Some Articles of Interest
edit&c. 1767 1790 Ada King, Countess of Lovelace Ada Lovelace Adam Helmer Adirondack Mountains Age of Enlightenment Air Alan Taylor Albany, New York Albert Beveridge Albert J. Beveridge Albert Jeremiah Beveridge Alfred Corning Clark Allentown, New York American Civil War American Revolutionary War Amerigo Vespucci Anne Langton Appalachia Appalachian Regional Commission Arthur C. Parker Ashery Atlantic Cable August Heinrich Petermann
BJ's BLM Bannerman's Island Barbie Barry St. Leger Battle of Spotsylvania Bay horse Beattie Beaver Kill Beaverkill River Bee (disambiguation) Bee (gathering) Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Rush Berkshire County, Massachusetts Betio Beveridge Award Beverwyck Booneville, New York Boonville, New York Borscht Belt Boz Boz Scaggs Brant Brant, New York Brewerton, New York Breyer’s Bridgewater, New York Brookfield, New York Burlington Burlington, NY Burlington, New York Burlington Flats, New York Butler's Rangers Butternut Valley Butternuts, New York C. Francis Jenkins C. W. Otto Werner CNY Cabell Cadwallader Colden Cadwallader D. Colden Cadwallader David Colden Calcium oxide Cambridge, New York Camillus Camillus Cutlery Camillus Cutlery Company Camillus Knives Canadarago Lake Canadian Shield Canajoharie, New York Canandaigua Lake Carbonate of potash Carr Cato, New York Catskill Catskill, New York Catskill High Peaks Catskill Mountains Cayuga Lake Cayuga nation Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia (town), New York Cazenovia (village), New York Cazenovia Lake Central New York Central New York Military Tract Charles Clinton Charles Hardy Charles J. Colden Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Sherwood Chautauqua Lake Cherry Valley (town), New York Cherry Valley (village), New York Cherry Valley Massacre Cherry Valley Turnpike Cherry Valley massacre Chesapecten Jeffersonius Cheval de frise Chevaux de frise Chief Hendrick Chief Osceola Chingachgook Chlorate of potash Clarence Birdseye Clinton Clive Strutt Colden Collins Colonial America Columbia, New York Columbus Quarter Committee of Safety Committee of Safety (American Revolution) Committee of Safety (disambiguation) Committee of safety Conestoga Conesus Lake Continental Continental Currency Cooper Cooper (disambiguation) Cooperstown, New York Cornplanter Cortland Normal School Covenant Chain Croghan Cross Lake Crow kinship Cuisenaire rods Cusick Cutler Cyrus H. McCormick David B. Birney David Cooper David Cooper (psychiatrist) David Shipman Dawes Act Dayton Decatur, New York Declaration of Colonial Rights Deerslayer Delhi, New York Deliquescent Democratic-Republican Party (United States) Dicaearchus Disinfopedia Don Pardo Drums Along the Mohawk Dubois E-ZPass Earl of Lovelace East Syracuse, New York Edmeston Edmeston, NY Edmeston, New York Edmeston, New York (1760s) Edmeston, New York (1770s) Edmeston, New York (1780s) Edmeston, New York (1790s) Edmeston, New York (1800s) Edmeston, New York (1810s) Edmeston, New York (1820s) Edmeston, New York (1830s) Edmeston, New York (1840s) Edmeston, New York (1850s) Edmeston, New York (1860s) Edmeston, New York (1870s) Edmeston, New York (1880s) Edmeston, New York (1890s) Edmeston, New York (1900s) Edmeston, New York (Businesses) Edmeston, New York (Chronology) Edmeston, New York (Churches) Edmeston, New York (Houses) Edmeston, New York (People) Edmeston, New York (References) Edmeston, New York (Schools) Edmeston AB Edmeston Centre Edward Clark Edward Clark (manufacturer) Edward P. Alexander Eighth grade Elias Dayton Elizabeth Cochran Ely S. Parker English English Committee of Safety Erie Canal Eschatology Eskimo kinship Esq. F.O.C. Darley F. O. C. Darley Falconer Fayetteville, New York Felix Octavius Carr Darley Fibonacci number Fineness Finger Lakes Fintan O'Toole Fishkill, New York Fishkill (town), New York Flag of Alabama Flags of the United States armed forces Fort Dayton Fort Dummer Fort Herkimer Fort Nassau Fort Orange Fort Oranje Fort Stanwix Fort Stanwix Treaty Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1768 Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater Frontier warfare during the American Revolution Gazetteer Gemma Frisius Genesee River George B. Seitz George Boxley George Brackett Seitz George Clinton George Clinton (1771-1809) George Clinton (politician) George Clinton (royal governor) George Croghan (1720-1782) George Ross George William Frederick Gideon Hawley Glimmerglass Goldsmith (disambiguation) Great Western Turnpike Green Lake (New York) Green Lakes State Park Grenville Grevelingen Greynvile Guillaume Delisle Guy Johnson HHP HHP (inc) Hadji Muhammad Half moon Halve Maen Hamilton and Skaneateles Turnpike Hand Held Products Hardy Harper Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History Harper's Magazine Harper & Brothers Harper Collins Hartmann Schedel Hartwick Hartwick, New York Hartwick Seminary Hawaiian kinship Hawkeye Hawley Heinrich Berghaus Helmer Hemlock Lake Herkimer, New York Hibernia (disambiguation) High school junior High school senior Historic Preservation Historic preservation History of New York History of the United States (1980-1988) Holographic will Homer, New York Honeoye Lake Hook Hudson River Chain Humidifiers Hummingbird Hawk-moth IJsselmeer Increase Sumner Inter-process communication International House Iroquoian languages Iroquois Iroquois kinship Isaac Jogues Jacques-Nicolas Bellin James Campbell (disambiguation) James Clinton James Cooper James Cooper (b.1661) James Cooper (b.1729) James Edmeston James Edwin Campbell James Fenimore Cooper Jean-Baptiste Greuze Jedadiah Peck Jedediah Peck Jedidiah Peck Jehuda Cresques Jeremiah Johnson Jeremiah Van Rensselaer Johann Friedrich Endersch Johannes Werner John Bradstreet John Breadbake John Butler John Butler (pioneer) John Christopher Hartwick John Christopher Kunze John Ford John Garrison John Johnson (Composer) John Johnson (Loyalist) John Johnson (Ohio) John Johnson (composer) John Johnson (disambiguation) John Palliser John Pym John Sullivan John Tunnicliff John Watts John de Monins Johnson Johnson Johnstown, New York Johnstown (city), New York Johnstown (town), New York Joseph A. Wapner Joseph Brant Joseph Francis Joy Joseph Wapner Judge K-12 Keuka Lake Kill (body of water) Kill Van Kull Kindergarten King Hendrick Kinship and descent Kirkland Kunze LaFayette, New York Lake Champlain Lake George (New York) Lake Otsego Land patent Laurentian Laurentian Highlands Laurentian Shield Leatherstocking Leatherstocking Saga Leatherstocking Tales Leavening agent Legitime Leonardo Vinci Leonardsville Leonardsville, New York Letchworth State Park Lewis DuBois Lewis H. Morgan Lincklaen, New York Lira Lire List of Biblical names List of Liberty ships List of New York Senators List of New York rivers List of U.S. states by highest point List of United States Representatives from Ohio List of ZIP Codes in New York List of cartographers List of cartographers on 11817 wheels List of encyclopedias List of extinct U.S. counties List of extinct U.S. counties by state List of famous pairs List of high school dropouts List of people by occupation List of publishers List of regions of the United States Little Britain, New York Liver-Eating Johnson Liver-Eating Johnston Liver Eatin' Johnson Liver Eating Johnson Lombardy poplar Louis the Sixteenth Loyalist (American Revolution) Madison County, New York Manchester, Virginia Marcellus, New York Marcellus (town), New York Mark Dunn Martin Behaim Martin Gardner Martin Heilwig Martin Waldseemüller Mary Brant Maryland, New York Massachusetts Bay Colony Matthäus Merian Maturity Melancton Smith Mengwe Michael Gerber Middle School Middle school Military Tract of Central New York Minqua Mohawk Valley. Mohawk nation Molly Brant Morris (town), New York Mottville, New York Mount Edmeston Mount Upton, New York Mr. ZIP Muriate of potash Myall Lakes NMSA NYSHA Natty Bumpo Natty Bumppo Natural history Neustadt an der Haardt Neustadt an der Weinstrasse New Hampshire Grants New Hartford, New York New Jerusalem New York New York State Historic Sites New York State Historical Association New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation New York State Park New York State Parks New York State Thruway New York history Newtown, New York Niagara Reservation Nicholas Herkimer Nicolas Auguste Tissot Ninth grade Nitrate of potash Noah John Rondeau Northern Tier Old English District Omaha kinship Onaquaga Oneida Lake Oneida River Oneida tribe Oneonta, New York Oneonta (city), New York Oneonta (town), New York Oneonta Normal School Onondaga, New York Onondaga (tribe) Onondaga County, New York Onondaga Lake Onoquaga Operation Plowshare Oquaga Oriskany Oswego River Otisco Lake Otsego Otsego County, New York Otsego Lake Otto Werner Ouaquaga, New York Owasco Lake P.v. PV (disambiguation) Panorama Point Pantheon Books Parker Parkman Pathfinder Patriot (American Revolution) Paul Revere Pautucket Falls Pawtucket Falls Peace Bridge Pearlash Pedro Alcazar Peet Hook Penny (U.S. coin) Pennyweight Per stirpes Percifer Carr Pericles of Tyre Persafor Carr Pestle Peter Cooper Peter Gansevoort Peter Milet Peter Schuyler Philip Morin Freneau Pieter Schuyler Plow share Plowshare Pollepel Island Pollopel's Island Pollopel Island Polopel Island Porsgrund Postal village Pot ash Potash Potassium carbonate Prequel Province of New York Pterin Ptolemy RAB RN Radical Whigs Raquette Lake Raquette Lake, New York Raquette River Rebellion Red Jacket Registered Identification Number Republic of Hawaii Republic of Texas Rev. Revenue Act Rhinebeck (village), New York Rhineland-Palatinate Richard Andree Richfield, New York Rifle barrel Rob Hume Robert Edmeston Robert Erskine Rock (geology) Rondeau Rondeau (poetry) Roscoe Conkling Round Lake Round Lake (New York) SNY SPCK Salts of tartar Samson Occom Samuel Hopkins Samuel Hopkins (inventor) Samuel Jordan Cabell Samuel W. Alderson Sangerfield, New York Saratoga Campaign Sarcodine Schenevus, New York Schoharie Creek Schuyler Schuyler Lake Schuyler Lake, New York Scientific American Scottish uprising Sea of Galilee Sebastian Cabot (explorer) Sebastian Münster Second grade Seneca Lake Seneca Lake, New York Seneca River Seneca River (New York) Seneca nation Seneca tribe Seventh grade Share Shawangunks Shepard Settlement, New York Simeon DeWitt Simeon De Witt Singer Manufacturing Company Singer Sewing Machine Company Sion Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet Sixth grade Sixty-ninth United States Congress Skaneateles Lake Skaneateles Turnpike Skipper Soccer Hall of Fame Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts Solvay, New York Somerville Sons of Liberty SourceWatch South Edmeston, New York Southern Tier Spirit Lake (Iowa) Spotsylvania St. Ledger St. Leger St. Regis Mohawk Reservation, New York Stage State Senate State University of New York at Oneonta State fossil Stephen Ambrose Stephen Carlton Clark Stephen Moss Sticky end/blunt end Stream Subnational entity Sugar Act Sulfate of potash Sullivan Expedition Summit Lake Surveyor Susan Fenimore Cooper Susquehannock TLAs from AAA to DZZ Tenth grade Testator Texas Highland Lakes The Age of Enlightenment The Deerslayer The Journey of the Magi The Last of the Mohicans The Physics of Blown Sand The Pioneers Third grade Thomas Talbot (Massachusetts) Thomson (disambiguation) Tienaderha Tiendurran Timeline of United States revolutionary history (1760-1789) Tirebiter Tory Town (New York) Trade dollar Treaty of Fort Stanwix Triphammer Tryon County Tryon County, New York Tug Lake Tully Monster Tunadilla Turners Cross (stadium) Tuscarora U.S. Highway 20 U.S. state U. S. History US-MA Unadilla Unadilla, New York Unadilla (town), New York Unadilla Forks, New York Unadilla River United Sates Marshal United States United States Patent and Trademark Office United States Senators from 1789 University of Kiel Upland Upland (geology) Utica Club Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun Vincenzo Coronelli Vulgar fraction WRN Walter Butler Walter Butler (Loyalist) War of the Rebellion Water mould Werner Werner syndrome Weroance West Burlington West Burlington, Iowa West Burlington, NY West Burlington, New York West Edmeston West Edmeston, New York West Okoboji Lake Wharton Creek Wheat Wheat penny Whig Whig-Clio Whig (American Revolution) Whig (disambiguation) Wildwood Lake (New York) Wilhelm von Knyphausen Will (law) Willem Blaeu Willem Janszoon Blaeu William Butler William Butler (Colonel) William Cabell William Collins (publisher) William Cooper William Cooper (judge) William Edmeston William Falconer William Johnson William Johnson (1715-1774) William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin William W. Campbell William W. Campbell (NY) Windsor, New York Windsor (village), New York Winter wheat Woodrow Wilson World gazetteer ZIP Code Zion (disambiguation) Zippo Étienne Cabet User User:66.24.56.106 User:83.70.154.81 User:Edmeston User:Edmeston, 1763-1775 User:Edmeston, 1776-1785 User:Edmeston, 1786-1795 User:Edmeston, 1796-1805 User:Edmeston, 1806-1815 User:Edmeston, 1816-1825 User:Edmeston, Background User:Edmeston, Papers User:Nonenmac User:Nonenmac/Images User:Stepp-Wulf Wikipedia Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/TLAs from AAA to DZZ Wikipedia:TLAs from AAA to DZZ Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/Edmeston, New York (Subarticles) Wikipedia:WikiProject School Years Image Image:Ada Lovelace.jpg Image:Adam Helmer Grave NY-DOT Sign.jpg Image:Akwesasne Territory.gif Image:Appalachian Region of NYS.jpg Image:Arthur Caswell Parker.jpg Image:BJs.gif Image:Benjamin Franklin by Jean-Baptiste Gruez 1777.jpg Image:Benjamin Rush.png Image:Benjamin Rush Painting by Peale.jpg Image:Benjamin Rush Painting by Peale 1783.jpg Image:Br RN.png Image:Brant Town Seal.gif Image:CNY Military Tract.png Image:Camillus Knives.gif Image:Camillus Knives.png Image:Carr dishes in New Berlin.jpg Image:Chesapecten Jeffersonius Inside.jpg Image:Chesapecten Jeffersonius Outside.jpg Image:Clinton Sullivan Monument.jpg Image:Continental Currency One-Third-Dollar 17-Feb-76 obv.jpg Image:Continental Currency One-Third-Dollar 17-Feb-76 rev.jpg Image:Cooper Union Building 1858.jpg Image:Cornplanter.jpg Image:Disinfopedia logo.gif Image:Disinformation logo.gif Image:Dr Benjamin Rush.png Image:Drums along the Mohawk poster.jpg Image:E-ZPass logo.gif Image:Edmeston NY 2nd Baptist Parsonage.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Central School 1939.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Central School 1939 a.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Central School 1939 b.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 01 Carr School.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 01 Carr School 1920-23.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 02 Tucker School.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 03 N St School.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 03 N St School 1855-98.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 05 Goodrich School.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 07 School.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 08 Wrights Corner N Ed School.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 08 Wrights Corner N Ed School Hazel Jones.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 10 School Interior.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 11 West Edmeston School a.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 11 West Edmeston School b.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 12 Summit Lake School a.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 12 Summit Lake School b.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 13 School Interior a.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Dist 13 School Interior b.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Five Sisters looking north.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Gaskin House Early 200.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Mager Mitchell House.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Mager Mitchell House Restoration.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Otsego School.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Otsego School 1.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Taylor Hill Church 1.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Taylor Hill Church 2.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Union School 1898-1915 a.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Union School 1898-1915 b.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Union School 1915-1939 a.jpg Image:Edmeston NY Union School 1915-1939 b.jpg Image:Edmeston Patents 1792-1793.png Image:Fort Dummer Placque.jpg Image:Frontier of NY in Revolution.png Image:George Croghan's Otsego Patents.png Image:Great Chain and Mortars.jpg Image:Guy Johnson.jpg Image:Half Moon in Hudson.jpg Image:Handheld logo.png Image:Hauflag.png Image:Hhp logo.gif Image:Hopkins patent 1.gif Image:Hp foods logo.gif Image:Hummingbird Clearwing Moth.jpg Image:Iroquois 5 Nation Map c1650.png Image:Iroquois 6 Nations map c1720.png Image:Iroquois Map.png Image:James Fenimore Cooper.jpg Image:James Fenimore Cooper Statue.jpg Image:James Fenimore Cooper by Brady.jpg Image:James Fenimore Cooper by Buttre.png Image:James Fenimore Cooper by FOC Darley.png Image:James Fenimore Cooper by Jarvis.jpg Image:Jean-Baptiste Greuze L'accordee de Village.jpg Image:Jean-Baptiste Greuze Self Portrait.jpg Image:Jean-Baptiste Greuze Septime Severe et Caracalla.jpg Image:Joseph Brant.jpg Image:Joseph Brant by Gilbert Stuart 1786.jpg Image:Joseph Brant painting by George Romney 1776.jpg Image:Ken Doll c1960.jpg Image:Liver-Eating Johnson.jpg Image:Madison County New York.png Image:Map of Otsego County NY Bacon's History 1902.jpg Image:Massachusetts 12-Pence 1781 obv.jpg Image:Mr Zip.gif Image:NYS Parks Logo.jpg Image:NYS Thruway Sign.gif Image:Nellie Bly 2.jpg Image:New York State Department Economic Development Regions.png Image:Noah John Rondeau.jpg Image:Old Handheld Products Logo.gif Image:Old Otsego County.png Image:Oneonta Normal School.jpg Image:Otsego County 1791.png Image:Otsego County 1992-1993.png Image:Otsego County NY 1829.png Image:Otsego County outline map Burlington red.png Image:Otsego County outline map Butternuts red.png Image:Otsego County outline map Cherry Valley red.png Image:Otsego County outline map Decatur red.png Image:Otsego County outline map Edmeston red.png Image:Otsego County outline map Morris red.png Image:Otsego County outline map Unadilla red.png Image:Otsego Town of Burlington.png Image:Peace Bridge logo.gif Image:Pennsylvania 4-Lb Note 1777 rev.jpg Image:Peter Cooper.jpg Image:Peter Cooper 2.jpg Image:Peter Gansevoort.jpg Image:Red Jacket at Fort Jojnson.jpg Image:Rev Samson Occom.jpg Image:Roscoe Conkling.jpg Image:Schoharie Creek Bridge.gif Image:Schultz Dooley.jpg Image:Schultz and Dooley.jpg Image:Sci Am 100.png Image:Sci Am 50.png Image:Sculpture Swords Into Plowshares.jpg Image:Sir John Johnson.jpg Image:Sir William Johnson.jpg Image:Sir William Johnson.png Image:Skaneateles Lake 0430-sm.jpg Image:Society for Propagating the Gospel seal.gif Image:Sons of Liberty flags.png Image:South Edmeston NY Cheese Plant.jpg Image:Three Scouts Killed 1778 Plaque.jpg Image:Tully Monster.jpg Image:Twenty Townships.png Image:UC for me.gif Image:Virginia 4-Dollars 1776 obv.jpg Image:Wheat Penny.jpg Image:Wikilogo.jpg Image:Wikilogo.png Image:Willard Vincent Huntington.png Image:William Cooper by Gilbert Stuart.jpg Template Template:Ed Chron Template:Ed Menu Template:Ed pd Template:Otherpeople Template:Ushistory Category Category:1790 deaths Category:American cartographers Category:Cartographers by nationality Category:Dutch cartographers Category:Edmeston, New York Images Category:French cartographers Category:German cartographers Category:Greek cartographers Category:Italian cartographers Category:Lakes of New York Category:Otsego County, New York people Category:Polish cartographers Category:Spanish cartographers Category:Swiss cartographers
Book descriptions for Alan Taylor's William Cooper's Town
editIn 1786 William Cooper, determined to become a self-made gentleman of substance in post-revolutionary America, founded Cooperstown, N.Y., through a dodgy land deal. His town rose to become county seat, and Cooper became a judge and then a congressman. He lost most of the prestige he earned later, when he overstretched himself, and his local patronage weakened when he backed the Federalists against the victorious Republicans. Nonetheless, his son, James Fenimore Cooper, the early 19th century's best-selling novelist, wrote essentially a justification of his father in his third novel, The Pioneers (1823). Taylor's book--a combination of biography, personal history, social history, literary exegesis and analysis of father-son dynamics--charts the interplay between the fact and the fiction of the days when upstate New York was the frontier. William Cooper's Town won the 1996 Pulitzer Prize for history.
Wheelright William Cooper became a land speculator in frontier New York following the American Revolution. Taking advantage of postwar opportunities, he bought the Otsego Patent and founded Cooperstown, New York. Using his social and political connections, he became a judge and then a U.S. congressman. One of his sons, the famous novelist James Fenimore Cooper, wrote The Pioneers, a fictionalized account of early Cooperstown. Taylor (history, Univ. of California) traces Cooper's life and the development of Cooperstown in exhaustive detail, drawing parallels with The Pioneers. He provides a thoroughly researched account of the early village. However, his constant attempt to cram every relevant fact into his text leads to lengthy sentences that dampen reader interest. Only the most persevering reader will make it through this one. For large academic libraries specializing in postrevolutionary American history.
A tall, stout wheelwright with bright eyes, boisterous charm, and a love of banter, wrestling, and horse racing turned himself into a wealthy land developer, judge, and U.S. congressman in post-Revolutionary War America. His life would make a great novel, and it did. William Cooper's founding of Cooperstown, New York, was later echoed in the historical fiction of his son, James Fenimore Cooper. Alan Taylor has produced a meticulously researched, stylishly accomplished account of the elder Cooper's life through a hearty combination of biography, social history, and literary exegesis. Taylor reveals Cooper's rise from a rude bumpkin to a powerful pseudoelitist and then follows his evolution into the meddlesome landlord he had warned himself against. Ironically, he became as distant from his settlers as from the family he had hoped would develop the erudition, style, and social acceptance that eluded him. His enduring legacy was a son who turned his lack of commercial power into a literary power that made him the early nineteenth century's best-selling author.
An innovative work of biography, social history, and literary analysis, this Pulitzer Prize-winning book presents the story of two men, William Cooper and his son, the novelist James Fenimore Cooper, who embodied the contradictions that divided America in the early years of the Republic. Taylor shows how Americans resolved their revolution through the creation of new social forms and new stories that evolved with the expansion of our frontier.
Review of Fintan O'Toole's White Savage
editAugust 28, 2005
History: White Savage by Fintan O'Toole REVIEWED BY STELLA TILLYARD
WHITE SAVAGE: William Johnson and the Invention of America by Fintan O’Toole Faber £20 pp402
There is no more powerful and resonant foundation myth than the one that underpins the ideas that Americans have and are taught about themselves: that the young nation, throwing off the tyrannous chains of the old, proclaimed its freedom and its pristine future. But in the past few years, American scholars have been complicating the story of the American revolution and the decades that led up to it, writing about the loyalists who fought their countrymen for the right to remain subjects of George III, about the fates of slaves during and after the revolutionary war, and about the languages, cultures and shifting allegiances of the Indian nations who lived around and beyond the colonial settlements.
Popular historians are now joining the academics. Their work is controversial because it has the power to change the founding myth of the United States, and it is compelling because it paints a picture of an empire whose flexibility towards local cultures and religions and tolerance of miscegenation were lost as the project expanded, hardened and came under increasing government control. Simon Schama’s Rough Crossings, published next month, brilliantly re-creates the histories of runaway slaves in and after the American revolution. Fintan O’Toole’s White Savage, whose title and contents echo to some extent those of William Dalrymple’s recent White Mughals, tells the astonishing story of Sir William Johnson, a muscular, ruthless Irishman, born in 1719, who carved out huge estates around the town of Albany in the last decades before the American war.
O’Toole sees Johnson’s as, above all, an Irish life, albeit one lived in the service of Westminster and the British constitution. This enables him to make brilliant and suggestive connections between a man born in County Meath and the Iroquois among whom he lived. Johnson was a Catholic who abandoned his ancestral faith only when called by his Anglican uncle to make what he could of a large parcel of land outside Albany on the Mohawk River in upper New York. Johnson’s uncle didn’t want any hint of Catholicism to jeopardise his title to the land, but it was precisely Johnson’s familiarity and emotional bond with the sacred trees and wells, the rituals and the holy men of Irish Catholicism that gave him a sympathy with the same elements in Indian culture. Even as he cleared the forests and built up his land-holdings, which would eventually stretch to an astonishing 170,000 acres, Johnson was learning Indian customs and rituals. In the early 1740s, he was initiated into the Mohawk nation as a holy man with the name Warraghiyagey. Thereafter, he had three intertwined lives. First, he was a British subject and servant, commissioner for Indian affairs and a freelance general whose mixed army of Indians and Europeans helped drive the French out of Canada in the Seven Years’ war, ensuring that part of British America at least stayed overwhelmingly loyal to George III.
Second, he was an honorary Indian who mediated between the Indians and the British, securing for the Iroquois confederacy favourable treaties. From 1759 until his death in 1774, he lived with a Mohawk, Molly Brant, with whom he had numerous children and created, through intermarriage, a large mixed-race, multi- lingual family that remained loyal in the American war, lost its patrimony and ended up in Canada.
He was, finally, an imperialist adventurer, an “enthusiastic slave owner”, as O’Toole puts it, who always had his own interests at heart and didn’t hesitate to deal unscrupulously with Indians outside his own family to enlarge his land-holdings. Slaves cleared his land, carried his water, cooked his food and built his solid stone house, Johnson Hall. Among his business records, O’Toole finds the casual purchase, “ Negroes Handcuffs charg’d Boston Money 18/-”.
Hero, adventurer, servant of the crown, Irishman, lover, brother and father of Indians — Johnson was all of these, and O’Toole compellingly tells the intertwined stories of these identities and grippingly makes us see how the world he created and inhabited was swept away by the American revolution.
This accomplished and supremely readable book commands our sympathy and evokes a regret for what might have been. But when, almost at its end, O’Toole explains Johnson’s slave-owning as an element in his own advancement and in the restoration of a family pride that the British had taken away, we are jolted out of any warm multicultural haze his story has built up. For there was one element of empire that compromised all the heroism and bravery, all the sophistication of liminal identity, all the cleverness of multiple loyalties: men, manacled and shackled, bought and sold, separated from their families, and worked to death in a slavery that many in Johnson’s own lifetime were already calling an evil. Available at the Sunday Times Books First price of £18 on 0870 165 8585 and www.timesonline.co.uk/booksfirstbuy
Checklist of Cooper's Works
editJames Fenimore Cooper Society Website: Checklist of Cooper's Works