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This digital document is an article from Junior Scholastic, published by Thomson Gale on October 1, 2007. The length of the article is 2186 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Chief big business takes charge: how one man helped change the course of the French and Indian War.(American History)(William Johnson )
Author: Andrew Ragan
Publication: Junior Scholastic (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 110Issue: 3Page: 16(5)

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This account of the famous battles of the French and Indian War includes these topics: Struggle for the North American continent; Control of the Ohio River Territory; Moving toward Fort Duquesne; Control of the New York Territory; The Battle of Lake George; War is declared; Fort William Henry; The British begin to control the war; Fort Carillon; Fort Louisbourg; Fort Frontenac; March to Fort Duquesne; Invasion of Canada; Plains of Abraham; Preparing for the final campaign; Treaty of Paris; After the war.

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Customer Reviews (2)

basic info
This book is informative at the base level, I didn't read the details well enough and was expecting a little more depth, my bad.

Brett.

French and Indian War
This book is a good book for a quick look at the highlights of the French and Indian War. Without going into great detail it covers the facts of what happened during the most crucial battles and who was involved. For a first time reader of the history of the French and Indian War this will spark your interest in reading more about this forgotten war. ... Read more

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The first 150 years of one of the British Army's most renowned regiments

Archibald Forbes was a notable author, journalist and special correspondent during the British colonial wars of the Victorian era, so he was well positioned by personal experience to pen this history of a famous Scottish Highland regiment. 'The Black Watch,' 'The Forty-Twa,' the '42nd Regiment of Foot,' 'The Royal Highlanders'-First to come, Last to go. The titles of this legendary regiment are many and its fame well and hard earned on many a bloodily contested ground from its birth to the present day. Forbes wrote his own history from the perspective of his own time-a decade before the close of the nineteenth century. We join the regiment in these pages during the Seven Years War in Europe and in its theatre of the New World-popularly known as the French and Indian War-where the regiment would pay dearly before Ticonderoga. The Black Watch had not done with Indians as it fought to secure the backwoods frontier, notably at Bloody Run and Bushy Run. The American War of Independence was followed by the war against Napoleonic France which would see the regiment in service in Egypt, in battles across the Peninsula, at Corunna with Moore and, as the epoch came to an end with the Emperor's fall, with great loss at Quatre Bras and Waterloo with Wellington. More hard soldiering came in the Crimea and this valiant force was the hand of retribution in the Indian Mutiny. The book closes with encounters with the Ashanti and the expedition to relieve Gordon in Khartoum. Forbes is the author of two other books published by Leonaur on Britain's Wars in Afghanistan. Available in soft cover and hard cover with dust jacket for collectors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The English take control of the North American continent
"The French and Indian War: 1660-1763" obviously covers much more than the few years during which the English and French fought over the division of the North American continent.In this four volume in "The Drama of American History" series authors Christopher Collier and James Lincoln Collier trace how England's other rivals for control of America were eliminated over this period until the only source of conflict left would be between the British and their own colonials.The authors point out, and I concur, that this period between the establishment of the first colonies (i.e., Plymouth and Jamestown) and the fight for independence, is the most neglected period of American history.This series offers a fairly unique approach to American history by focusing on "core content" rather than a blizzard of names and dates.From this book students will get a good sense of not only what happened but why as England eliminated its competition.

Consequently, this volume offers up six chapters focusing on key issues.The first three chapters of the volume are devoted to the first central theme regarding the struggle between the European powers for control of the North American continent: (1) The European Colonies in the Late Seventeenth Century establishes which parts of North American were controlled (or at least claimed) by European powers and which of these early colonies were actually starting to prosper in the New World;(2) The Dutch and the English in America focuses on how the English eliminated the Dutch and Swedes from the equation; and (3) The Spanish Retreat traces how geographical considerations and contentment with their enormous holdings in elsewhere in the New World stopped the Spanish from expanding their holdings in North America beyond Florida.The Colliers underscore the importance of this by postulating a Latin America that might have begun at the southern border of Virginia.

The chapters in the second half of the volume look a the second central theme, the maturing of the colonies as they turned from outposts of Europe into lands with their own society and culture: (4) Pennsylvania on the Delaware River looks at the colony founded by William Penn as an exemplar colony that gives young readers an idea of how colonies began to grow and prosper; (5) The French and the English in North America studies how by the start of the 18th century only two European nations were contesting for control of North America east of the Mississippi River.But while the English were interested in settling the continent (and the colonies continued to grow and prosper), the French saw it more as a source of products such as timber and fur; and (6) The French and Indian War begins with George Washington's pivotal role in starting this war between European powers in America.Although he participated in two defeats at Fort Necessity and Fort Duquesne, Washington became a military hero to the Colonials.The Colliers detail the course of the war, including the key battle on the Plains of Abraham, and conclude the volume with the short-term effects of the war regarding the new division of the continent between the British and French.

Ultimately the French and Indian War is the key stepping stone to the American Revolution because it was the efforts of the British Parliament to tax the colonials to help pay for both that war and future military efforts in the New World that outraged the sensibilities of Americans.That outraged eventually translated into first the movement and then the war for American independence.As with the other volumes in this excellent series, "The French and Indian War: 1660-1763" keeps the focus on the key chain of events that define the history of this period.The result is that young readers (as well as their teachers) will have a clear sense of the logic, if not the inevitability, of what happened during this time period.The book is illustrated with historical etchings and paintings, as well as contemporary color photographs of historical rennactors and historic buildings.These illustrations help to underscore one of the main threads of this volume, which is the way in which the colonies were becoming more prosperous, which affected their self-image as being the equal of those living in England.As we shall see in the next volume, "The American Revolution: 1763-1783," this belief will run rather contrary to how the English viewed the colonists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The life of Robert Rogers of "Rogers' Rules for Ranging"
Despite the success of Michael Mann's remake of "The Last of the Mohicans," the French and Indian War has continued to be one of the American wars that people tend to forget about. This is probably because the war, which began anywhere in between 1660 and 1689 but ended in 1763, was fought before there was a United States of America. One notable effort against the tide of indifference with regards to that particular part of American history is Jennifer Quasha's juvenile biography of Robert Rogers for the Library of American Lives and Times series.

"Robert Rogers: Rogers' Rangers and the French and Indian War" indicates that this is the story of a military leader, but young readers will probably be surprised to learn that Rogers institutionalized many frontier-style practices of warfare that became the model for the activities of later ranger groups. Having served briefly as scout for the British in King George's War, Rogers formed the group that would become known as Rogers' Rangers in 1756, a 600-man group of frontiersmen clad in green, personally recruited by Rogers.

While Quasha makes it clear Rogers was not the originator of many of the fighting techniques he ended up popularizing, he did set them down, and the back of this volume includes the 29 points making up "Rogers' Rules for Ranging," first written down in 1757 (e.g., #4, "Some time before you come to the place you would reconnoiter, make a stand and send one or two men in whom you can confide, to look out the best ground for making your observations"). Young readers will learn how Rogers insisted on giving his soldiers intensive training, including exposing them to live fire exercises, so that he had a highly mobile force that could live off the land during missions and campaigns.

Quasha tells how Rogers was born in a frontier town in Massachusetts and grew up learning how to fight in the wildernesses of North America like the Native Americans did. After covering the formation of Rogers' Rangers, the book looks at the major engagements and campaigns during the French and Indian War that they participated in, such as the Battle on Showshoes, the Big Push North, the attack on St. Francis, and taking the fight to the French in Canada. Rogers was also something of an exploring, trying to discover the Northwest Passage after the war was over.

Young readers will understand exactly why Rogers has the reputation he does as a military leaders. What will surprise them, is that while Rogers was born in America he never became an American: because George Washington refused his services during the Revolution, Rogers found for the British, and ended up dying in London after the American Revolution was over. This is rather ironic given that the style of fighting that he championed is considered to be uniquely American, derived from the skilled woodsmen that were already here, and standing in start contrast to the British devotion to marching in straight lines while wearing bright red coats.

This book is lavishly illustrated with contemporary maps, paintings, and etchings, as well as photographs of some of the places and things covered. In addition to the appendix providing "Rogers' Rules of Ranging," the back of the book includes a rather detailed Timeline of Rogers' life, a Glossary of words from "allies" to "whipping post," Additional Resources, a Bibliography, and Index. So those who become interested in this larger than life hero will be able to find out more about one of the few American heroes who was never an American. ... Read more

Product Description
This sweeping historical narrative chronicles events instrumental in the painful birth of a new nation from the Bloody Morning Scout and the massacre at Fort William Henry to the disastrous siege of Quebec, the lopsided Battle of Valcour Island, the horrors of Oriskany, and the tragedies of the Pennsylvania Wyoming Valley massacre and the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition s destruction of the Iroquois homeland. Caught in the middle of it all was the Mohawk River Valley.Through 1763, culminating with the French & Indian War, a series of colonial conflicts between the French and British raged along the North American frontiers. In the Province of New York, French intrusions were turned back with great loss of blood and treasure at places like Lake George and Ticonderoga, while Mohawk Valley towns were raided, plundered, and sometimes, as with Schenectady, virtually wiped off the map. In the American Revolution, patriots wrenched the Mohawk Valley from British interests and the Iroquois nations at fearsome cost. When the fighting was over, the valley lay in ruins and as much as two-thirds of its population lay dead or had been displaced. But by not holding this vital inland waterway the gateway to the West, the river between the mountains America might have lost the Revolution, as well as much or all of the then-poorly-defined province of New York.Oriskany, Cherry Valley, Cobleskill, Canajoharie, German Flats, Unadilla, Andrustown a line of battle sites and destroyed settlements, colonial and Native American, smoldered the length of the Mohawk Valley by war s end, all the way to the Finger Lakes region where the great towns of the Seneca Indians lay in ruins in the wake of Washington s reprisals for the Wyoming Valley raid. The fury of the war increased year by year in the Mohawk Valley, escalating to total war and near-genocide. It didn t have to be that way. Streaming with colonial traffic, the Mohawk River Valley earlier in the 18th century had become a place where the core ethnic groups of an emerging nation Native Americans, Palatine Germans, Scots-Irish, Dutch, English, and Highland Scots met in commerce and partnership and relative peace and security. Then, wrenched apart by brutal political partisanship, the very social and cultural diversity of the Mohawk corridor made the upheavals when they finally came as violent and pitiless as anywhere. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Commendable Compendium
It is understandable that many `serious' readers of History are put off their feed by an author's reliance, acknowledged or not, on secondary sources.Few things are more disappointing to a buff than to buy a book, look forward to cracking it, and then, upon doing so, experiencing that creeping `been here, done that' realization.The best example of this phenomenon that readily comes to this reader's mind is Winston Groom's "A Storm in Flanders" which, however well-intentioned and admittedly of value to neophytes, offers nothing new to the serious WW I reader.The flip side of this phenomenon, of course, is that such a compendium (if that's not too grudging a word) can be very worthwhile if the author is able to reassemble the threads of what has been written before and weave them into a meaningful and compelling narrative.

Richard Berleth has done so brilliantly in "Bloody Mohawk."Author Berleth sets out to tell the story of the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars as conducted and experienced in New York's Mohawk Valley with a singularity of purpose and geographic fidelity that I believe would be warmly applauded by the authors he unabashedly borrows from.Having been born in Schenectady, now living in Lake George, and having made it my business over the last few decades to read all the histories I could find of these wars as conducted and experienced in Central New York, I think I'm in a reasonably good position to judge his effort, and I find it first-rate.

Berleth holds an English lit Ph.D., and it shows.He can spin a yarn with the best of them, but there's much more.He's manifestly a fine historian in his own right, as evidenced by the fact that I've read multiple descriptions of the people and events with which he treats and found his accounts as fresh and intellectually invigorating as of they were the first I had come upon.Particularly impressive to me was his ability to maintain his focus on the valley and not be seduced into following the exploits of a particularly fascinating character wherever they led or offering his own version of pivotal events such as the French siege of Fort William Henry in 1757 or 1777's Battle of Saratoga.Indeed, he mentions them only in passing and only in relation to the valley and its actors to the extent they were involved in them.The knowledgeable reader loses nothing by these omissions but rather gains new perspective on how these events related to the valley and its inhabitants.

Finally, Author Berleth does an absolutely terrific job of summarizing the `afterward,' the ineffably sad and for a time seemingly hopeless period following the Revolution when the valley's principal actors played out their roles, none more pathetic than the fate of the once-dominant Iroquois confederation, now broken into aimless fragments by their misplaced reliance on at least some whites' integrity and their inability to take advantage of their geographic and military hegemony before they were figuratively, and then literally, buried by white settlement.

So, even if you've read your Parkman, Anderson, and Flexner, don't dismiss this wonderful effort.As far as I'm concerned,"Bloody Mohawk" is proof positive that secondary sources can make for prime reading.


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Describes the people, places, and events surrounding the French and Indian War. ... Read more

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The French and Indian War found both France and great Britain fighting over land and trade opportunities in North America.Both countries counted on their colonists to help them fight.Turn the pages of this book to find out what it was like to be a soldier in the French and British armies.Learn about important military leaders, uniforms worn by soldiers on each side, and the different roles played by the artillery, cavalry, and infantry.Discover which frontier forts were important to the outcome of the war.

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This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This book an EXACT reproduction of the original book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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The globe’s first true world war comes vividly to life in this "rich, cautionary tale" (The New York Times Book Review)

The French and Indian War —the North American phase of a far larger conflagration, the Seven Years’ War—remains one of the most important, and yet misunderstood, episodes in American history. Fred Anderson takes readers on a remarkable journey through the vast conflict that, between 1755 and 1763, destroyed the French Empire in North America, overturned the balance of power on two continents, undermined the ability of Indian nations to determine their destinies, and lit the "long fuse" of the American Revolution. Beautifully illustrated and recounted by an expert storyteller, The War That Made America is required reading for anyone interested in the ways in which war has shaped the history of America and its peoples. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (31)

..book review...
This is an excellent detailed examination of a very important period of this nation's history that is many times forgotten.The book is easy to read yet detailed enough to give you a sense of closeness to history which for me is most exciting.

Excellent short presentation of a crucial period in history
"The War That Made America: A Short History Of The French And Indian War" by Fred Anderson is an excellent short presentation of a very important subject that is foundational to an understanding of American History.Having read several other books on the subject, ("The French & Indian War: Deciding The Fate of North America" by Walter R. Borneman; & "The American Indian Wars" by John Tebbel and Keith Jennison) I was pleased with the amount and quality of information presented by Anderson which I had not seen in other works."The War That Made America", an interesting, understandable, and easily readable presentation, clarifies how some events and players related to others, shows how future events were affected by events of this period, and offers a level of historical analysis that is more than competent.Adding to the books interest are maps and pictures of artwork, artifacts, and individuals.I found Anderson's work to be well worth the investment of time and money, and highly recommend it.

Highly detailed overview (3.7 *s)
This book is a substantially condensed version of the author's earlier "Crucible of War," yet manages to cover all sorts of matters pertinent to the French and Indian War actually beginning in 1753 to its conclusion in 1763: the situation in the West and developments that led to the War; the important and changing role of various Indian groups throughout the lengthy engagement; the wide-ranging battles and campaigns waged all across the northern tier of the colonies including Fort Duquesne on the Ohio River, the Lake Ontario forts, numerous forts up and down Lake Champlain, and extending to Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island; the increased and focused British War efforts after initial stumbles; innumerable French and British leaders - some inept, others quite capable; and some commentary on what it all meant, such as the future of the Indian tribes and the prospects and mindsets of the American colonists as they shared in the victory of the British empire.

There is a sense that the book is a bit too tightly packed with explanations sacrificed for the need to include details. However, the untold difficulties, the mistakes, the shortages of supplies, the harsh conditions, the extreme loss of life combined with cruel savagery, the lack of communication, the role of fortune, and the like in waging a war over a vast territory in the mid-eighteenth century that permeate this work are scarcely possible to comprehend 250 years later. Such a book is a challenge to read; it's rather easy to lose track in the complicated narratives of the numerous, simultaneous campaigns. Scattered maps help some. Many of the illustrations in the book of various documents are fairly useless - much too small to be read.

Is it the war that made America? That question is secondary to the author's purposes. Perhaps one can point to the confluence of several destabilizing developments surrounding the War that when combined led to the formation of America: the territorial ambitions of the French that alarmed the British; the interest of both speculators and settlers in PA and VA in Indian-occupied lands; the sense that the colonists had of sacrifice and initiative equal to that of the British in the conduct of the War; the enormous debt incurred by the British in waging the War; and the subsequent high-handed policies of British ministers in attempting to recoup those costs from the colonists. The book is certainly informative, but one suspects that for those with the time, the longer version would far more substantially cover the period and the War.

Excellent foundation for understanding the French & Indian War
I highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a solid understanding of the F&I War. Anderson's book gives just the right amount of detail - not so much as to overwhelm you, but not so little where you're left without a good understanding of this crucial event in history. The book is also well-written so that it keeps your interest. Details about war strategies and battle plans bore me a great deal, but Anderson's book gives just the basics on these topics. Where he does go into more detail are in areas I think are more important to understanding the causes and consequences of the war - the interactions and power between the various Indian tribes, the personality and philosophical conflicts between those in charge in England, and the Candian military, the motivations of various powerful groups, etc. I also liked that Anderson focused on the crucial role of the various Indian tribes - without them as allies, the British never could have won the continent. For the reader who would like to get a solid foundation of understanding of the F&I War, I highly recommend Anderson's book.

A Riveting Account on Par with the Best in its Field
Fred Anderson's chronicle of the French and Indian War is appropriately titled The War That Made America. In this monograph, the Seven Years War in North America is presented in a well written narrative that is as enthralling as it is informative. Following years of research, Anderson utilizes his understanding of the time period to weave an accurate and entertaining account of the battles that changed the face of North America forever.

Anderson begins his narrative by expanding on the role of General George Washington in the years leading up to the conflict and sets the stage for The War That Made America. The first portion of the work is dubbed "The End of a Long Peace." In this section the author describes how the war came to fruition following the attack of Jumonville's French Convoy under Washington's command. The next subdivision of chapters entitled "La Guerre Savage" discusses key events such as Braddock's death at the Battle of the Monongahela and explains the war's explosion in the European theatre. It is also in this section that signals the beginning of what Anderson describes as "the greatest refugee crisis in the history of the colonies."(73)

The next section called "Turning Point" highlights the role of Secretary of State William Pitt in the conflict. "Pitt's system boiled down to making the most of his nation's shaky position by building on its strengths wherever they existed, striking France at its weakest points wherever possible, and holding the line in Europe by subsidizing Frederick and Great and Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick." (123) One of the more consequential narratives in this category is the campaign of General John Forbes and his trail blazing march across the Pennsylvania wilderness.

The final portion of The War That Made America is known as "Conquests and Consequences." This section begins immediately following the fall of Fort Duquesne. Using consequence as a backdrop Anderson discusses the various natives groups and gauges their reaction to the event. "The Iroquois chiefs' unease arose from a prophetic spiritual movement that had begun taking shape among the displace Delawares of the Susquehanna Valley a decade or so before, a movement that the war's stresses and disorder had helped to spread into the Ohio Country, where the other groups beyond the Delaware began to respond to it." (180) Anderson closes the work by examining the consequences of the war's outcome, particularly the removal of French influence in the region.

Fred Anderson is currently a professor of History at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Along with The War That Made America, Anderson has also written such works as Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766, The Dominion of War: Empire and Liberty in North America, 1500-2000, George Washington Remembers: Reflections on the French and Indian War, and A People's Army: Massachusetts Soldiers and Society in the Seven Years' War, the winner of the 1982 Jamestown Prize. Anderson has also been awarded the Francis Parkman and Mark Lynton prizes in 2001.

Anderson consulted several primary and secondary sources when writing The War That Made America. Although he has studied the Seven Years War as his primary academic interest, Anderson cited recent secondary sources such as Struggle for a Continent: The French and Indian Wars 1689-1763, and Clash of Empires: The British, French, and Indian War which was published by the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania in 2005. Along with other secondary sources were several journal citations including Journal of American History and the Canadian Historical Review.

This work was one of profound interest as it was so well written that it made exploring the monograph a thrilling experience. Anderson projects a comfort level with the material that allows him to explain the events while binding them into a larger picture that is both accessible and retainable. As a companion work to the hit PBS television series of the same name, The War That Made America should be considered to be of great value to both the qualified academic and the interested American history hobbyist.

Some of the most staggering insights that Anderson conveys are the diplomatic interactions of the Native Tribes with the European Superpowers. Anderson correctly conveys the Tribal leaders as key players throughout the war and major factors in its outcome.

In his chronicle of the Seven Years War in North America, Fred Anderson paints a full picture of the conflict and presents all parties in a fair and accurate manner. Anderson uses a lifetime of research to produce a masterful synthesis that brings to life a worldwide conflict centered in the backwoods of North America. The War That Made America is a historic epic on par with the best of the field.

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Product Description

As early as 1630, Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands had settlements or coloniesin North America. Always looking for ways to expand their territory, these European nations were constantly at war with one another over trade, borders, and religious differences. Beginning in 1689, their conflicts in Europe spread across the Atlantic to America. Over the next seventy years, competing European powers would battle for control of the New World. The winner would take the prize -- all of North America.

Struggle for a Continent tells the riveting story of the French and Indian Wars seventy-four years of fighting that determined the destiny of the future United States.

Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies 2001, National Council for SS & Child. Book Council

Customer Reviews (2)

French and Indian Wars
This book adds some much needed background information to the lessons surrounding the revolutionary war in a colorful, fun manner. It explains the attitude of the British prior to the war.

Excellent
History is a lot more fun when combined with the beautiful pictures and informative, easy-to-read text in this book. We have been able to use the entire series as the foundation for our elementary history curriculum combined with other activites. I highly recommend these books to others looking for an enjoyable way to study history together. ... Read more

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The conflict that Winston Churchill called the first First World War profoundly shaped the history of North America. R. S. Stephenson spent more than a decade locating art, objects, and manuscripts that tell the story of this colorful and dramatic clash of empires. Filled with illustrations and sidebars, this volume accompanies a major traveling exhibit and serves as a deluxe commemorative issue of the esteemed Western Pennsylvania History Journal. ... Read more

Product Description
The French and Indian War was but the American front of a much larger war taking place in Europe, the outcome of which had significant consequences for both North America and the world. An excellent introduction to the study of this pivotal war, this volume includes primary documents, biographical sketches of major figures, an annotated bibliography, and a thorough index, all of which round out this user-friendly, to-the-point reference guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Absolutely dreadful!
This book reads like 12-15 encylcopedia articles strung together, and gets waaaaaaaaaaaay off subject.A long ethnohistorical essay is included (among several others of dubious relation to the F&I War) on Native Americans that has very little to do with the subject and is very much out of place.Many details are wrong--dates of birth, names, etc.This is a "don't buy".Go for Fred Anderson's "Crucible of War" instead. ... Read more