A History of the American People

by Paul Johnson

published

March 1st 1999 by Harper Perennial

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binding

Paperback, 1104 pages

isbn

0060930349 (isbn13: 9780060930349)

description

Paul Johnson, whose previous works include the distinguished Modern Times and A History of the Jews, has produced an epic that spans the...more

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David rated it:

07/29/08

Read in July, 2008

This has been an enjoyable read. It is evident that the author loves history, and he loves telling the story of the foundation, development and coming of age of America, a story which is, as he says, the 'greatest adventure.' There may be a few minor factual inaccuracies in this book, but these, I think, are forgivable.
I expected this book to be a springboard for other reading, not <the> authoritative or definitive history of the United States, and, I think, it has sufficiently met...more This has been an enjoyable read. It is evident that the author loves history, and he loves telling the story of the foundation, development and coming of age of America, a story which is, as he says, the 'greatest adventure.' There may be a few minor factual inaccuracies in this book, but these, I think, are forgivable.
I expected this book to be a springboard for other reading, not <the> authoritative or definitive history of the United States, and, I think, it has sufficiently met this expectation.
The reactions against this book - and Howard Zinn's People's History of the US - have been tendentious, even predictably so. The flood of praise and blame roareth and all that. I'm not interested in joining the hullabaloo. Moreover, I'm not reading up on American History so I can say "This really happened in such and such a year and it means this, and only this - it is I say, and it says right here, and that's that, end of discussion." or "Big Shame on this or that group! And Big Yay for this group!"
If you think America and capitalism are bad - or democracy and 'capitalism' are incompatible - this book will not sit well with you, and you'll probably like Zinn's book. A lot of people believe this - that somehow the two are basically incompatible. I'm not decided about this issue, which is partly why I liked Johnson's book. He does not see 'free markets' as essentially instruments of class repression: neither does he think they are entirely good either, but he's willing to call the good and bad as he sees it. As a result, I think he's able to square himself up more effectively to the influence of people like Andrew Carnegie and JP Morgan. (If I really wanted to make a serious decision about the relation between Democracy and Capitalism, history -whether Zinn, Johnson or any one else- is the last place I'd go.)
Moreover, Johnson aims to square up to - and does a reasonably good job of it in my opinion - the facts and impasses of American life: for example, he asks 'can America resolve the contradiction in its roots, on the one hand, its claim to be the "shining city on a hill", a place of justice and human decency, and, on the other hand, the grim fact that this justice was at the same time founded on injustice or tyranny: slavery and the genocide and dispossession of Indian populations.' I can see no evidence in the book that Johnson flinches from the complexity of this problem and the meaning of America; he doesn't white-wash it for the sake of a comforting political ideology. I think he's genuinely concerned with this question, and hopes America can resolve this problem.
This is a difficult political problem, and apart from trying to solve it, even understanding or framing it correctly is difficult. Is a history the place to do this, to concern oneself with this problem? Even if the answer is no, certainly one cannot do it without a comprehension of American history. Besides, from a civic point of view, many beneficial lessons can come from studying history: for example, the lesson that the meaning or ultimate consuences of events and decisions are not as simple as partisan ideologues say. That is, a sincere study and appraisal of history can be an antidote to the childish and wishful thinking of partisan politics. I think Johnson has this in his mind as he writes his book.

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Eric rated it:

06/02/08

bookshelves: american-history, history, non-fiction

Read in August, 2000

British historian Paul Johnson makes clear in the preface to A History of the American People his motivation for writing this book: “This work is a labor of love.” Indeed, this love for America shines through the massive tome, and ought to put native-born Americans to shame.

Johnson presents a well-organized overview of American history, from 1580 to 1997. He covers most of the major events, although in such an undertaking some are bound to get overlooked (the most notable being the Japa...more British historian Paul Johnson makes clear in the preface to A History of the American People his motivation for writing this book: “This work is a labor of love.” Indeed, this love for America shines through the massive tome, and ought to put native-born Americans to shame.

Johnson presents a well-organized overview of American history, from 1580 to 1997. He covers most of the major events, although in such an undertaking some are bound to get overlooked (the most notable being the Japanese internment during World War 2). He delves into some detail, as well, providing rich and colorful anecdotes.

Take, for example, Patrick Henry, of “Give me liberty or give me death” fame. Henry, a “born ham actor” has Proposed to the burgesses that Virginia should raise a militia and be ready to do battle. What was Virginia waiting for? Massachusetts was fighting.

'Our brethren are already in the field. Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have?' Then Henry got to his knees, in the posture of a manacled slave, intoning in a low but rising voice: ‘Is life so dear, our peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God!’ He then bent to the earth with his hands still crossed, for a few seconds, and suddenly sprang to his feet, shouting, ‘Give me liberty!’ and flung wide his arms, paused, lowered his arms, clenched his right hand as if holding a dagger at his breast, and said in sepulchral tones: ‘Or give me death.’ He then beat his breast, with his hand holding the imaginary dagger.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember learning it that way in school.

Another refreshing aspect of the book was the lack of deference given to normally worshiped figures, such as Franklin D. Roosevelt ("FDR’s lies are innumerable and some of those on the record are important.") and John F. Kennedy (Kennedy biographer: "No national figure has ever so consistently and unashamedly used others to manufacture a personal reputation as a great thinker and scholar" and this gem: "the one respect in which Jack carried on his father’s traditions not merely dutifully but with genuine enthusiasm was in his pursuit, seduction and exploitation of women.").

Although Johnson covers the political history quite well, he does not neglect, as most general histories do, the cultural aspects of American history. We learn, for example, that Hollywood was a "stuck-up religious place, founded in 1887 by two Methodists, Horace and Daeida Wilcox, who hoped to turn it into a Bible-thumping district." The town actually banned liquor and movie houses when it incorporated in 1903. Hollywood ran out of water, though, and in 1910 incorporated into Los Angeles, and in 1913 the first movie, The Squaw Man, was filmed there. That same year, a group called Conscientious Citizens gathered 10,000 signature to ban movie-making in Los Angeles, claiming that the movies would bring immorality. "Were they so far wrong?" Johnson asks.

Johnson also gives religion its proper due in the country’s history, calling the Great Awakening "the proto-revolutionary event, the formative moment in American history, preceding the political drive for independence and making it possible." Fittingly, he closes the book lamenting that religion, through the banning of prayer in schools and displaying Christmas symbols in public places, is being driven from the public square. He is one of the few modern historians to recognize the salient role religion, specifically Christianity, played in the founding and development of America.

Johnson’s admiration for the American people makes this more than a dry history – it is a compelling and enjoyable narrative of, as he puts it, "the greatest of all human adventures." It is well worth the time and effort required to slog through it....less

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