America First Hand
America First Hand. Robert D. Marcus and David Burner. Beacon Press, 1987,
223 pgs. The beginning of the colonial period was full of troubles. America
First Hand, by Robert D. Marcus and David Burner is written in distinct detail
about several accounts by American colonists that are written and relay what it
was like in the colonies during the first couple decades. The accounts describe
how teenagers, men, and women, all in their own way, questioned society,
religion, and government in order to improve themselves and have their own
effects on a changing county. Marcus and Burner compare and contrast religious,
political, and social issues that were dealt with during the early 1800’s. The
authors examined the experiences of Hetty Shepard, Ben Franklin, and Eliza
Pickeny. Three Americans from very different backgrounds who all had thoughts,
actions, and ideas to better themselves and hopefully better their fellow man
and society. They show that people should try to better themselves based on his
or her own opinions and ideas rather than rely on those of others. Miss Hetty
Shepard was a Puritan girl living in New England at the height of colonization
and had trouble with the Indians. She recorded a diary to describe the days as
they went by. Also along with her daily acknowledgements, Hetty reveals private
thoughts and inquires that show her doubts and questions concerning her strict
Puritan beliefs. Marcus and Burner show passages from a diary written by Hetty
Shepard about what some may call the rebellious mind of young woman. Based on
her writings, others may call her the beginning of the independent, or
republican, women.
Men of the colonial time period did not have it much easier
than women. Inventor, philosopher, printer, and ladies’ man extraordinary Ben
Franklin was also considered. He was a writer/printer from Philadelphia, and a
person who was interested in the science of humanity. Franklin in the midst of
the Age of Enlightenment, was a man concerned with his own personal perfection.
Eliza Pinckney, “A Republican Women”, was an extraordinary woman of the colonial
south. There were many photographs of Eliza Pinckney placed on pages 123-128.
Throughout her life she knew how to fend for herself. She was educated and
cultured; she took on the responsibilities of running several plantations, as
well as the responsibility of raising two children on her own through long
distance correspondence. She was in every meaning of the word, independent. All
three of these people, Hetty Shepard, Ben Franklin, and Eliza Pinckney began
their ways by suppressing their natural thoughts, impulses, and emotions in
order to fulfill the requirement society expected of them. America First Hand
teaches a lesson because eventually they all came to realize that the way to
better them was to do what was best for them and their situation. These three
people are examples of what makes America a great country of independence. They
show that you don’t have to believe what you are told, and that you should do
what is best for you as you see it. They show that no matter your age, sex,
background, or creed, you can think for yourself and help to mold our still and
ever-changing country. The material that the authors present is well organized
and easy to understand. I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning
about how other’s viewed us becoming an independent nation during the 1800’s.
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