January 25, 2006
LOOKS A TAD PC, BUT...:
The War That Made America (PBS, January 18 & 25, 2006)
"The War that Made America" brings to life a vastly important time in American history, when events set forces in motion that would culminate in the American Revolution. 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.Posted by Orrin Judd at January 25, 2006 12:34 PM"The War That Made America" combines a commitment to accuracy with a compelling portrayal of the dangerous world of the 18th-century frontier. A central figure is George Washington, a brash and ambitious young officer in his twenties hoping to make his reputation in the military -- and whose blunders inadvertently trigger the war.
A primary focus of the series, and a story that has been distorted or long forgotten, is the critical military importance and strategic diplomacy of Native Americans in the conflict between the English and French. It was a war the British won, but the fruit of their victory contained the seeds of the Revolutionary War.
The program is narrated and hosted by Graham Greene, the Academy-Award nominated actor for "Dances With Wolves" and an Oneida Indian whose ancestors fought in the French and Indian War.
I saw the preview for this after the John Adams special--it certainly looks well made. What did you think of the Adams film?
Posted by: Timothy at January 25, 2006 1:08 PMI missed it, I wanted to see it.
Hmmm, who's getting the message at PBS?
Discovery's War of 1812 was really good.
Posted by: Sandy P at January 25, 2006 1:24 PMSo, Georgie really WAS the Father of our country.
We're not successful because of our wins, we're successful cos we fail.
Posted by: Sandy P at January 25, 2006 1:32 PMMissed it. I can never remember to watch tv.
Posted by: oj at January 25, 2006 1:35 PMI didn't see the series but just recently finished the book. It summarized the use that Britain and France made of different tribal relations when warring with one another and it's a long submerged element of the story that's very intersting. I read it along with The Cousins Wars which stresses the importance of the differeing religious affiliations that ran unbroken from the English Revolution to the American Revolution.
Religion and tribal relations were both important issues that are not sufficiently emphasized in traditional narratives. I don't think that the book's perspective was particularly PC.
Posted by: Ray Clutts at January 25, 2006 1:56 PMThere's a very good treatment and contrast of the differing approaches to the Indians by the Spanish, the French and the English in Bernard DeVoto's "The Course of Empire".
Posted by: jdkelly at January 25, 2006 2:12 PMTher have been several good books lately on the F&I War.
There were some extremely non-P.C. aspects of it. You see, it should have been called the Indian and French war. The French plan of colonization entailed small numbers of traders looking foor alliances and accommodation with the Indians, the British, and later the Americans brought in whole families of permantent settlers.
That war, and the American Revolution, and the War of 1812, the skirmishes, rebellions and uprisings before and after them were all victories for the American people and defeats for the Indians. The wars are over, the Indians, as individuals, are our fellow-citizens now. For all those years, however, many of them were our enemies.
The history of the frontier cannot be undone or re-written. Are we to say whether that history was a good thing or a bad? I suggest that we should examine the how the age of conversion
unfolded in Europe before judging rashly.
French, Indian, British ...
Gee, my roots were on all sides of that war. Who were the good guys, again?
Posted by: ghostcat at January 25, 2006 2:16 PMghost:
The flinty Presbyterians from Appalachia, of course.
Posted by: ratbert at January 25, 2006 2:37 PMWouldn't you know it. And not one Presbyterian in my family's woodpile.
Posted by: ghostcat at January 25, 2006 3:52 PMThe Adams things was pretty darn good. Got me real misty eyed toward the end when Abigail died and the actor playing Adams was very good. Having read the book, they look out a lot of stuff...it could have used more installments, and they could have skipped the talking heads and just made it a drama.
I checked out TWTMA and found it kind of dull, so I only skimmed it. From what I saw, it wasn't PC at all. Lots of stuff about Indians taking scalps and all that with no "but they loved nature" stuff tacked it. It seemed pretty fair to all sides and matter of fact. I missed most of the second 2 hours, but didn't feel like I missed much of anything, though.
Posted by: RC at January 26, 2006 8:14 AM