“[The Revolutionary generation] set a high example, and we have much to learn from them. Much recent historical writing has served us ill in that respect. In the late twentieth century, too many scholars tried to make the American past into a record of crime and folly. Too many writers have told us that we are captives of our darker selves and helpless victims of our history. It isn’t so, and never was. The story of Washington’s Crossing tells us that Americans in an earlier generation were capable of acting in a higher spirit – and so are we.”
David Hackett Fischer, Washington’s Crossing, p. 379
I completed this book recently and I wanted to get that quote written down before I forget about it. Having been educated in the 80′s and 90′s when denigrating America’s history and its founders seemed to be in vogue, I was gratified to read Professor Fisher’s conclusion to his very enjoyable book. I’ll make my thoughts about this book the subject of a future blog post.
Professor Fisher has a free lecture about Washington’s Crossing available on iTunes U, but I’m unable to provide a link here because Apple’s iTunes link maker is unable to find it.
