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Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor: The Forging of American Independence, 1774-1776
In 1768, Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush stood before the empty throne of King George III, overcome with emotion as he gazed at the symbol of America’s connection with England. Eight years later, he became one of the fifty-six men to sign the Declaration of Independence, severing America forever from its mother country. Rush was not alone in his radical decision—many of those casting their votes in favor of independence did so with a combination of fear, reluctance, and even sadness.
In Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor, acclaimed historian Richard R. Beeman examines the grueling twenty-two-month period between the meeting of the Continental Congress on September 5, 1774 and the audacious decision for independence in July of 1776. As late as 1774, American independence was hardly inevitable—indeed, most Americans found it neither desirable nor likely. When delegates from the thirteen colonies gathered in September, they were, in the words of John Adams, �a gathering of strangers.” Yet over the next two years, military, political, and diplomatic events catalyzed a change of unprecedented magnitude: the colonists’ rejection of their British identities in favor of American ones. In arresting detail, Beeman brings to life a cast of characters, including the relentless and passionate John Adams, Adams’ much-misunderstood foil John Dickinson, the fiery political activist Samuel Adams, and the relative political neophyte Thomas Jefferson, and with profound insight reveals their path from subjects of England to citizens of a new nation.
A vibrant narrative, Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor tells the remarkable story of how the delegates to the Continental Congress, through courage and compromise, came to dedicate themselves to the forging of American independence.
In Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor, acclaimed historian Richard R. Beeman examines the grueling twenty-two-month period between the meeting of the Continental Congress on September 5, 1774 and the audacious decision for independence in July of 1776. As late as 1774, American independence was hardly inevitable—indeed, most Americans found it neither desirable nor likely. When delegates from the thirteen colonies gathered in September, they were, in the words of John Adams, �a gathering of strangers.” Yet over the next two years, military, political, and diplomatic events catalyzed a change of unprecedented magnitude: the colonists’ rejection of their British identities in favor of American ones. In arresting detail, Beeman brings to life a cast of characters, including the relentless and passionate John Adams, Adams’ much-misunderstood foil John Dickinson, the fiery political activist Samuel Adams, and the relative political neophyte Thomas Jefferson, and with profound insight reveals their path from subjects of England to citizens of a new nation.
A vibrant narrative, Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor tells the remarkable story of how the delegates to the Continental Congress, through courage and compromise, came to dedicate themselves to the forging of American independence.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
July 29, 2013
Author Richard Beeman leaves no stone unturned as he thoroughly and exhaustively examines the crucial years of 1774-1776, and the build-up years that played such an instrumental role in setting the stage for colonial dissension, ultimately leading up to declaring independence outright. The narrative, with its impressive dramatis personae, shines a bright light on the situations, circumstances, and events slowly unfolding into that national holiday we all know and celebrate today as July 4th.
While Beeman presents a magnifying lens primarily during these three critical years, and indeed it is a gripping recounting, a sense of sluggishness creeps into the storyline. The author's writing style -- lucid and erudite -- at many times, however, falls into a pedantic and academic framework that does little to pique excitement until the latter part of the book, namely the crescendo year of 1776. Nevertheless, the focus is, for the most part, on the role of the delegates, state legislatures, and inner workings of the Continental Congress and how the debates and compromises inside Independence Hall in Philadelphia were paramount to achieving that final decision to dissolve any and all connections from Great Britain, as opposed to concentrating significantly on battlefield successes and failures. Informatively powerful and well-written, yet slow-moving in terms of maintaining constant interest, this book does give readers a snapshot of the preceding years and factors that concluded with how and why the Continental Congress arrived at the decision they did with the creation of the literary culmination and editing of the Declaration of Independence.
On a side note, the author intermittently spends a considerable amount of time on the Pennsylvania delegate, John Dickinson, in relation to his stance and reasoning behind his reticence toward joining the majority in the Continental Congress in supporting independence and thus even refusing to sign the Declaration of Independence. This worthwhile inclusion illustrates how differing opinions were on the subject of breaking away from the mother country, yet this particular delegate not only stood by his principles and beliefs, but proved to do what was right for his country by enlisting in the militia to fight against the enemy! This book presents those different standpoints and showcases the decision to separate from Great Britain was not easy or a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination.
I especially enjoyed the included contrasted appendices of Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence and edited (or "mutilated" in his words) by the Congress and the final, truncated version we have today.
While Beeman presents a magnifying lens primarily during these three critical years, and indeed it is a gripping recounting, a sense of sluggishness creeps into the storyline. The author's writing style -- lucid and erudite -- at many times, however, falls into a pedantic and academic framework that does little to pique excitement until the latter part of the book, namely the crescendo year of 1776. Nevertheless, the focus is, for the most part, on the role of the delegates, state legislatures, and inner workings of the Continental Congress and how the debates and compromises inside Independence Hall in Philadelphia were paramount to achieving that final decision to dissolve any and all connections from Great Britain, as opposed to concentrating significantly on battlefield successes and failures. Informatively powerful and well-written, yet slow-moving in terms of maintaining constant interest, this book does give readers a snapshot of the preceding years and factors that concluded with how and why the Continental Congress arrived at the decision they did with the creation of the literary culmination and editing of the Declaration of Independence.
On a side note, the author intermittently spends a considerable amount of time on the Pennsylvania delegate, John Dickinson, in relation to his stance and reasoning behind his reticence toward joining the majority in the Continental Congress in supporting independence and thus even refusing to sign the Declaration of Independence. This worthwhile inclusion illustrates how differing opinions were on the subject of breaking away from the mother country, yet this particular delegate not only stood by his principles and beliefs, but proved to do what was right for his country by enlisting in the militia to fight against the enemy! This book presents those different standpoints and showcases the decision to separate from Great Britain was not easy or a foregone conclusion by any stretch of the imagination.
I especially enjoyed the included contrasted appendices of Thomas Jefferson's original draft of the Declaration of Independence and edited (or "mutilated" in his words) by the Congress and the final, truncated version we have today.
January 19, 2018
this was one of the most stressful experiences of my life. this book contains way too much detail. like, there's so much detail. its uncomfortable. theres at least a paragraph about sam adam's butt
January 3, 2021
One of the things I have always been interested in, is the process of independence. As I tell my civics classes, starting with the end of the French & Indian War in 1761, in the course of less than 15 years the British colonies in America went from anyone suggesting separation from Great Britain considered to be nearly insane to a congress of the 13 colonies deciding unanimously to declare independence. How did such a colossal shift occur so rapidly? In this book, Richard Beeman describes that process, or at least the last two years of it. He does give us an overview of the events from 1761 up to the calling of the first Continental Congress in 1774, but the emphasis is on those monumental two years.
Beeman paints character portraits of the major actors - John and Sam Adams, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, John Dickinson, and Thomas Paine drive the narrative from their various perspecticves on independence. Dickinson in particular comes up for a full examination as the leader of the opposition to independence. He is portrayed as sincere, intelligent and a worthy foil for the Adamses. Moreover, Beeman examines the legislative processes that each colony went through to arrive at the decision to support independence. Beeman seems to imply that by the time of the second Continental Congress, after Parliament, King George and the British people have rejected any attempts at mollification of the colonies, indepedence was rather inevitable, although not all colonies were as fervent in support as others.
Beeman's style is academic and very analytical. The book is thoroughly documented and sprinkled with quotes from all the major and minor players. His inclusion of the original draft of the Declaration showing the changes made to it is fascinating in its own right. Beeman also can be very funny at times. His comments on the sadly shoddy record keeping of Congressional secretary William Thompson are worth the price of admission. And his description of the movie 1776 (a musical based on the events) as "charming and occasionally accurate" is spot on and hilarious.
For an insight into one of the monumental series of events leading to the Declaration, you could much worse than this.
Beeman paints character portraits of the major actors - John and Sam Adams, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, John Dickinson, and Thomas Paine drive the narrative from their various perspecticves on independence. Dickinson in particular comes up for a full examination as the leader of the opposition to independence. He is portrayed as sincere, intelligent and a worthy foil for the Adamses. Moreover, Beeman examines the legislative processes that each colony went through to arrive at the decision to support independence. Beeman seems to imply that by the time of the second Continental Congress, after Parliament, King George and the British people have rejected any attempts at mollification of the colonies, indepedence was rather inevitable, although not all colonies were as fervent in support as others.
Beeman's style is academic and very analytical. The book is thoroughly documented and sprinkled with quotes from all the major and minor players. His inclusion of the original draft of the Declaration showing the changes made to it is fascinating in its own right. Beeman also can be very funny at times. His comments on the sadly shoddy record keeping of Congressional secretary William Thompson are worth the price of admission. And his description of the movie 1776 (a musical based on the events) as "charming and occasionally accurate" is spot on and hilarious.
For an insight into one of the monumental series of events leading to the Declaration, you could much worse than this.
May 12, 2014
Of the collection of books that have come out in the last few years on this period of American/U.S. history and its role in the framing of the U.S. Constitution, this one is one of the better ones.
I gave it only four stars because I think the author omits some important information about (a) the history of the British Constitution, particularly the consequences of the Glorious Revolution and the 1689 Bill of Rights in definitely rejecting Puritanism (most evident in John and Sam Adams' views) and Catholicism as structures informing constitutional framing (this issue is important becuase of the frequent references to the English constitution and "English liberties" in the framing history) and (b) the role of women and family structure in the rational dissent by some of the framers such as John Dickinson and Charles Humphreys (also recognized in the dissent by Robert Morris and Thomas Willing, who represented areas with 15% Quaker populations), and, as the author puts it, Dickinson's "incisive intellect" and "political and emotional moderation", self-control and ability to withstand mob mentality "of which John Adams was, quite simply, psychologically incapable".
Because of this omission, the author misses what I think of as the formidable elephant in the room of the framing of the U.S. Constitution:
Why was the Constitution built around "rights of person" rather than "rights of man" as used in the Declaration of Independence and as used in the 1789 French Constitution?
The basis in rights of person has led certain women in U.S. history, from Susan B. Anthony to Alice Paul to Rosa Parks to Harper Lee, to believe that they held rights - and to take responsibility for them - even as Supreme Court Justices repeatedly redefined the word "person" to mean "man" (as 6/9 of the US Supreme Court is doing today), as Reconstruction Era black male leaders such as Frederick Douglass similarly supported such a redefinition, and as states like Kansas, with a lot of "free state" and anti-slavery zeal, framed constitutions based in "rights of man" Puritanism (which is still in place today). Paradoxically, some of the same people who try to redefine the word "person" to mean "man not woman" also try to redefine the word "man" in the Declaration of Independence to mean "man or woman". Some define this as "man and wife" where the man is anything but independent as he is in a legal and psychological fiction of being permanently merged with a subordinate wife on whom he is, paradoxically, dependent in a childlike manner, preventing him realizing his dream of "independence"; there is insufficient recognition of the separate physical and psychological selves to permit a relationship between the two parties to the marriage.
Also, a look at the history of the French Republic reveals that the "rights of man" constitution, so ardently advocated by Thomas Paine in both the US and France, resulted in many, many usurpations from both the left and the right, from the Jacobins, to 2 Napoleons, to Hitler. Even today, the "rights of man" constitutional privilege is still given weight in France by its constitutional court and contributing to many of France's current problems.
The author provides a lot of well-researched detail about the differing views of the colonies and the "illusion of unity" in which their only real agreement (excepting the Quaker-based voters) was their desire to expel the King and "the Mother Country" through violence. To some participants, such as Dickinson, it was obvious that there was not sufficient unity for the republic to stand, which is in fact, what happened with slavery and the Civil War. While no physical war has been fought over "rights of person", the efforts to redefine this word to mean only "man" have led to many of the problems we face today in our political system; some call the last 50 years a "Culture War" about this issue among others.
Modern psychologists have deconstructed the subconscious childhood conditioning that can build these different psychologies of Adams and Dickinson. As one such author, David Schnarch, puts it ,"the more one talks about being independent, the more this reveals you're anything but". The patriarchal structure of virtually all the family structures represented at the continental congresses documented in this book, except that of the Quakers, necessarily arrests, and does not support development of the differentiated psychology "of which Adams was, quite simply, psychologically incapable". It also explains the slave-owning mentality of the South and the warrior culture that took over the Pennsylvania Assembly during this period.
Books that provide more information on this history include:
"Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson" by Jane Calvert
"Not All Wives: Women of Colonial Philadelphia" by Karin Wulf (Eliza Norris, the woman who raised John Dickinson's wife, Polly Norris, is profiled in the book).
A good quality biography of Polly Norris Dickinson is sorely missing from the historiography.
I have yet to locate a good discussion of the Glorious Revolution and the "rights of person" establishment it created.
"Men and the Making of Modern British Feminism" is a book that discusses what was going on Britain in the late Enlightenment (late 1700s/early 1800s), just as they were watching the history in this book of the Declaration of Independence play out, the framing of the U.S. Constitution, and the course of the French Revolution. This was also the 100 year-anniversary of the Glorious Revolution (which had permanently ended any prospect of a Catholic monarch, in the firing of James II, and which had also come on the heels of the British Civil Wars, in which Oliver Cromwell's Puritanism (closely connected to that of New England) ruled for a time and was then rejected. In 1689 William and Mary were then asked to jointly rule in contract with Parliament and the English Bill of Rights (based in "rights of person") was adopted.
The best books I've seen that discuss the psychological phenomenon that builds the different characters of Adams (and the Southerners) and Dickinson and the other Quaker-based framers are:
"The Mermaid and the Minotaur" by Dorothy Dinnerstein
"The Drama of the Gifted Child" by Alice Miller.
It may simply be the fact that paternity was not provable that has led to the 200 plus years of bad constitutional interpretation of the words "person" and "man".
I gave it only four stars because I think the author omits some important information about (a) the history of the British Constitution, particularly the consequences of the Glorious Revolution and the 1689 Bill of Rights in definitely rejecting Puritanism (most evident in John and Sam Adams' views) and Catholicism as structures informing constitutional framing (this issue is important becuase of the frequent references to the English constitution and "English liberties" in the framing history) and (b) the role of women and family structure in the rational dissent by some of the framers such as John Dickinson and Charles Humphreys (also recognized in the dissent by Robert Morris and Thomas Willing, who represented areas with 15% Quaker populations), and, as the author puts it, Dickinson's "incisive intellect" and "political and emotional moderation", self-control and ability to withstand mob mentality "of which John Adams was, quite simply, psychologically incapable".
Because of this omission, the author misses what I think of as the formidable elephant in the room of the framing of the U.S. Constitution:
Why was the Constitution built around "rights of person" rather than "rights of man" as used in the Declaration of Independence and as used in the 1789 French Constitution?
The basis in rights of person has led certain women in U.S. history, from Susan B. Anthony to Alice Paul to Rosa Parks to Harper Lee, to believe that they held rights - and to take responsibility for them - even as Supreme Court Justices repeatedly redefined the word "person" to mean "man" (as 6/9 of the US Supreme Court is doing today), as Reconstruction Era black male leaders such as Frederick Douglass similarly supported such a redefinition, and as states like Kansas, with a lot of "free state" and anti-slavery zeal, framed constitutions based in "rights of man" Puritanism (which is still in place today). Paradoxically, some of the same people who try to redefine the word "person" to mean "man not woman" also try to redefine the word "man" in the Declaration of Independence to mean "man or woman". Some define this as "man and wife" where the man is anything but independent as he is in a legal and psychological fiction of being permanently merged with a subordinate wife on whom he is, paradoxically, dependent in a childlike manner, preventing him realizing his dream of "independence"; there is insufficient recognition of the separate physical and psychological selves to permit a relationship between the two parties to the marriage.
Also, a look at the history of the French Republic reveals that the "rights of man" constitution, so ardently advocated by Thomas Paine in both the US and France, resulted in many, many usurpations from both the left and the right, from the Jacobins, to 2 Napoleons, to Hitler. Even today, the "rights of man" constitutional privilege is still given weight in France by its constitutional court and contributing to many of France's current problems.
The author provides a lot of well-researched detail about the differing views of the colonies and the "illusion of unity" in which their only real agreement (excepting the Quaker-based voters) was their desire to expel the King and "the Mother Country" through violence. To some participants, such as Dickinson, it was obvious that there was not sufficient unity for the republic to stand, which is in fact, what happened with slavery and the Civil War. While no physical war has been fought over "rights of person", the efforts to redefine this word to mean only "man" have led to many of the problems we face today in our political system; some call the last 50 years a "Culture War" about this issue among others.
Modern psychologists have deconstructed the subconscious childhood conditioning that can build these different psychologies of Adams and Dickinson. As one such author, David Schnarch, puts it ,"the more one talks about being independent, the more this reveals you're anything but". The patriarchal structure of virtually all the family structures represented at the continental congresses documented in this book, except that of the Quakers, necessarily arrests, and does not support development of the differentiated psychology "of which Adams was, quite simply, psychologically incapable". It also explains the slave-owning mentality of the South and the warrior culture that took over the Pennsylvania Assembly during this period.
Books that provide more information on this history include:
"Quaker Constitutionalism and the Political Thought of John Dickinson" by Jane Calvert
"Not All Wives: Women of Colonial Philadelphia" by Karin Wulf (Eliza Norris, the woman who raised John Dickinson's wife, Polly Norris, is profiled in the book).
A good quality biography of Polly Norris Dickinson is sorely missing from the historiography.
I have yet to locate a good discussion of the Glorious Revolution and the "rights of person" establishment it created.
"Men and the Making of Modern British Feminism" is a book that discusses what was going on Britain in the late Enlightenment (late 1700s/early 1800s), just as they were watching the history in this book of the Declaration of Independence play out, the framing of the U.S. Constitution, and the course of the French Revolution. This was also the 100 year-anniversary of the Glorious Revolution (which had permanently ended any prospect of a Catholic monarch, in the firing of James II, and which had also come on the heels of the British Civil Wars, in which Oliver Cromwell's Puritanism (closely connected to that of New England) ruled for a time and was then rejected. In 1689 William and Mary were then asked to jointly rule in contract with Parliament and the English Bill of Rights (based in "rights of person") was adopted.
The best books I've seen that discuss the psychological phenomenon that builds the different characters of Adams (and the Southerners) and Dickinson and the other Quaker-based framers are:
"The Mermaid and the Minotaur" by Dorothy Dinnerstein
"The Drama of the Gifted Child" by Alice Miller.
It may simply be the fact that paternity was not provable that has led to the 200 plus years of bad constitutional interpretation of the words "person" and "man".
July 7, 2021
It took me far too long to read this because of life things, but finishing it just after the Fourth of July seems fitting. Most books about the American Revolution touch on the Continental Congress as a background “thing” that is just operating and conferring with Gen Washington and making decisions. This book does a wonderful job bringing to life the dynamics of both the first and second Continental congresses, as best one can do with what has survived the time. Turns out that declaring independence wasn’t something they just finally got to one day. It was a long, arduous, excruciating process with people compromising, giving into political realities, and genuinely struggling to decide what to do. This book really helps shed a lot of light on what went on in Philadelphia while events were taking place in New England, Canada, New York, and elsewhere. Strongly recommended.
I have seen some other reviews talk about a tedious writing style. I actually tend to disagree. The author does write as a historian, and there are many facts and step by step things he lays out. But his style is actually fairly brisk in my view. His tone when talking about John Adams’s self-aggrandizement and Charles Thomson’s lackluster note taking makes for a nice break at times. He also does good work by including biographical snippets where warranted about key players in the process. All in all, yes it’s a history book, but it’s a very accessible one.
I have seen some other reviews talk about a tedious writing style. I actually tend to disagree. The author does write as a historian, and there are many facts and step by step things he lays out. But his style is actually fairly brisk in my view. His tone when talking about John Adams’s self-aggrandizement and Charles Thomson’s lackluster note taking makes for a nice break at times. He also does good work by including biographical snippets where warranted about key players in the process. All in all, yes it’s a history book, but it’s a very accessible one.
July 26, 2022
From senates and synods to modern-day international conferences for peace and climate change cooperation, grand councils have acted as incubators of change, despite all the handwringing, bureaucratic processes, and panoply of personalities. No council is more famous, and more consequential, than the Continental Congress convened in 1774 which led to the declaration of Independence and successful victory in the subsequent war against Great Britain. Richard Beeman beautifully reconstructs the time, place, and people of those Congresses, as men as ideologically diverse as John Adams and John Dickinson dueled in words and passion for and against independence. While modern Americans take Congress for granted (and sometimes rightly so), Beeman paints a picture of compromise, coercion, wheeling-and-dealing, and, yes, principle as this group of white men struggled towards independence and resolving, or overlooking, their own and their society's contradictions on independence and liberty.
Independence wasn't won by Washington, or authored by Jefferson, or intoned from Adams, but was rather a collective effort, a forging together of colonies that had never been united by government. The Continental Congress is a most American creation: noisy, cantankerous, diverse in viewpoint, and ultimately able to bring forth liberty, whether in the immediate or long term, for a new nation.
Independence wasn't won by Washington, or authored by Jefferson, or intoned from Adams, but was rather a collective effort, a forging together of colonies that had never been united by government. The Continental Congress is a most American creation: noisy, cantankerous, diverse in viewpoint, and ultimately able to bring forth liberty, whether in the immediate or long term, for a new nation.
July 19, 2020
This book is exactly what I expected, and I really enjoyed reading it. I was familiar with Richard Beeman as an author and historian from reading one of his previous books, “Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution”. These books are similar to each other.
The storyline of the book is the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence in the Continental Congress from 1774-1776. The emphasis is on the individuals that made up the congress, their backgrounds, and their contributions. At the same time, the story of each of the colonies is detailed with just the right amount of information. These twin areas move the story along to the foregone conclusion.
I am not sure where I would go to find all this information. In a single book, I feel that I came to know these “founders” so much better.
I was struck with the repeated emphasis given to John Adams vanity, hypersensitivity, and yet profound contribution. I don’t know where one would to find a fairer analysis of John Dickenson and his role in our separation from England.
If you like American history, colonial and revolutionary history, and biography, I highly recommend this book.
The storyline of the book is the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence in the Continental Congress from 1774-1776. The emphasis is on the individuals that made up the congress, their backgrounds, and their contributions. At the same time, the story of each of the colonies is detailed with just the right amount of information. These twin areas move the story along to the foregone conclusion.
I am not sure where I would go to find all this information. In a single book, I feel that I came to know these “founders” so much better.
I was struck with the repeated emphasis given to John Adams vanity, hypersensitivity, and yet profound contribution. I don’t know where one would to find a fairer analysis of John Dickenson and his role in our separation from England.
If you like American history, colonial and revolutionary history, and biography, I highly recommend this book.
September 19, 2019
This was a reread for me this year. It's absolutely fascinating to read what the founders of the United States did, thought, and acted upon, particularly when stripped of the mythological qualities that society has placed upon them. Beeman does a great job of consolidating the primary and secondary sources of the Revolutionary Era into a single volume on the events leading up to American independence. It is particularly interesting, as someone who enjoyed the John Adam's HBO miniseries, to see the artistic license that the show took with some of the events it depicted. This is a must read for any interested in the American Revolution.
March 29, 2023
The late Professor Richard Beeman does another brilliant job of focusing on specific topics in history and making dense material v readable. I discovered him and his book “Plain, Honest, Men” about the three months over which the constitution was hammered out when he guested on John Stewarts Daily Show, of all places. It took me years of illness but I finally found my way back to my want to read list and remembered he had a book on the two years leading up to the Declaration of Independence. Both books are excellent. If one considers oneself a patriot these two books are necessary or almost so.
January 29, 2018
This is a comprehensive and generally engaging narrative of the First and Second Continental Congresses through the adoption of the Declaration of Indepence. Beeman introduces the many characters involved in that process. He expresses some prejudices concerning some of those people, but not so as to interfere with the story. This is a good book for anyone who wants to get a personal look at the people and events of this foundational moment in the history of America.
March 22, 2024
A very extensive and revealing book telling a very accurate and nonpartisan story of America before the Declaration of independence was signed. It shows the many struggles and persons involved. Often at times it seemed too extensive, too detailed. It was not a quick easy read, but a very educational read.
November 12, 2017
For me, Beeman is the most readable historian going. I enjoy his style, which combines straight-forward reporting of events with an easy-to-follow chronology that makes the big picture come into view. He does his best to avoid judgments, giving nice detail on the individuals involved. This book drills down into the last spasms of the colonies as they came to realize there was no reasonable alternative to declaring independence. This is by no means a glorification of the U.S., but a real effort to show why those involved made certain decisions. By being detailed and fair, Beeman lets the reader discover for themselves those characters and events which are most compelling.
June 19, 2015
A book that holds your interest as you proceed almost day by day through the years leading up to 1776, experiencing the small steps forward, and many steps back, of the journey to independence. Has given me a much richer understanding of the role of John Dickenson of Pennsylvania in finally getting to consensus. My previous impression was mainly colored by the PBS special on John Adams. Now I feel I have a more rounded idea of the conflicting players and factions that had to converge to agree on what was to become the new Nation of the United States.
I wish someone had written history books like this when I was in High School and College. I would certainly have appreciated it more.
I wish someone had written history books like this when I was in High School and College. I would certainly have appreciated it more.
May 2, 2020
A look at how how acts by the British and debate between the radicals and moderates gradually turned the tide of public opinion from almost unanimous support for reconciliation to declaring independence. The book is illuminating of how support for the American Revolution was gathered, and the final few chapters are really interesting. However, the middle of the book is a bit of a snoozefest. It is also interesting to draw parallels with current revolutions against governments that do not have the consent of its people.
December 21, 2013
Author did a great job in defining all of the whys, wherefores, and other tidbits that led up to the creating, and signing of the Declaration of Independence. He describes the different personalities, and how the rift with England was becoming wider, each day, and how individuals, such as John Dickinson, were torn apart in trying to have both the colonies and England reconcile. If someone is into American history, Revolutionary War, this is a great book to read.
April 25, 2014
Very cool book. This is the first book I've read that looks at the Continental Congress from the inside as it evolved from a group of representatives of individual colonies to the defacto government of 13 united States. I've read a lot about the revolutionary war, but this is the first book I've read that examines how we became a nation based on representative government and shared values.
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March 8, 2021👍👍👍👍
I liked how the author humanized the participants of the Continental Congresses. I admire the massive amount of work that must have gone in to researching and writing this book. I knew about all the events described in the book, but they've never Bern woven together in such a way. I leave having gained a better understanding.
I liked how the author humanized the participants of the Continental Congresses. I admire the massive amount of work that must have gone in to researching and writing this book. I knew about all the events described in the book, but they've never Bern woven together in such a way. I leave having gained a better understanding.
October 20, 2013
Excellent look at the lead up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Definitely a must read for anyone who enjoys American History, especially colonial history leading up to the Revolutionary War.
July 9, 2013
Here's my review of Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor, at Books and Culture http://www.booksandculture.com/articl...
March 27, 2016
Beeman has wonderful command of language and writes with clarity. However, at more than 600 pages, too much unnecessary, in my opinion, detail which made reading tedious, slow.
Were it not for extraneous detail, my opinion, the book would have received five stars.
Jim
Were it not for extraneous detail, my opinion, the book would have received five stars.
Jim
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June 10, 2013Excellent. Dismisses many of the myths about the lead up to Independence. Highly recommended.
May 23, 2014
Excellent accounting of the the Continental Congress up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
July 12, 2014
This is a very interesting account of the steps toward revolution from 17774 through July 4 of 1776.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews