The Cousins' Wars: Religion, Politics, and the Triumph of Anglo-America

by Kevin Phillips

The question at the heart of The Cousins' Wars is How did Anglo-America evolve over a mere three hundred years from a small Tudor kingdom into a global community with such a hegemonic grip on the world today, while no other European power - Spain, France, Germany, or Russia - did? The answer to this, according to Phillips, lies in a close examination of three internecine English-speaking civil wars -- the English Civil War, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War. These wars between cousins functioned as crucial anvils on which various religious, ethnic, and political alliances were hammered out between the English-speaking cousin-nations, setting them on a unique two-track path toward world leadership - one aristocratic and aloof to dominate the imperial nineteenth century and the other more egalitarian and democratic to take over in the twentieth century. They also functioned as unfortunate and deadly cultural crucibles for African Americans, Native Americans, and the Irish. Phillips's analysis shows exactly how these conflicts are inextricably linked and how they seeded each other. He offers often surprising interpretations that cut across the political spectrum - for instance, that the Constitution of the United States, while brilliant in many respects, was also a fatally flawed political compromise that contributed mightily in setting the stage for the final - and the bloodiest - cousins' the American Civil War. With the new millennium upon us and triggering widespread assessment of our nation's place in world history, The Cousins' Wars provides just the kind of magisterial sweep and revisionist spark to ignite widespread interest and debate. This grand religious, military, and political epic is the multi-dimensional story of the triumph of Anglo-America.

Genres: History, American History, Nonfiction, Politics, European History, American Revolution, War

736 pages, Paperback

First published December 22, 1998

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

If ever a book illustrated cause and effect of historical events, this is it. Phillips contends that the American Revolution and the American Civil War were essentially continuations of the English Civil War of the 17th Century. He backs this up with census data going back to Cromwell's time. He traces the emigration of the various counties of England to the colonies. The Puritan and emerging middle class from the nascent industrial counties settled in New England and the Atlantic colonies. These came from the eastern and central boroughs of England. The Southern colonies attracted the conservative, rural royalists of the western boroughs near Wales. These were the same who backed King Charles during the English Civil War. In fact, many colonists returned to England during the war to fight next to their respective compatriots.

Phillips maintains that the philosophical and social reasons for the emigration defined the later conflicts, culminating in the profound sectarian differences in the American Civil war. A scholarly slog, but well worth it.

[William · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kevin Phillips takes a very broad view of English and American history, showing how they are intertwined on on the basis of language, religion and region. His premise is that the English Civil War, American Revolution and American Civil War were basically civil wars of the English-speaking peoples, pitting egalitarian low-church Protestantism (with its associate factors of capitalism and trade) against high-church elitism, often aligned with the Crown and aristocracy, hierarchical and privilege-based.

Rather than looking at these wars as isolated from one another and limited to one side of the ocean, Phillips sees a dynamic feedback loop between America and Britain, as political crisis in one will often affect the other. Religious dissenters colonize America and send their young men back to the mother country to fight the crown alongside dissenters in England. American rebellion finds a sympathetic ear in London, which sees a victory by the Crown a threat to their freedoms, too. The American civil war, pitting the egalitarian North against the aristocratic South, finds its echoes in working class Britain, also agitating for reform and enlargement of the franchise.

This active feedback loop between the peoples of the new country and old slowly but surely build up to an "Anglo-American Triumph," yielding democratic capitalism as the dominant political culture throughout the west and English as a world language.

As readers, we prefer our primary books to be focused on a particular period or event in history. Our first reads will be ECW, AWI or ACW. "Cousins' War" is a secondary book that is read for background and context. Phillips dares to swing for the fences, trying to write a very broad-brush overview of three centuries of politics turned violent and the changes that rippled from each massive self-inflicted blow.

This is the book you read after reading about the wars.

Phillips' writing style is a bit dry. The eloquent turn of phrase is rare. His analysis, sharpened by decades of drilling down into election returns, distills much from demography as it affects democracy. Who lives where and what church they go to will often affect what side they take when the shooting starts. It would have been all too easy to compile all this census data and explain it all in dry clinical terms. Such a read would have been less exciting than watching paint dry. Phillips breaths life into it, seeing factors that affect history to this day.

That "special relationship" between Roosevelt and Churchill grew from seeds planted at Edgehill and Naseby.

I'd give "Cousins War" a very solid three stars. Again, use this book as a "tie together" after doing your first readings on the wars themselves.

[Lauren Hiebner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an in-depth analysis of the direct and indirect effects of three wars (English Civil War, 1640s; American Revolution, 1770s; and American Civil War, 1860s) on both Great Britain and the United States. This is not a military analysis but rather a cultural analysis within the context of these three wars. The author ties together the US and GB regarding religion, economics, immigration and migration, and politics. Phillips actually goes beyond these three wars to continue the analysis of the US - GB relationship through WWI, WWII, and the Cold War years. The author answers many questions regarding what happened after the American Revolution that brought the two countries back together despite the War of 1812. Well researched.

[Russell · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book tries to tie together the English Revolution with the American Revolution and then again with the American Civil War.

Far too broad in it's scope without a truly precise theory outside of "Every 100 years or so, the typically civil Anglo-Saxon race takes arms up against itself to bring itself closer to that more perfect freedom it has historically strived for" (paraphrasing).

Americans have such little exposure to the most important event in Anglo-American history, the English Civil War. This book does not do that event justice for its American readers. Americans will walk away from this book still unaware that our constitution is a paraphrased version of the common law that evolved out of the English Civil War (The entire 4th amendment is a reaction of going through people's diaries to find out if they were secretly Catholics).

In conclusion, I find nothing special about these fits of madness Anglo/Americans have every century. If you live on an island or distinct continent, most of your wars will be with yourself rather than others.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fine warm up for American Nations by Colin Woodard. Also see Albion's Seed by Hackett. Collectively, these books provide an excellent historical context that helps in understanding the present political currents in he U.S.

[William Guerrant · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ambitious, excellent, intelligent, wide ranging, and thought-provoking examination of how religion affects voting patterns, how both affected "the cousins' wars" (that is, the English Civil War, the American Revolutionary War, and the American Civil War), and how those wars directed the national destinies of the U.S. and Great Britain and led to the world dominance of "Anglo-America." Highly recommended.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this as a family historian concerned about whether the consecration of an Episcopal sisterhood, The Community of St. Mary, in my great great grandfather's NYC church, by Bishop Horatio Potter, in the mid-18th century, was an act of feminine empowerment or or the emergence of an Anglo-Catholic form of "high church" Episcopalianism. Potter's predecessor, Benjamin Tredwell Onderdonk, had been cashiered for allegedly fondling a woman, by a court of Bishops in which the "Evangelicals" voted solidly to remove him from holy office, the "High Church" bishops split.

Phillips' book treats the English Civil, the American Revolutionary and the U.S. Civil as three beads on a twisted strand of yarn. He gives strong emphasis to not only the political and military but also the religious factors influencing who supported what, and where and when.

I wish it had been an easier read, but the topic is hideously complicated. It's a good slog that takes you down interesting trails, but bring your machete!

As for the Community of St. Mary, my guess is that it was both forward-looking in trying to tend to the physical and spiritual needs of street people but also Anglo-Catholic in its movement toward conventual (and conventional) sisterhood.

Disclosure: Rev. Dr. Thomas McClure, Rector of St. Michael's Church, 99th St. & Amsterdam Aves. is my maternal grandmother's paternal grandfather. The deposed Rt. Rev. Benjamin Tredwell Onderdonk is a great uncle of wives of two of my paternal uncles.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a slog! This is a big, dense book. But, if you are a fan of early American History, this is a book not to pass up. I have had this book sitting on my selves for over a decade, buying it when it first came out. I now wish I read it much sooner than this. This is the first book I have read by Phillips, and if they are as all well researched and crafted as this, he is well worth the time and effort to read. The subtitle gives a good insight into the focus of the book. Phillips interweaves religion, politics and history - not in a preachy manner, but in an academic exploration of the connection of all three in the develop of America, leading up to and through the Civil War. He starts with exploring English history around the English Civil War, and the resulting divisions within the country and greater Britain. He argues how the division from the English Civil War are transplanted to the colonies and shape developments and attitudes leading up the American Revolution, and how those are present leading up to the Civil War. A very interesting read. Well worth the time and effort. As a history teacher it is influencing how I may teach US History, especially to upper level kids. His broad connections and themes are very insightful.

[Fred R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got interested because of Heisman's suicide note, which I think borrowed a fair amount from this book. A lot of good history here, although the organization is poor, and Phillips sometimes goes on tangents that should have been cut. His larger thesis seems to me incontrovertible, although his model doesn't really explain why Virginia took New England's side in the Revolutionary war.

[Mark Singer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ambitious attempt to connect the English Civil War, the American Revolution and the American Civil War through the lens of religion and ethnicity. The premise is fascinating but Philips is too dense for his own good.

[Russel Henderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive achievement spanning well beyond the three wars in question, down to the present day (circa 1999). Granular and data-rich, Phillips marshals a fair amount of statistics in support of his claims, and I think had he been a little more modest in his conclusions it would have been successful. There is wisdom in pointing out, for instance, that British control of the area tended to make its people more amenable to loyalism. However, he ends up needing to torture or at least to finesse some of the details to make them support his conclusions. Describing coastal New England in the early to mid 19th C as being the intellectual successors of the Tories is a strained analogy. Reducing Reconstruction and especially its end as no more than a transaction securing Yankee financial ascendancy at the price of black neo-bondage is an oversimplication. His history of King Phillip's War and other early Indian wars is cursory and obtuse, and I'm not sure how one explains the timeframe between the War of 1812 and the runup to the Civil War without referencing the Nullification Crisis. That is to say he is remarkably granular and detailed when the data supports his conclusions and cursory when it does not. So a good and useful work to read, but not overly persuasive.

[Elizabeth Gabhart · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read about 200 pages in this book before finally quitting. This book has a writing style which always leaves me feeling conflicted whenever I encounter it. There is just too much detail to be interesting to anyone except the most avid historian, but every couple of pages I run across a tidbit of information which is fascinating. As I read, I feel mostly bored but occasionally intrigued, and I'm always torn about whether to continue.

The main idea is fascinating. Phillips argues that three major English-speaking wars (British Revolution, American Revolution, and U.S. Civil War) were interlocked to such a degree, you could almost consider the second and third a continuation of the first. He argues that all three were rooted in religion and that the same general groups were winners or losers each time. Certain religious ideals encouraged more democratic thought, and so adherents to those faiths were more likely to fight on the egalitarian side. In contrast, other religious groups encouraged authoritarian loyalty to the crown and slavery. It's an intriguing idea, the sort of concept I really dig. I would like to read a treatment of this idea which is not 600+ pages.

[Bart Daudelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A majestic and sweeping history of the convergence of distinct Angl0-British cultures in both the UK and North America. Ever wonder why different parts of the States are distinctly British in their origins and yet so different ? (see New Hampshire and Alabama- both distinctly British but hugely divergent). Read this book. Thoroughly researched and very thoughtful.

[Amelia Valentino · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Was this an interesting argument? Yes. Did it need to be 600 pages? No.

Examines cultural divisions between “Anglicans and Dissenters” beginning with the British Civil War (the Reformation really) to Civil War. (and beyond) Very New England perspective. Last half wasn’t as convincing as the first half.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this was ambitious and had some interesting segments, it had numerous flaws. It reads more as a survey than in-depth history, has way too many what-ifs for even a dozen histories, and occasional has poor language choice from overgeneralizations to misguided attempts at humor.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book.

I never knew that there was a Revolutionary unit of Africans that was nearly wiped out. And another unit that was comprised of Natives.

[Kathie]

Nope, not a fan. If you need to sit with a dictionary by your side to look up a word in every paragraph and have to decipher wordy gratuitous prose, then i think I’ll pass.

[Bogash · Rating 5 out of 5]

A excellent read for anyone interested in American History. Much deeper than the simplistic propaganda taught in schools.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

10 pages in, some suspect comments, a quick Google search, and you realize this author is a white Supremist.

[Zimran Ahmed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weak. Albinos Seed is better.

[Stephen Coates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phillips writes a long history that encompasses the English Civil War, the American of Independence and the American civil war which were between groups of people who where primarily Protestant of British origin, hence the term cousins. The English Civil War was fought to establish supremacy of the parliament over the monarch, the American of Independence was fought to establish democratic representation for those being taxed and the American of Independence to establish supremacy of the national government over state governments who wanted to maintain slavery, but they were not fought between different nationalities or religions. While not to take away from the determination of the Americans fighting the war of independence, the British were not all that determined to fight back. What is perhaps not that well known is that one idea under consideration at the time was to have a House of Commons for the American colonies on par with that in London and had King George III not been mad, it might have got up. At times the book is overly detailed in its presentation of the fighting, especially the war in Independence by different counties in what became the USA and it devotes a scant page to the War of 1812 perhaps because the Americans didn't win, but otherwise a well-researched and interesting book.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

After discovering Kevin Phillips by way of his POLITICS OF RICH AND POOR, I read every one of his books eagerly, as they came out. At a point when he seemed to tire of repeatedly spelling out exactly how America is being ruined by reactionaries, he took refuge in the study of history. The result is this remarkable account of the deep roots of our current politics, and the three great internecine conflicts they gave rise to: the English Civil War, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War.

Phillips's expertise as a political analyst, based on detailed examination of local records and demographic data, provides surprising insights into political struggles between opposing interests that began centuries ago and have continued without any final resolution up to and including our present moment. For instance, I never really understood what anti-Catholicism was about, before reading this tome.

A keystone reference in my own political thinking, and a book which I think of often.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very involved read, it took me several months to get through it and although extremely interesting I must admit that some of it went over my head since I don't have as good a grasp on American political history as I wish I did.

The overall thesis is refreshing looking at the links between the English civil war and how this conflict leaked out into the revolutionary wars and then the American civil war and influenced both British and American perceptions.

Not one for the casual reader but for those students of American political history who wish to gain an insightful look into the interplay of transatlantic, national and local political, religious and social interplays that helped to create both the American and British perception of itself.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had heard Mr. Phillips truculent style with grudging admiration on NPR before I ever read this book. It's one of those perceptive, original theses that startle one. If you'd like to see the English Civil War (or whatever they're callingthat multi-national conflict now) tied to he American Revolution and Civil War, read this.

[Ryan Mulderrig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Broad in scope, and somewhat disjointed at times...with a bit a positive bias towards the titular Anglo-American triumph. But a very interesting book, especially with regards to the ever evolving demographics of America. Hard to believe that many of the current divisions and differences we see today have definitevly clear roots extending backwards into the 16th Century.

[Michael Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great synthesis of 17th through 19th century English and American history. The author lays out the major conflicts on the period as a series of civil ears between social factions in the English speaking world. It's an excellent thesis, well presented, which contextualizes current political conflicts. Strongly recommend it.

[Christopher Hinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did more to help me better understand modern US politics than any other history book out there. He clearly lays out the ideological heritage of the US South and North all the way back to England and looks closely at the conflicts that occurred as a result: The English Civil War, the American Revolution and the US Civil War.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An examination of the parallels between the English Civil War, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War.

Filled with good nuggets of information you would not have guessed out of the corners of history that neither Americans nor the British have tended to focus on.

Worth the read.

[Dick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Outstanding history book. Traces from England to the American revolution and the roots of many involved. Pithy and long - over 600 pages of relatively fine print.

I can recommend it to anyone interested in western history.

[Carl Olson]

Fascinating study of the continuities between the English Civil War, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War. Relevant to today as we divide into two irreconcilable factions in American politics. I just hope I can retire before the next big one.