Idaho Civil Rights Book Review
 

The book “American Creation” by Joseph J. Ellis describes how the founding fathers guided our nation through issues of the nations founding. One of the issues addressed in the book included “What did they fail to do?” and Ellis suggests that the darkest shadow was unquestionably slavery and the failure to end it or at least to adopt a scheme to at least put it on the road to extinction. Virtually all of the prominent founders recognized that slavery was an embarrassing contradiction that violated the principals the Revolution. Ellis suggests that “slavery remains a permanent stain on the legacy of the founders.”

As the author states; “There can be little doubt that the late eighteenth century was the most politically creative era in American history. But the triumph was also a tragedy of monumental proportions because the founders left slavery intact south of the Potomac, from which it spread into the territories of the southwest as the slave population increased by eight times between 1776 and 1860.”

One interesting decision by Washington concerning African Americans was described as follows; “A sizable group of slaves and ex-slaves had joined the New England militia units that fought at Bunker Hill and Boston. No one commented on their presence until southern riflemen arrived in camp and questioned serving alongside black troops. On hearing about the complaints, Washington questioned the Council of War (his general officers) and their decision was; “Neither negroes, boys unable to bear arms, nor old men unfit to endure the fatigues of the campaign are to be enlisted.” A month later in December when many militia were leaving the Army (to attend to needs at home), Washington had a change of mind and he wrote to John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress, suggesting that “free negroes who have served are dissatisfied at being discarded and should be allowed to serve in the ministerial army.” Hancock did not respond to the message so in a back-handed way, Washington decided that the Army would be racially integrated. Though a few all-black units were added later in the war, most blacks served alongside whites and comprised between 6 and 12 percent of the American fighting force. The next time any American Army would be so fully integrated would be the Korean War.”

Publisher Island Press/Shearwater Books, 1999

Publisher Island Press, 1992

This book is a definitive history of settlement and development of the American West.  The story is told by chronicling laws, policies, and ideas that developed during the western expansion of the past century and showing how those same “Lords of yesterday” still determine modern land use and resource policies and management. The impacts of using these older views are introduced. In telling this story, the author includes historic and ongoing impacts to the people as well as to the land. He explores different individuals’ impacts as well as entire agencies, governments, and populations. The reader will gain a huge amount of insight into the interactions of all the different philosophies that governed and still govern the public and private lands issues and how this shaped the settlement, and ongoing interaction between different ethnic and minority populations in the west.

The author is a western water and Native American law specialist who worked with the Native American Rights Fund and teaches western water and Native American law.
 

University of Idaho Press

Bold Spirit Across America
 

Publisher Simon & Schuster
April, 1998