The Epic of America

by James Truslow Adams

A beautifully written story of America's historical heritage, by one of the country's greatest historians.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, American, Historical

433 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1931

About the author

Born to a wealthy Yankee family in Brooklyn, New York, Adams took his bachelor's degree from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn in 1898, and a MA degree from Yale University in 1900. He entered investment banking, rising to partner in a New York Stock Exchange member firm. until 1912. In 1912, he considered his savings ample enough to switch his to a career as a writer.

Adams coined the term "American Dream" in his 1931 book The Epic of America. His American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.

An American historian, Adams wrote The Founding of New England (1921), which brought him the Pulitzer Prize in history for 1922, was followed by Revolutionary New England, 1691–1776 (1923) and New England in the Republic, 1776–1850 (1926). Among the best of his many books are Provincial Society, 1690–1763 (Vol. III in the “History of American Life” series, 1927) and The Epic of America (1931), which was widely translated. The Adams Family (1930) and Henry Adams (1933) were books on the famous Massachusetts clan, to which he was not related.

Reviews

[Nadienne Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have conflicting feelings regarding this book, for it is as equally cringe-inducing as it is somewhat inspirational. The author's inability to refer to Native Americans as anything other than "savages" or "barbarians" is abhorrent, as is his absolute and complete belief that Europeans, but more specifically the English, are superior to any and all others...of course, this was also the predominant belief at the time.

I obtained this book from my father who is of the belief that all modern historical books, particularly those used in schools, are telling "wild, 'socialist' history" and that we need to preserve books like this before the leftists burn them all and rewrite everything. Of course, I am one of those leftists and I would never burn a book, regardless of its content. I felt that I had to read this to see exactly that it was that he meant, and I must say that I am disappointed.

As I started this book, it was dreadful and awful, but by the end there were some nuggets of information and some viewpoints put forward by the author which aren't necessarily bad and worthy of note, e.g. that the accumulation of wealth for wealth's sake should not be encouraged in America; that people should receive higher wages to pursue the life of their choosing, not simply to purchase more; that people should be educated to be good citizens, not patriots, to name just but a few.

Overall, I do feel that this is an overly-biased view on the United States and almost states that we can do no wrong. He completely glosses over the Native Americans - and he even states that there were maybe, at most, less than half a million of them living on the continent when Europeans first arrived...sigh. He also is rather dismissive of all of the labor conflicts which occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries, and seems to consider slavery to be a totally fine institution. However, he does call out the United States on the occasional hypocrisy, notably the idea that we believe in self-determination as the highest good whilst simultaneously imposing our will upon the South and the Philippines. He also reflects that the United States is potentially going to lose its way without a frontier to continually expand into (this book was published in 1931)...and I can't say that he is wrong, for I tend to agree with him that we have.

It's a weird dichotomy, yet interesting still. For someone who wants to read American History, I would recommend this book, but I would ensure that the reader takes it with a grain of salt, a healthy dose of skepticism, and reads about a dozen other less-biased books for a truer picture of what happened.

[Todd Kinsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

While Adams' prose is easily read and he coined the term "the American Dream" in this book, it is a classic example of revisionist history. Adams served on the staff of Woodrow Wilson who may be the worst president in American history although our current president is giving him a run for his money.

[Travis French · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what a history book ought to be.
In school we were taught all the names and dates that make up an important part of American history. What we missed out on is the story, the adventure of forming a nation.

I bought the 1931 edition on Amazon because I wanted to read about the idea of the American Dream. The phrase comes up often in books by Hunter S. Thomspson.
I was surprised to learn that the term has a specific origin and a short history. It seems almost an afterthought. The phrase comes up frequently but isn't defined until the end of the book. This is one of those books that will change the way you look at the world.

[Callum Iles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Adams takes the reader on a broad, birds-eye view of the history of America up until the date of publishing, 1931. Rather than being caught up in details, the author looks at causes, sentiment, feelings and the products of events. With delightfully witty and passionate prose and a genuine desire to see his nation pull itself out of the mire of World War One and to become great once more, Adams touches on timeless truths and outlines a path back to 'The American Dream'. An amazing book that shows how the words of Solomon are true - 'There is nothing new under the sun.'

[Peters100 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing insight into the American idea of 'bigger is better' and how, with the rise of corporations in the 1840s, bribery and corruption became the American way. How both economic and political power played into the hands of a few very wealthy people, and effectively ended any real prospect of making the 'American Dream' a reality.

A must read for anyone who wants to understand the reality of America.

[Pat Murphy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put 4 stars on this book because I think it gave me a little different perspective on U.S. history than what I got in grade school and high school. I didn't give it 5 stars because I had to work my way through the book. It was not a fast read for me. It was written, as you see, by James Adams who is one of the descendants of the Adams family such as John Quincy Adams. It was written in the 1930's so the Second World War was not in anyone's mind yet. The reasoning for getting into World war I was interesting, and if I read and understood it correctly, it had more to do with economics than the sinking of the Lusitania. The causes of the Civil War were interesting too. The North did want to end slavery. But they were running large businesses which were treating their laborers just a notch above slaves anyway and totally unwilling to change that yet. Adams tells the tale in a very familiar fashion which is easily understood. His opinions have a lot of truth in them I think. I was also surprised to read that some of the same things people say today were complaints through a lot of our history. One which strikes a familiar ring is the widening gap between the rich people and the not rich ones. Cars were starting to become something which lots of people were starting to own. Adams complained of the inevitable littering which would happen as people left their cars on the side of the road when they conked out. So the fact that the story comes from the 1930s enables the reader to compare Adam's thoughts from that era with the actual history that occurred since then. If you love history and would like that perspective this may be a good one for you.

[Will Arbaugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is by far the best book on the history of the United States of America that I have ever read. It does not overly glamorize the past and it does not shrink from the horrors or complexities of it.
Adams coined the phrase “American Dream” and his conceptualization of it is far greater and deeper than any politician of the modern age has made of it.
Adams chronicle the spirit of America and the psychological experience of America from foundation to frontier with a finger in the moral pulse as well as the economic and political.
This book alone has changed MUCH of what I believe about the country I already love and has given me a healthy dose of reality alongside of it.
We are a complicated nation forever caught between the classist elitist dream of Hamilton and the self ruling, truly democratic ideal of Jefferson. And the pair of them still duke it out today.

William Arbaugh
Www.fining-Narnia.com

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[Colton · Rating 1 out of 5]

"It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it" -404
"It has been a dream of being able to grow to fullest development as man and woman, unhampered by the barriers which had slowly been erected in older civilizations, unrepressed by social orders which had developed for the benefit of classes rather than for the simple human being of any and every class" -405

[Elbrozzie]

Excellent overview that brings into focus the tension between Hamiltonian vs. Jacksonian democracy and the meaning that the Frontier has had on shaping American character. Despite the epic sweep of Adams' (the author, Adams) vision, there are some major flaws: looking at this book through a contemporary lens, Adams is a racist (sorry to be so PC, but he is) and there's no mention of the flu epidemic of 1918. (What!?) Even so, The Epic of America is a keeper!

[Ferrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating history of the USA, primarily it is where the "American dream" language is first used. So much good stuff here. One of the amazing things is its biggest inaccuracies. Adams was very much a product of his time and got caught in the Southern "lost cause" errors. So you don't read a book like this to merely learn about USA history; you also can read it to learn about how interpretations of history are impacted by the author's time and place, for good and bad.

[Africa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a very interesting book about history and especially the American Dream.

I liked it better at the beginning when it briefly talked about the years 1400-1600, but after that, I thought it went into too much detail and started becoming boring in some parts.

[Nicole Najar · Rating 3 out of 5]

History that is digestible if a bit dry and number oriented at times.