Kenneth Davis continues an enterprise begun in his
bestselling America’s Hidden History: dispelling historical myths. He
does so in a simple, direct way by unearthing factual events concerning white
male figures from history, then narrating a version of those events. The
stories he tells are engagingly colorful. There is little analysis; but there
doesn’t need to be an in-depth thesis to accomplish his task. One reads a “this
is what happened” approach to history; the superficialities of an affair told
with excitement. His main theme is that the people whom we are supposed to
idolize as heroic founders or leaders are flawed human beings, and sometimes
actually pernicious human beings. It may not be sophisticated, but it is
supported by the evidence he presents and can be an eye-opening experience if
one has been taught to revere and mythologize our ancestors.
This particular project examines figures who lived between
the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Davis’s method is to open a chapter with a stirring
incident; then connect that incident to a larger issue. He begins with the
arrest of Aaron Burr, then explores the patriot’s checkered career culminating,
with his alleged plans to raise a private army, invade Spanish territories, and
set himself up as Governor or President. The historian moves on to “Weatherford’s
War,” where the Massacre at Fort Mims launches a theme that becomes central to
the book: the treatment of Native Americans and African Americans by white
settlers and leaders. Davis does not idealize the Native Americans either. The
author describes native massacres of whites with the same truthfulness that applies
to white massacres of natives. In this section he also exposes the racist,
bloody character of President Andrew Jackson in his dealings with slaves and
Native Americans. The next chapter, “Madison’s Mutiny,” begins with a
successful slave revolt led by Madison Washington on a slave ship that ended in
freedom on the Bahamas. It provides a jumping-off point to illustrate slave
ship mutinies and plantation revolts prior to the Civil War, in addition to
presenting the revolution in Haiti. “Dade’s Promise,” the following chapter,
describes the ambush of Major Francis Dade’s infantry in Florida. The event is
then used as a way in to a discussion of The Second Seminole war, more on the
culpability of US presidents (Jackson, Van Buren and war “hero” Zachary
Taylor), and an interesting introduction of the sub-culture of “maroons”
(escaped slaves who created hidden communities in Florida that cooperated with
Native tribes). “Morse’s Code” focuses upon the anti-Catholic riots in
Philadelphia and the associated screeds of inventor, Samuel Morse. It
follows-up with the development of the nativist parties and organizations,
connecting their anti-Catholic prejudices to those faced by John F. Kennedy
when he ran for the presidency. After all of the blood and tears, Davis ends in
nightly news fashion, with a human interest story. In “Jesse’s Journey” he
portrays the difficulties overcome by Jesse Fremont as she travels from New
York to San Francisco, to meet-up with her husband, the explorer John C.
Fremont. Jesse later became famous in her own right as a writer. But the story
is inserted largely because women have been ignored throughout the volume
during its presentation of flawed white men.
Non-fiction readers will find in Davis something unusual: a
light read that is also informative. There are no challenging theories; only
myth-challenging narratives. Books like this are an antidote to the
indoctrination one experiences in public school history classes. The goal of
those institutions is to tell acceptable stories that produce patriotic
citizens; not questioning minds. By revisiting US history (or any history) with
a more skeptical eye, we are able to correct misperceptions of our past that
occurred on the way to adulthood. Some critics feel that this form of education
weakens the United States by cracking the perceived foundations of our country.
On the contrary. Informed, intelligent citizens have a greater possibility of
making unique, thoughtful contributions to our nation than do indoctrinated drones.
It is more important to inspire a future of invention and possibility than to
preserve a past of fable.
Davis, Kenneth C. A Nation Rising. Untold Tales of
Flawed Founders, Fallen Heroes, and Forgotten Fighters from America’s Hidden
History. New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2010.