Up from Slavery

History has always been interesting to me, but like most people, there are parts of history that have a greater pull than others.  The Revolutionary War and the Founding have always been favorites of mine along with World War II.  I received two coffee table books as a kid from my grandparents, one about the Revolutionary War and one about the Civil War.  These were quality books made by National Geographic, back before that organization went political.  Along with some sound commentary, there were plenty of maps, graphics, and pictures that held a young boy’s attention long enough to foster an interest in these two seminal events in the history of the United States.

Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington (ISBN: 978-0-9997797-3-6) tells of the famous educator’s life from his early boyhood as a slave to his rise as a professor and principal (these days we’d probably say president) of the Tuskegee Institute.  The book was short on the childhood section, understandably so, since he was so quite young when slavery ended and had spent his days like all the other slaves: working.  Once freed, he and his family struggled like many to find work that would pay the bills, but they succeeded, and his mom encouraged an innate love for learning that eventually led to Washington’s heading off to the Hampton School.  A popular place with newly freed blacks trying to improve their lot, the school didn’t have a lot of room, but Booker so impressed the lady in charge of admissions when he was asked to clean some of the school rooms, that he made it in.  He didn’t squander a single opportunity, graduated, and then set about to provide opportunities for others.  What that led to was his founding the Tuskegee Institute.  The greater section of the book is spent chronicling how the school came about, its struggles and successes, and its growth and Washington’s efforts to promote the school and secure the funding needed to keep it on its own two feet.  He worked hard no matter what he was involved in, whether teaching, overseeing the school, working in his own home with animals and in his garden, or fundraising.  He was also a well-known and in-demand orator, invited to speak at functions, fairs, and other public events.  Throughout the book, he spends significant time noting that service, hard work, fulfilling one’s duties, giving things one’s best shot, and honesty are the keys to success and happiness in life.  He also touches on the question of race and racism, but only as a reality that is in the background and that mostly stays there when one develops the abovementioned qualities and masters skills that others require, such as the brickmaking, animal husbandry, sewing, architecture, dairy farming, and others that his school taught in addition to academic subjects.

While very much aware of Booker T. Washington and his accomplishments because I don’t remember a class or unit on American history in school that didn’t include him (as he said, if one works hard and does something that others find useful, one will have earned respect and likely at least some recognition), the book was interesting to read because there was more to his life’s philosophy than the education that he is most famous for.  Washington was a hard worker who believed in taking the bull by the horns and not allowing life, fate, other people (including other people’s choices), or whatever other thing people blame their failures on control him.  He believed others had a better chance to be successful if they were educated both academically and in life skills and professional knowledge.  He dedicated his life to making that happen, noting along the way that he was most fulfilled when helping and serving others.  I enjoyed reading his take on race and racism — he largely ignored it.  He was a former slave, but had no time for holding grudges and found that a straightforward approach that did not insult Southerners, but found a way to lift them up, helped the most.  The relations between the blacks and whites in Tuskegee were good in his opinion, so the proof is in the pudding as far as his approach is concerned.  Finally, Washington continually gave credit for his success to God, which is always refreshing.  Both historically and morally, the book was great and well worth the time.

   

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Seven Miracles That Saved America

Although the 1980s brought about the fall of the Soviet Union and its empire in Eastern Europe, as well as the decline of many of its proxies elsewhere in the world), that was not until the tail end of that wild decade.  The first nine years had a world very clearly defined by the West, led by the United States of America, and the Communists, led by the Soviet Union.  America’s special role in the world was well understood by almost everyone in the world.  Later, this came to be called “American exceptionalism,” but at the time, it was simply known as “America.”  This America was built on a firm foundation of inspired men from Columbus to the great president of the 1980s, Ronald Reagan.  In between, there were the Founding Fathers, Abraham Lincoln, and the Greatest Generation.

Seven Miracles That Saved America: Why They Matter and Why We Should Have Hope (ISBN: 978-1-60641-144-5) by Chris and Ted Stewart explores singular events and unique people in American history that, had things unfolded even slightly differently, could have resulted in a vastly different America.  All of these events and people hinge on such a fine line that it is easy to see that they were influenced by God.  The miracles that the authors review in detail are the following: Columbus and Columbus’s discoveries, Jamestown, a summer fog during the Revolutionary War, the advent of the American Constitution, Abraham Lincoln and the battle of Gettysburg, the battle of Midway, and Ronald Reagan and how the assassination attempt against him failed by less than one inch (just a little bit more and the bullet kills him).  Each one of the miracles is reviewed in detail by the authors and the scene is set through some historical fiction.  At the end of each section, the authors ask some questions that invite the reader to think about what would have happened in each of these situations had things — and usually it’s quite an exhaustive list of things — turned out even slightly different.  For example, with the foggy morning during the Revolutionary War that allowed American troops to withdraw and regroup without suffering losses, it really was a question of a few hours and things could have been vastly different.  The same could be said about the battle of Midway.  There, it really was more like minutes since one of the pilots flying and trying to locate Japanese fleet only had minutes before needing to return to base without running out of fuel.  At the last possible minute, though, he spotted the Japanese ships, and that allowed the Americans to attack first, which proved critical in the battle, along with other decisions and rare direct hits during the bombing runs.  The point being made is that there were just too many decisions at so many different points along the way that for those who recognize that God has a role in human existence, these events were miraculous and they resulted in an exceptional country that has long been a light on a hill.

The book was an interesting read and presented some things that I was either not very familiar with or, in the case of the foggy day during the Revolutionary War, had not heard of at all.  I liked the detailed reviews of the events and people, which helped make the case that the events really were miraculous.  I think the case was presented effectively.  I found the concluding chapter, where the authors proposed that God’s intervention in the past likely meant God would intervene in the future to also be sound analysis, especially as it was paired with God’s discussion with Abraham about preserving the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorra as long as even a few righteous remained there.  What I found to be less interesting was the historical fiction (not one of my favorite genres to begin with, admittedly) that was used as a scene setter.  It seemed to me that it was there simply to make this more of a book-length affair, and I think it would have been possible to find solid, historical material to fill in a lot of the space taken by the fictionalized accounts.  A shorter book would have also been acceptable as I believe the points were adequately made.  In any case, it was a great reminder of America’s exceptionalism and of our individual responsibilities to help keep it that way by being part of the righteous that God is willing to preserve.

 

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The Smoked Yank

While reading A P.O.W.’s Story, I learned that an entire body of literature exists about the time people spent in P.O.W. camps, concentration camps, and the like outside of the Holocaust and outside of the Soviet gulag.  Since man’s inhumane treatment of his fellow man seems to be as old as time, many of these works are also quite old, including a number exploring P.O.W. prisons during the American Civil War.  I have never been a huge Civil War buff, but I do hold an appreciation for the role it has played in America’s great history.  Some of that appreciation has been gained while visiting the famous battlefields like Gettysburg and Manassas.  Some has come from reading and coming to better understand the conflict and the stakes at hand.

The Smoked Yank by Melvin Grigsby (available for free from Google Books), tells the story of one soldier’s time in the Confederate P.O.W. prison in Andersonville, Georgia.  It is really the author’s entire wartime experience, so we learn about his role in the Union cavalry before being captured, his time in Andersonville and other prisons, and, then, his time on the run as an escaped prisoner.  The account is very interesting and quite adventurous as there are battles, chases, escapes, secret plots, first love, hide-outs, and a happy ending.  The author was a patriotic Northerner who believed that black people deserved better treatment.  He left school to join the army.  He fought honorably in the cavalry before being captured.  His initial few months as a P.O.W. were sometimes uncomfortable, but not too much trouble, as he and the other men were treated more-or-less humanely.  Some Southerners were even kind enough to provide supplies to the prisoners or lend them books.  Later, though, they were transferred to Andersonville.  The prisoners didn’t know what awaited them there, but they soon found out.  Hygiene was almost non-existent thanks to swampland that served as a latrine for a camp that often housed triple (or more) the number of people it was designed for.  Food was in drastic short supply.  Disease, which was the number one killer in the war, raged in the camp, too.  There were also executions of the Union soldiers, which the author didn’t seem to find too out of line, and Union-on-Union violence, which is one of the larger subtexts to the prison’s story in later academic studies of the prison.  Eventually, the author finds a way to make his escape, and then spends (if I was following things correctly) a few months on the road running from Rebels back to the North.  The story of the escape is just as intriguing as his time in Andersonville, if not more so.  He is helped at almost every turn by the slaves, who, with one notable exception, are grateful for the Northerners’ sacrifices in securing their freedom.  There are many close calls, a lot of time spent hidden away in the swamplands of the South, and a lot of risk.  Eventually, the author makes it back to his family in the North.

I enjoyed the book and, as mentioned, thought it had a nice mix of information and adventure in the telling of the story.  I was, maybe, a little underwhelmed by the author’s description of the infamous prison, but I think his experience, which was not as lengthy as that of many others, was a little different.  It was very similar to other stories in the same vein because Grigsby was someone who wasn’t going to let things just happen to him.  He was always looking for the next way out, the next work party join, or the next scheme inside the prison yard to stay active.  The story of his escape, which simply would not have been possible were it not for the help of what was essentially the Underground Railroad, although he never called it that, was a highlight for me.  It seemed the good in the human spirit was on display as so many people, who were still technically slaves, opened their homes to a white man and provided him with food, blankets, medicine, sometimes at great personal risk.  Like most good books, this one had a few good lessons packaged inside an intriguing and inspiring story of adventure.

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