Deepens our understanding of what it was like to be a common soldier in the Confederate army and live through the years after defeat. Benson fought loyally for the south, went to prison and escaped, then survived Reconstruction.
In Travels, the celebrated 1791 account of the "Old Southwest," William Bartram recorded the natural world he saw around him but, rather incredibly, omitted any reference to the epochal events of the American Revolution. Edward J. Cashin places Bartram in the context of his times and explains his conspicuous avoidance of people, places, and events embroiled in revolutionary fervor. Cashin suggests that while Bartram documented the natural world for plant collector John Fothergill, he wrote Travels for an entirely different audience. Convinced that Providence directed events for the betterment of mankind and that the Constitutional Convention would produce a political model for the rest of the world, Bartram offered Travels as a means of shaping the new country. Cashin illuminates the convictions that motivated Bartram-that if Americans lived in communion with nature, heeded the moral law, and treated the people of the interior with respect, then America would be blessed with greatness.
While I was growing up in Augusta, my teachers skipped over the history of this region. As the result, we had the feeling that nothing of importance happened here. I began searching through local history while at Fordham University in New York City, and have been at it ever since. I soon realized that we had two histories, that which really happened and that which we supposed had happened. The two did not always correspond. [...] This collection of stories is about both the factual and the myths. It is written for Augusta people and their friends and for visitors to our town who want to know about our secrets. I hope you enjoy the stories as much as I did the telling of them." --From preface.
For example, Bethesda sustained the state during the dark years of 1740 to 1742 when Spanish invaders threatened the infant colony." "Whitefield's "Beloved Bethesda" has seen its graduates take their places in leadership positions throughout the state, and Savannah's residents have sustained the institution. In that respect, the story of Bethesda is also a history of Savannah."--BOOK JACKET.
The first comprehensive history of the Lower Chickasaws in the Savannah River Valley Edward J. Cashin, the preeminent historian of colonial Georgia history, offers an account of the Lower Chickasaws, who settled on the Savannah River near Augusta in the early eighteenth century and remained an integral part of the region until the American Revolution. Fierce allies to the English settlers, the Chickasaws served as trading partners, loyal protectors, and diplomatic representatives to other southeastern tribes. In the absence of their benevolence, the English settlements would not have developed as rapidly or securely in the Savannah River Valley. Aided by his unique access to the modern Chickasaw Nation, Cashin has woven together details on the eastern Chickasaws from diverse source materials to create this cohesive narrative set against the shifting backdrop of the southern frontier. The Chickasaws offered primary allegiance to South Carolina and Georgia at different times in their history but always served as a link in ongoing trade between Charleston and the Chickasaw homeland in what is now Mississippi. By recounting the political, social, and military interactions between the native peoples and settlers, Cashin introduces readers to a colorful cast of Chickasaw leaders, including Squirrel King, the Doctor, and Mingo Stoby, each an important component to a story that has until now gone untold.
Henry Ellis (1721-1806) is recognized as the most capable of Georgia's three colonial governors. In this biography Edward J. Cashin presents the fullest account to date of Ellis's life, and shows that his tenure as governor of Georgia was but one of many accomplishments by a man of exemplary intelligence, courage, and vision. Cashin puts Ellis's life and career in the context of the great cultural migrations, encounters, and conflicts of British imperial and American colonial history. As he traces Ellis's rise from one who implemented British foreign policy to one who played a crucial hand in formulating it, Cashin reveals the inner workings of the imperial bureaucracy and shows how colonial politics were inextricably linked to the intrigues of the royal court and the vagaries of the nobility's patronage system. The book's early chapters recall Ellis's youth and formative years as a transplanted Briton in Ireland, and then tell of his seafaring exploits as he searched Canada's arctic waters for the Northwest Passage and engaged in the slave trade between Africa, the Caribbean, and the American colonies--all the while enhancing his reputation as an explorer, scientist, and man of letters. As Georgia's governor (1757-1760) Ellis came to be known as the colony's "Second Founder" (after James Oglethorpe) by recasting it into one of the more economically sound, less politically factionalized North American colonies. In his account of Ellis's governorship Cashin shows how he had to function as a local administrator and a representative of the crown, managing, for instance, the French and Indian War as it was fought both in his colony and in the halls and chambers of Parliament. The middle chapters cover Ellis's return to England in 1761. There he accepted, but eventually relinquished, an appointment as governor of Nova Scotia. Choosing instead to remain in England, Ellis drew on his knowledge of French and Spanish colonial activity, the slave trade, and Indian affairs to advise Pitt, Egremont, Halifax, and others of the king's ministry. A polished statesman, Ellis weathered the machinations surrounding George III's ascension to the throne, and influenced the course of the war with France and the terms of its peace settlement in 1763. Ellis also had a hand in the political appointments, boundary settlements, and trade decisions attendant to the epochal Proclamation of 1763, which set the course of history for Quebec, Nova Scotia, the Floridas, and the British West Indies. After his invaluable help in reorganizing Britain's expanded American empire, Ellis withdrew from public service in 1768. Cashin portrays Ellis in genteel retirement, during which he increased his absentee landholdings in Ireland and traveled in Italy, France, Belgium, and elsewhere on the Continent. In his last years, Ellis was a much-sought-after guest, and moved within a circle of friends that included Horatio Nelson, the king of Sweden, and the Abbe Raynal. More than an artful biography, this is the story of a crucial period in American and British history, as told through the experiences of one of the period's most influential, behind-the-scenes power brokers.
Lachlan McGillivray knew firsthand of the frontier's natural wealth and strategic importance to England, France, and Spain, because he lived deep within it among his wife's people, the Creeks. Until he returned to his native Scotland in 1782, he witnessed; and often participated in the major events shaping the region--from decisive battles to major treaties and land cessions. He was both a consultant to the leaders of colonial Georgia and South Carolina and their emissary to the great chiefs of the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. Cashin discusses the aims and ambitions of the frontier's many interest groups, profiles the figures who catalyzed the power struggles, and explains events from the vantage points of traders and Native Americans. He also offers information about the rise of the southern elite, for in the decade before he left America, McGillivray was a successful planter and slave trader, a popular politician, and a member of the Savannah gentry.
Deepens our understanding of what it was like to be a common soldier in the Confederate army and live through the years after defeat. Benson fought loyally for the south, went to prison and escaped, then survived Reconstruction.
The first comprehensive history of the Lower Chickasaws in the Savannah River Valley Edward J. Cashin, the preeminent historian of colonial Georgia history, offers an account of the Lower Chickasaws, who settled on the Savannah River near Augusta in the early eighteenth century and remained an integral part of the region until the American Revolution. Fierce allies to the English settlers, the Chickasaws served as trading partners, loyal protectors, and diplomatic representatives to other southeastern tribes. In the absence of their benevolence, the English settlements would not have developed as rapidly or securely in the Savannah River Valley. Aided by his unique access to the modern Chickasaw Nation, Cashin has woven together details on the eastern Chickasaws from diverse source materials to create this cohesive narrative set against the shifting backdrop of the southern frontier. The Chickasaws offered primary allegiance to South Carolina and Georgia at different times in their history but always served as a link in ongoing trade between Charleston and the Chickasaw homeland in what is now Mississippi. By recounting the political, social, and military interactions between the native peoples and settlers, Cashin introduces readers to a colorful cast of Chickasaw leaders, including Squirrel King, the Doctor, and Mingo Stoby, each an important component to a story that has until now gone untold.
Lachlan McGillivray knew firsthand of the frontier's natural wealth and strategic importance to England, France, and Spain, because he lived deep within it among his wife's people, the Creeks. Until he returned to his native Scotland in 1782, he witnessed; and often participated in the major events shaping the region--from decisive battles to major treaties and land cessions. He was both a consultant to the leaders of colonial Georgia and South Carolina and their emissary to the great chiefs of the Creeks, Cherokees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws. Cashin discusses the aims and ambitions of the frontier's many interest groups, profiles the figures who catalyzed the power struggles, and explains events from the vantage points of traders and Native Americans. He also offers information about the rise of the southern elite, for in the decade before he left America, McGillivray was a successful planter and slave trader, a popular politician, and a member of the Savannah gentry.
For example, Bethesda sustained the state during the dark years of 1740 to 1742 when Spanish invaders threatened the infant colony." "Whitefield's "Beloved Bethesda" has seen its graduates take their places in leadership positions throughout the state, and Savannah's residents have sustained the institution. In that respect, the story of Bethesda is also a history of Savannah."--BOOK JACKET.
In Travels, the celebrated 1791 account of the "Old Southwest," William Bartram recorded the natural world he saw around him but, rather incredibly, omitted any reference to the epochal events of the American Revolution. Edward J. Cashin places Bartram in the context of his times and explains his conspicuous avoidance of people, places, and events embroiled in revolutionary fervor. Cashin suggests that while Bartram documented the natural world for plant collector John Fothergill, he wrote Travels for an entirely different audience. Convinced that Providence directed events for the betterment of mankind and that the Constitutional Convention would produce a political model for the rest of the world, Bartram offered Travels as a means of shaping the new country. Cashin illuminates the convictions that motivated Bartram-that if Americans lived in communion with nature, heeded the moral law, and treated the people of the interior with respect, then America would be blessed with greatness.
Henry Ellis (1721-1806) is recognized as the most capable of Georgia's three colonial governors. In this biography Edward J. Cashin presents the fullest account to date of Ellis's life, and shows that his tenure as governor of Georgia was but one of many accomplishments by a man of exemplary intelligence, courage, and vision. Cashin puts Ellis's life and career in the context of the great cultural migrations, encounters, and conflicts of British imperial and American colonial history. As he traces Ellis's rise from one who implemented British foreign policy to one who played a crucial hand in formulating it, Cashin reveals the inner workings of the imperial bureaucracy and shows how colonial politics were inextricably linked to the intrigues of the royal court and the vagaries of the nobility's patronage system. The book's early chapters recall Ellis's youth and formative years as a transplanted Briton in Ireland, and then tell of his seafaring exploits as he searched Canada's arctic waters for the Northwest Passage and engaged in the slave trade between Africa, the Caribbean, and the American colonies--all the while enhancing his reputation as an explorer, scientist, and man of letters. As Georgia's governor (1757-1760) Ellis came to be known as the colony's "Second Founder" (after James Oglethorpe) by recasting it into one of the more economically sound, less politically factionalized North American colonies. In his account of Ellis's governorship Cashin shows how he had to function as a local administrator and a representative of the crown, managing, for instance, the French and Indian War as it was fought both in his colony and in the halls and chambers of Parliament. The middle chapters cover Ellis's return to England in 1761. There he accepted, but eventually relinquished, an appointment as governor of Nova Scotia. Choosing instead to remain in England, Ellis drew on his knowledge of French and Spanish colonial activity, the slave trade, and Indian affairs to advise Pitt, Egremont, Halifax, and others of the king's ministry. A polished statesman, Ellis weathered the machinations surrounding George III's ascension to the throne, and influenced the course of the war with France and the terms of its peace settlement in 1763. Ellis also had a hand in the political appointments, boundary settlements, and trade decisions attendant to the epochal Proclamation of 1763, which set the course of history for Quebec, Nova Scotia, the Floridas, and the British West Indies. After his invaluable help in reorganizing Britain's expanded American empire, Ellis withdrew from public service in 1768. Cashin portrays Ellis in genteel retirement, during which he increased his absentee landholdings in Ireland and traveled in Italy, France, Belgium, and elsewhere on the Continent. In his last years, Ellis was a much-sought-after guest, and moved within a circle of friends that included Horatio Nelson, the king of Sweden, and the Abbe Raynal. More than an artful biography, this is the story of a crucial period in American and British history, as told through the experiences of one of the period's most influential, behind-the-scenes power brokers.
In the first book to explore the theory and practice of eugenics in the American South, Edward Larson shows how the quest for "strong bloodlines" expressed itself in specific state laws and public policies from the Progressive Era through World War II. Presenting new evidence of race-based and gender-based eugenic practices in the past, Larson also explores issues that remain controversial today - including state control over sexuality and reproduction, the rights of disabled persons and of ethnic minorities, and the moral and legal questions raised by new discoveries in genetics and medicine. Larson shows how the seemingly broad-based eugenics movement was in fact a series of distinct campaigns for legislation at the state level - campaigns that could often be traced to the efforts of a small group of determined individuals. Explaining how these efforts shaped state policies, he places them within a broader cultural context by describing the workings of Southern state legislatures, the role played by such organizations as women's clubs, and the distinctly Southern cultural forces that helped or hindered the implementation of eugenic reforms.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.