We often rely on myths to tell our stories, assuming that the historical narrative would be too dry to educate and inspire. But a skilled historian can clear away myth while leaving the reader with a sense of the color and passion of critical events in the past.

Recognizing the difference between myth and history is important in understanding both our past actions and present choices as a nation.

Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence (2013) by Joseph J. Ellis combines original accounts, insightful analysis, and first-class storytelling skills to bring the reader into the critical summer of 1776, when the future of American independence was very much in doubt. Few historians write as knowledgeably and effectively about the revolutionary period in America as Ellis, who in this short work brimming with fresh perspective addresses what he calls the “crescendo moment” in American history.

“During the five months between May and October, a consensus for American independence emerged and was officially declared, the outlines for an American republic were first proposed, the problems that would shape its future were faced and finessed, and the largest armada ever to cross the Atlantic arrived to kill the American rebellion in the cradle, which it then very nearly did.”

Throughout his work, Ellis skillfully intertwines the political and military narratives that must be seen in tandem to understand how the idea of America was born and survived its infancy. He notes that these experiences were two sides of the same coin, with the political consensus for independence that formed in June and July being driven by “a widespread loathing of the looming British invasion of New York.” He discusses how the Continental Congress made the deliberate decision to avoid the slavery question—a decision with hundreds of years of consequences—in order to bring all the colonies together to fight the British. The challenges of an occupying army in a distant land foretell our own difficulties two centuries later in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. Alliances made for convenience between colonies with very different agendas were masked for decades by the myth of a shared sense of American nationhood that simply didn’t exist in 1776.

John Adams is clearly a pivotal figure in the Ellis story. Instead of the “flaming radical” reputation he had earned in leading the New England colonies toward independence, Adams emerges during this critical summer as a rare “conservative revolutionary.” He is willing to compromise to reach his larger goal and he is willing to support others—Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson—who bring their extraordinary skills forward at crucial moments. Throughout, Ellis also places George Washington at the front of a military band that could barely be described as an army, to face the formidable Howe brothers. Through a combination of personal bravery, a willingness to gamble, timidity by the British, and sheer luck, Washington and his troops fight just enough to stymie the conflicted Howes and escape from what seemed an inescapable trap he had allowed himself to be lured into on Manhattan. The military narrative reads like a mystery where we know the ending but are constantly finding new facts and perspectives to broaden our understanding of the story.

The military defeats in New York this summer were not enough to keep the independent colonies from making the political case that America was destined to succeed. They also helped solidify in Washington’s mind the necessity to prepare for, and fight, a long war, a slog that would eventually last eight years.

Even with a clearer understanding of the facts, Ellis ends by noting that there were fictions which were necessary if America was to turn its improbable military victories into long-term political success. Myth is important in telling national stories, and we see that in our understanding of the revolutionary era. However, our myths can grow, change, and inspire in different ways over time, an important lesson for the present era.

The other reminder that Ellis brings forward is that the idea of America is always under attack and requires diligent defense against the powers of oligarchy and minority rule. Sometimes the attacks against democracy come from without, but more often than not—as we see in our present time—those fights to limit the scope of America’s promise to one race and one gender come from within. The birth of independence is “untidy, improvised, and at times miraculous.” Our fight to maintain a democracy today can often be seen through that same lens.

More to come . . .

DJB

Top image: Lord Stirling leading an attack against the British in order to buy time for other troops to retreat at the Battle of Long Island by Alonzo Chappel via Wikimedia Commons