Category: Books

Accomplishment in the Second Half of a Life

In the last year and a half since my Mother died I have thought more about my own mortality. Her death has focused my thoughts on what I want to do with the rest of my life.  Even though I am only 55 I think about the fact that I am getting old. I don't want my life accomplishments to be behind me.

 I just finished reading John Marshall – Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward SmithOne of the things that really struck me about Marshall and has struck me about all of the biographies I have read in the past couple of years is how many of the accomplishments of these great people happen in the later years of their lives. Granted, these accomplishments are often a culmination of the work of their whole lives. But they also take on new challenges as they get older.

For example in 1826 when Marshall was 71 he accepted an offer to edit the papers of George Washington.

In the McCullough Biography of John  Adams Abigail Adams wrote about her husband that  "Your father's zeal for books will be one of the last desires which will quit him." …as the 81 year old Adams eagerly embarked on reading a sixteen volume French history."

Adams and Jefferson began an exchange of letters in 1812 when Jefferson was 69 and Adams was 77. Jefferson's biographer R.B. Bernstein describes their correspondence as "one of the great correspondences in the history of American letters". In 1816 Jefferson wrote to Adams, "I steer my bark with Hope in the head, leaving Fear astern."

James Madison was 66 when he worked with Jefferson and Monroe and others to found the University of Virginia.

I like writing, I like history, I like writing this blog. It seems to me that writing the blog is one way to improve my writing through practice. Writing about what I am learning is also a way to learn from my historical reading.  I am almost embarrassed to admit it but my dream is to write a historical book one day. I feel like I am just beginning on the learning but this year I want to write more and read more in order to move me toward that end.

I'd love advice on how to improve my writing and accelerate my learning.

John Marshall – Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward Smith.

Last summer I decided to start a project to read at least one biography about each of our presidents. If you would like to read about the books I have read so far just click on the Presidential Reading Project category in the right hand column.  I enjoy learning about history through the lives of the people who lived it. I've enjoyed reading about the first fifty years of the United States so much that even though Marshall was not a president I decided to read John Marshall – Definer of a Nation by Jean Edward Smith. Marshall was chief justice of the U.S. supreme court from 1801 until he died in 1835.

In many ways Marshall created the supreme court. As much as any of our early  presidents he played a key role in defining the meaning of the constitution. In this biography Smith describes Marshall as a gregarious and affable man liked by almost everyone who knew him.

In addition to his 35 years on the Supreme Court Marshall also fought in the revolutionary war and was with Washington during the awful winter at Valley Forge. In the 1790's he represented the U.S.  as a diplomatic envoy to Paris. This was not long after the French revolution  and U.S. relations with France were not good.  In what became known as the XYZ affair the French Foreign Minister, Talleyrand tried  to extract a bribe from the American delegation. Marshall, Pinckney and Gerry refused.

Reading and learning about Marshall has been fun. Smith's book is very readable. The intricacies of  constitutional law as addressed by the supreme court could be a boring subject but Smith's descriptions of Marshall, and the supreme court cases he was involved in are fascinating. I highly recommend this book.

Voting – John Marshall by John Edward Smith

I love voting. It is absolutely one of my favorite things to do. It makes me feel good. I just walked up to the Aspen Lodge and cast my vote. There was no line so I didn't even need to use the book I brought along to read if I had to wait in line.

I am reading John Marshall by Jean Edward Smith  and I am really enjoying it. I just read about the congressional election of 1799. Marshall was running against John Clopton in a very close race. I love Smith's description of the voting process

" Election day, April 24,1799, had a festive air about it. There were no written or printed ballots at that time in Virginia, and the voter merely announced his choice to the election judges seated behind a long table placed on the courthouse green. Suffrage was limited to male freeholders twenty-one or older, and it was customary for the candidates to sit alongside the judges, where they acted as scrutineers. When a voter announced his choice, the candidate for whom he voted rose, shook the voter's hand. and thanked him for his support. All of this took place before a partisan crowd that grew in size as the day wore on. Each party provided a barrel of whiskey, and voters often tested both barrels before making their choice. The liquor warmed the spirits of the crowd, who greeted each vote with the appropriate cheers and catcalls.The contest between Clopton and Marshall was tight, and throughout the day the lead shifted back and forth between the two men. Each party worked hard to get absent voters to the courthouse"

In the end Marshall won by 114 votes.

James Monroe – The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon

Just over a year ago I decided to read at least one biography about each U.S. President. So far I have read the following.

On my recent road trip I finished reading James Monroe – The Quest for National Identity by Harry Ammon. Monroe served in the revolutionary war, participated in the formation of the United States, was an ambassador to France, a senator, secretary of state and served from 1817 to 1825 as President of the United States. Reading this book I gained an enormous admiration for Monroe's dedication, his hard work, his intelligence and his leadership.

According to Ammon, Monroe lived in an "age of reticence (and of much prudery as well)….  in Monroe's day it was customary for political figures to destroy papers of a personal character. Only one letter from Monroe to his wife survives, and the only specimens of her hand are in the form of signatures on legal documents…………..Therefore, a biography of Monroe must be essentially political in nature"

It is disappointing that nothing can really be written about Monroe's personal life. But I still liked this book. It is a political history of the U.S. during Monroe's life. It is a credit to Ammon that he can make politics so readable.

Five Cities, Six Take Offs and Six Landings and No Ordinary Time – Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Last Wednesday I visited six cities on Southwest Airlines. I was I accompanying my sister home from Cleveland where she had a successful revision to her ten year old hip replacement.  We flew from Cleveland to Chicago, to St. Louis, to Tulsa where I dropped her off. Then I flew on on to Phoenix and finally home  to Reno.

I had lots of time to read as we puddle jumped across the U.S. I finished the last 200+ pages of No Ordinary Time – Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin. What a great book!

The book provided several learnings and surprises for me. I realized how ignorant I am about the history of prejudice in this country. Although I knew that segregation and racial prejudice were prevalent in the 1940’s, I did not really appreciate how bad it was. Black men were only allowed to enlist in the Navy as mess men. In the Army black soldiers were not allowed to fight. Segregation and terrible conditions were the norm. Goodwin summarizes the progress made during the war. “Between 1940 and 1945 the Negro Military Force had increased in size from 5,000 to 920,000 and the number of Negro officers had grown from 5 to over 7,000. Moreover, whereas almost every Negro soldier in 1940 was confined to a service unit, by war’s close Negroes held responsible jobs in almost every branch of the army as artillerymen, tankmen, infantrymen,  pilots, paratroopers, doctors and more.” When I realize that the young African American men who were being treated so badly as second class citizens during World War II were the peers of my father it gives me some small window of empathy for the feelings that African Americans of my fathers generation must have. I could certainly understand bitterness. It certainly makes me ashamed of our country’s history.

No Ordinary Time also gave me a lot of insight into the strengths and weaknesses of Eleanor and Franklin Roosevelt and their relationship. I knew FDR was a great leader. I certainly didn’t realize that the war in Europe didn’t even start until the very end of his second term. I had some understanding of what an extraordinary woman Eleanor was but I had no idea how hard she worked and what a large contribution she made both to the war effort and to FDR’s success.

Eleanor published a newspaper column  “My Day”  from 1935 to 1962. She wrote the column consistently six days a week. When I think of how I can’t even manage to write a blog a day it impresses me that she published 400 words every day and never missed a day except for 4 days when FDR died. She was a blogger ahead of her time .