William Bartram and the American Revolution on the Southern Frontier

By Edward J. Cashin

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1570036853
• ISBN13: 9781570036859
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
• Length: 319 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Best Bartram Commentary Since Harper

Attempting to figure out where William Bartram went during his famous travels can make one very irritable. Cashin's book puts you solidly in the old wanderer's boot tracks. The wealth of historical detail brings to life the places Bartram went, the people he met, and the times in which he lived. An indispensable book for the serious student of Bartram.