History of the United States Book Review

From Christopher Columbus to the Late Twentieth Century

May 26, 2009 Christine Musser

Douglas Brinkley points out that this is one of many books on the history of the United States and that his particular perspective is the political and economic history.

Brinkley begins with Christopher Columbus and the impact that Columbus had on the new world. He calls this “Setting the Stage” This was an appropriate beginning title for the first chapter of his book. He states that Columbus’ discovery of the new world was the first experimental civilization which developed into the United States. He follows through with the observation that Columbus went to his grave not realizing that he discovered a new world. With this statement I was able to realize how unfortunate this was for Columbus. What we know as America today could have actually been called Columbus.

Amerigo Vespucci Finds the New World First

One of the many things interesting about the book was the that Brinkley did talk about Amerigo Vespucci, for whom America is named. Brinkley states that many explorers came after Columbus to what was thought to be Asia, but not until Amerigo Vespucci was it realized that Columbus did not find a shorter route to Asia.

Vespucci was an Italian navigator who journeyed to the mouth of the Amazon in 1499 and realized that he was in a new land and not Asia. This discovery only quickened the colonization of America. With Colonization comes political, social, and civic duties which spin money. Brinkley has set his goal for this book in motion.

American Economics Grows from Destroying the American Indian

Reading through Brinkley’s book the reader will see how the American economy grew from ground up and have a better understanding of the historic foundations that make the United States such an economically strong nation. Brinkley does a good job pointing out that our economic growth sadly benefited through the stripping of other cultures, particularly the Native Americans.

In the introduction Brinkley states that due to restrictions of space he was unable to address efficiently enough the saga of the American Indian. However, he did state that when Columbus came to the new world in 1492 “he found a highly developed society of approximately seventy-five million people speaking nearly 2,000 different languages”.

Since Brinkley’s space was limited he focused on the greed of the Europeans. He pointed out how for years Columbus was celebrated for his discovery. The effect that his discovery had on the American Indian was overlooked. Brinkley quotes a supporter and biographer of Columbus, Howard Zinn, “The cruel policy initiated by Columbus and pursued by his successors resulted in complete genocide” . Brinkley went on to say that the bottom line of Columbus’ journey was to find gold. Brinkley also quoted Sitting Bull, “the love of possessions is a disease among them”. Brinkley was not afraid to write about United States history and point out particular areas where the government failed.

Through reading this book, the reader will realize the European strength on which the United States was built based on the battles between European countries for the new land and discovered the emergence not only of Spain and England but also France and Holland in the rush to benefit from colonalization. The reader will see what seemed to be quiet uninhabited lands quickly come alive.

The book gives the impression that England felt the Atlantic Coastline belonged to them and when other European countries wanted to establish themselves in the new land England took offense. Brinkley says, “by the late sixteenth century the North Atlantic powers with interests in the New World came to blows”. The European countries battled over who had the right to sail the Atlantic Ocean. Brinkley is very successful in clarifying the tensions between the European countries at that time.

European Events Effect the United States

Brinkley successfully points out that events in Europe caused events in America. An Example of this is the Protestant Reformation. As the Europeans became disenchanted with the religions of their government they developed their own beliefs and because of this they were persecuted. To avoid persecution many Europeans fled from Europe to America where they could practice freedom of religion.

Through this book the reader will be able to get a better scope on what took place in the early years of America. The book is filled with colored pictures, maps, and texts and improved my understanding the events that were taking place. This book is not written on the academic level. It is best suited for the person who wants an overall view of United States history. Brinkley’s language and sentence structure were easy to read and made understanding of what he was saying easier. It is also filled with colored pictures, maps, and texts. This was helpful in keeping my attention and in improving my understanding of colonial history.

Source:

Brinkley, Douglas. American Heritage: History of the United States. NY, Viking Press, 1998.

The copyright of the article History of the United States Book Review in History/Philosophy Books is owned by Christine Musser. Permission to republish History of the United States Book Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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