new and find some humanity in them.--Jack Phoenix

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2023
A rogues' gallery of conniving, treasonous men among those who shaped the early American republic. The leaders of the early republic are often portrayed as having unanimity of purpose and being comprised of the most honorable and upstanding characters. However, this collection of short biographies edited by history professors Head and Hemmis points out the foibles, contrarian thought, and outright scandalous behavior of some their ranks. Vividly written, well-researched contributions by first-class scholars make the story of the early U.S. more complete, interesting, and revealing. As Hemmis notes in his introduction, these profiles reveal "the many ways to be a scoundrel in the Revolutionary period." Among several dubious firsts for the new nation are the first federal employee to be impeached (William Blount); the first man to win a congressional seat while jailed (Matthew Lyon); and the first man to be attacked in the House chamber (also Lyon). The book depicts dastardly land speculators seizing upon westward expansion, scheming with foreign powers, and cheating Native Americans and Revolutionary War veterans alike. Other shady characters include a high-ranking general who offered the British a plan to defeat the Revolution (Charles Lee); another general whose "scheming led to the deaths of six US soldiers" (James Wilkinson); and the defendant in a sensational 1801 murder trial (Jason Fairbanks). The essays present a necessary reminder that the founding generation was all too human. Some were geniuses of the highest rank whose establishment and advancement of the American republic is an achievement of great magnitude. Yet this thoughtful and valuable book demonstrates that others were self-serving men on the make whose dishonorable traits and practices were sometimes antithetical or treasonous to the American cause--but also as American as the 4th of July. A fascinating look at the darker side of early American history.

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