From Kenneth C. Davis’s previous book, America’s Hidden History, I got the idea his politics were antithetical to mine; his introduction to A Nation Rising confirmed my suspicion. Further proofs to my inkling are the bits of interspersed references to modern day presidential “transgressions,” used to equate those of the past for the unfamiliar reader. Hand picking Presidents Nixon, Reagan, and Bush (43), Mr. Davis solely uses these three executives to illustrate iniquities of their administrations to devious actions (proven and alleged) of past historically celebrated Americans instrumental in our storied past. The only other presidential mentions are Presidents Obama and Kennedy; both are mentioned in most laudatory of manner.

With that aside, I find Mr. Davis’s books easy to read and informative. I appreciate his – dislike of modern day Republicans excluded – evenhanded approach and restraint on placing politically correct spin on events of the past. In his introduction he quotes another historian who needlessly but otherwise admits (I will paraphrase): Biographies are one person’s way to shape our current view of their lives to either elevate or demonize the subject. It is human nature to form opinions, hold them to heart and vehemently disagree with opposing thought; we freely read books by those with we agree and avoid offerings by those with whom we have divergent opinions. Yet, by writing-off (no pun intended) books by authors we find contrary to our beliefs, we likely miss great opportunity of erudition.

Pausing to scribble down thoughts for this review I had not reached the book’s chapter on slavery. Here my above sediment is proven premature, albeit, the infraction seems small in context to the book overall.

The author finishes chapter three, Madison’s Mutiny, with a tip of the hat to the politically correct after doing a yeoman’s task of playing fairly to history’s sensibilities. He concludes the chapter by berating George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Robert E. Lee (how the latter reaches the notoriety of the former two, I am unsure) for being slave owners. Kenneth C. Davis provides a laundry list to tsk at contemporary historians and biographers in their efforts to give “a free pass” to these American icons. Davis writes: “These men owned human beings. All the niceties about their feelings and intentions cannot disguise or ameliorate that fact. They had the power of life and death over other human beings, people they could buy or sell at will. And, like many slaveholders, they knew slavery was wrong and an offense to the ideals for which they had fought.” [pg 142]

Yep, they were hypocrites; therefore, all of their accomplishments are to be discounted (omitting General Lee) because they were complicit in that “peculiar institution?” Now if we could only get the enlightened of our day to be so critical of Che’s, Mao’s, and Stalin’s shortcomings despite all of their glorious achievements! The conclusion placed a patina upon an otherwise stellar slave uprising, on both land and sea.
In the next chapter, one delving into the genesis of events leading to the Trail of Tears, Mr. Davis seemingly continues his inoffensive double-standard. Explaining the unique situation between Floridian Seminoles pre- and post-Spanish loss of the peninsula, Mr. Davis writes about the Native Americans and fugitive slaves from the Deep South seeking refuge. He appears to capitulate on slavery. On page 167 he acknowledges, but fails to admonish the Indians. Writing, “[s]ometimes the Seminoles held these blacks as slaves,” and he continues without a hint of reprimand, “but it was a different sort of slavery from American plantation slaver.” Of course, the Seminoles were not an agrarian people. Kenneth Davis then cites another historian Richard Price to further his own extrication of the Seminole people from their transgressions. In the quotation Mr. Price lists how the two races fought together, intermarried while otherwise being capable of “maintain[ing] their separate identities.” Apparently being more enlightened than the Southern whites, the Seminoles were able to were able hold “maroons” as “trusted advisers and counselors of Seminole chiefs” while simultaneously “being ‘domestic slaves’.”

Without elaboration or comparison between “plantation” and Seminole slavery, are we to picture slaves in Seminole villages compelled to watercolor? Were they forced to recreate for the betterment of the Seminole culture? What grinds me the most about this double standard is that on page 141, as Mr. Davis winds up to his effort – an effort which comes nears imposing posthumous sanctions against American icons – he bemoans how movies like Gone with the Wind romanticizing and celebrating American slaves which frequently depicted those in bondage “were docile, somewhat childlike laborers, content with their situation and often treated as ‘family members’ if they were ’house slaves’.” Some slavery is evil, while other is reasonable.

I find A Nation Rising more preferably titled than America’s Hidden History based upon the fact that both books don’t necessarily share “hidden” historical facts to those who are well read in the non-fiction genre. However, no matter how many books one has consumed or scholars spend hours deep in library stacks on any given subject, there will most likely be a trickle of new, unlearned information in subsequent books. To prove this, Mr. Davis uses numerous citations and quotes of previous biographers on his subjects he uses to describe historical events.

Like a literary Venn diagram, chapters (in essence, individual essays) cover one event each; yet, as individual stories unfold, Mr. Davis provides back stories as they apply and interweave to the main focus of the chapter (he often does this via mini-biographies or explanations of related events to create a more complete timeline, all to put into context the larger event) Overall, each chapter creates a group of larger circles to the main diagram – the book.

Kenneth C. Davis finishes his book writing about the Bible Riots of Philadelphia and America’s expansion under the auspice of “Manifest Destiny.” One thing his book proves, is that our country was founded, expanded and continues to be inhabited by humans. As hindsight is crystal clear, how we comport ourselves in a political, cultural, and regional sense, future generations will be able to nitpick our shortcomings and hypocrisies we fail to see at present. ( )

I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in putting into perspective today's events. The birth-er movement, religious bigotry, racism it's all here. These are the events that shaped the nation and continue to influence us today. Events that will surprise many of us and shockingly aren't always taught in school. Davis's writing is clear and concise and draws the reader into these long forgotten pieces of our past. ( )

"For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie – deliberate, contrived and dishonest – but the myth – persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold to the cliches of our forebears.... We enjoy the comfort of opinion with out the discomfort of thought.”
– John F. Kennedy as quoted by Kenneth Davis

Author Kenneth C. Davis does not look at the history of the United States through rose-colored glasses. This has earned him some very vocal critics and some admirers. He is the author of the “Don't Know Much About” series of books, but I had not read any of his writing before this book.

Based solely on A Nation Rising, I fall into the admirer camp. While I am a loyal and patriotic American, I believe that as a country, we cannot decrease the mistakes of our future unless we recognize the mistakes of our past. There has been too much whitewashing of our history, and when I was a student, I got only the heavily sanitized version.

The book contains six chapters, each dealing with an aspect of the U. S. during the first half of the 19th century. With titles such as “Burr's Trial” and “Weatherford's War,” I expected the book to perhaps be too narrow in scope and somewhat boring. I was entirely wrong. Mr. Davis includes the history necessary to understand each chapter. At the beginning of each, he includes a time line and some great quotes.

I have two issues with the book. I think the book would be better received if Mr. Davis had left out the comparisons to President Bush. Whether or not I agree with his viewpoint, they did not seem to fit into a history of the period. The second issue is just an “I wish.” I would have liked illustrations of some of the artwork and portraits he mentioned. All in all, I very much enjoyed this informative and entertaining book. ( )

Click here: http://catalog.nprlibrary.org/record=b1089127~S0

Explores America's hidden history in the first half of the nineteenth century, one of the most tumultuous but overlooked periods in the nation's early history.
In the dramatic period from 1800 through 1850, the United States emerged from its inauspicious beginning as a newborn nation, to a near-empire that spanned the continent. It was a time in which the "dream of our founders" spread in ways that few men of that Revolutionary Generation could possibly have imagined. And it was an era that led to the great, tragic conflagration that followed--the American Civil War. The narratives in this book each exemplify the "hidden history" of America, exploring a vastly more complex path to nationhood than the national myth of a destiny made manifest by visionary political leaders and fearless pioneers. Davis explores: Aaron Burr's 1807 trial; an 1813 Indian uprising; a mutiny aboard the slave ship Creole; the "Dade Massacre" and the start of the second Seminole War; the bloody "Bible Riots" in Philadelphia; and the story of Jessie Benton and Lt. John C. Frémont.--From publisher description. ( )