The War That Made America

My recent visit to Fort Stanwix triggered an interest in the French and Indian War (1754-1763). When I was in the fort's gift shop, I was tempted by an impressive looking book, called "Crucible of War" by historian Fred Anderson. However, my son Richard's advice rang in brain that I already have too many books. So I decided to see if it was something I could borrow from the library.



My search revealed that Professor Anderson had been involved in a PBS series, "The War That Made America". I found the DVD at one of the branch libraries. The dramatic documentary tells the story of the French and Indian War (1754-1763), which began in the wilderness of the Pennsylvania frontier and spread throughout the colonies, into Canada, and ultimately around the world. It has 4 episodes plus some short extra interviews with a bunch of historians.

I just finished the DVD and have started to read the companion book (same title) by Fred Anderson. It looks like it is something of an abridged version of "The Crucible of War." 288 pages seems doable compared to 912.

I'm intrigued by this part of history especially because of the controversy with the mascot of the Cleveland Indians, Chief Wahoo. Some people see it as racist and think it should be banned. I wonder if they are just trying to coverup for what has been done to the real native americans throughout history. Perhaps it would be useful if people educated themselves about what really happened. Maybe then they'd see that there are more important things to do.

Links:

http://ricketwrite.blogspot.com/2014/04/good-friday-in-rome.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_and_Indian_War
http://www.wqed.org/tv/specials/the-war-that-made-america/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Wahoo

Written Sunday 4 May 2014