The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West

If you want a good introduction to famous Revolutionary War heroes, prominent Statesmen, influential business leaders, and other pillars of the community, as seen in a completely different light; from a totally fresh perspective, and a magnificently intensified point of view, look no further than the chronological account of the tumultuous lives of the rugged woodsmen who made their homes in the densely forested region of the Northwest Territory, as it certainly was wooded and occasionally flooded, in the well-documented and informative historical account of, "The Pioneers," by David McCullough, published in 2019. You'll be utterly confounded, dismayed, astounded, and mesmerized learning what happened to the settlers living along the Ohio River from 1787-1863, a critically important era for a great many new arrivals to the American heartland. After the initial reading, you may be tempted to rush out excitedly, proclaim from the rooftops, or exclaim to the first person you meet, "I must have missed that vital chapter in American history." Once upon a time, I remember having read portions of the Oklahoma state history book our teacher handed out in Civics class. It may not have been the same history book eighth graders in Ohio had to read, but similar. "What is the difference between history and historical fiction?" you may wonder, abruptly changing the subject. You know you're reading history when the facts you receive come at you with deadly accurate dates specifying day, month, and four-digit year, along with pertinent, or otherwise relevant information gleaned from generally accepted, reliable sources: heavy, hard-bound books; crisply printed front-page newspaper articles; the uniformly thick, worn, and torn journals usually found on the periodicals shelf of the public library; miscellaneous official or formal correspondence; and the well-documented legal briefs transformed into micro-fiche. You'll get a sense of having been at the archeological dig-site yourself, when you're through researching; miraculously transported to where and when the momentous or cataclysmic events had actually taken place. "As if you owned an electronic GPS device with geographical coordinates and a time-machine." Historical fiction, on the other hand, you soon discover, involves greater speculation as to what might have been, what should have happened, or what someone truly wishes would have happened. Essentially, the overriding fictional part of the work is whatever the writer fantasizes, dreams, or drums up from his vivid and capricious, fertile imagination. So, basically, the narrative doesn't have to be truthful, accurate, or factual at all. Nonetheless, "The Pioneers" is largely historical. It appears to be a surprisingly open-minded, frank, honest, and factual account of what transpired during the lifetime of settlers living in Ohio country during the specified time interval. I was greatly impressed with and immensely appreciated the keen insights provided by the author into the roles played and contributions made by the Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Putnam, Cutler, Owen, St. Clair, Sargent, Tyler, Woodbridge, Nye, Butler, Little-Turtle, Bluejacket, Barker, Devol, Chapman, Burr, Blennerhassett, Hildreth, Fulton, Roosevelt, Hull, and Perry families, among many others. Hence, I feel compelled to freely admit without reservation that the book covers a considerable amount of well-organized, collated and correlated, cherry-picked Americana from so many more Ohio state archives, historical societies, and university library sources than I had anticipated. In other words, the author has performed a ton of erudite, scholarly research and in-depth analysis, which resulted in his discovering significant biographical and obituary information, representing rare and precious moments from the past. "Like a collection of gemstones." "National treasure." You won't find much in the way of malicious gossip or vicious rumors in the book, however. The people about whom the author wrote were obviously educated, righteous, respectable, pragmatic, and practical in their dealings. They were model citizens who spoke plain English and didn't mince words. They'd stick to the issues and bring out the big guns only when necessary. If there were any monsters under the bed, they'd keep them well hidden, I believe. "Has anyone seen Sasquatch lately?" "Case in point." Still, the book may be considered subject to much speculation about notable events of the day; at least, in my mind. I had the clear and distinct image of deciduous trees growing so gigantically big and tall in Ohio, that local inhabitants opted to carve out the center of the trunk and tunnel right through to the other side, rather than go around. Early ship traffic on the Ohio River moved in only one direction, due to rapid currents, ripples, and waterfalls: downstream. Aaron Burr wanted to invade Mexico and was actively seeking local volunteers. While France was forced to sell land west of the Mississippi River in secret negotiations, to pay its enormous war debt; England was hell-bent on using gun-boat diplomacy, in an attempt to further its own aims and ambitions in the national interest. The politics of newly elected President Thomas Jefferson differed so markedly and dramatically from that of his predecessors, that his policies adversely affected the otherwise smooth operation of the Ohio Legislature on key issues. Passage over the rugged Allegheny Mountain range between communities along the Ohio River and the New England seacoast was so slow, cumbersome, exasperating and overwhelming as to discourage or permanently prohibit travel and curtail the sending of a great deal of personal correspondence. "Why didn't they just take the scenic route?" you wonder. Then, I remembered the speed limit for the steepest section of curvy, winding, paved road known as Highway 50 in West Virginia, on which I drove in the autumn of 1979, taking the most direct route from the Midwest to Washington, D.C. on business. Driving a tan, 1964 Chrysler New Yorker in pristine condition, having had only 33,000 miles on it, at the time when I bought it pre-owned from a farmer in Champaign, Illinois, who stored the car in his barn, I didn't dare drive faster than the posted 15 mph limit, having taken particular notice of the run-away truck safety-ramp, veering off sharply from the main thoroughfare. The weather looked like snow. Deciding to stop at the hamburger stand ideally situated on the summit of the mountain peak for a well-deserved breather and lunch, I requested a bottle of Birch Beer and a charcoal-grilled, double-sized hamburger; hungry as I was, and glad to receive the specified refreshments from the proprietor. Most disheartening, though, you learn that the locals weren't aware there was a war going on until after it was mostly over, dispensed with, and all but forgotten. Chagrined, you make a startling conjecture: "What our founding fathers achieved for posterity, their forbears did for prosperity." "All is not lost," I recollect, and re-connect with my immediate surroundings. "Your exceptionally clamorous, rowdy, and rambunctious friends just dropped by. They want to go noodling for catfish on Flatbush Creek. Also, the delightfully charming and pleasingly curvaceous girlfriend called. She wants to have a go at it, too. Aren't you over her yet?" "All aboard for the Mississippi Queen!" Later that day: "Where did everybody go?" asked Marie, perplexed, looking around at the recently vacated premises. "They all left in a hurry, when one of the boys thought he heard someone start up a chainsaw," said her mother, Theresa.

One reads a David McCullough book because one knows they are going to learn about people who shaped our world, but whose stories don’t make the textbooks. People like the remarkable Ephraim Cutler. A man who is almost single handily responsible for slavery never entering the Ohio Territory!“The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers who Brought the American Ideal West” is not as good as some McCullough, but still very good none the less. Essentially the text focuses on the settlement of Ohio, which in turn opened up the Northwest Territory. As an Ohio native, and current resident, I really loved learning so much about my home that I did not know. I did not know anything about Manasseh and Ephraim Cutler, Dr. Samuel Hildreth, Rufus Putnam and many others. But I now realize I needed to.David McCullough is such an evenhanded writer. He does not get caught up in postmodern hysteria and judgement. He just recounts facts without foisting modern sensibilities on events. I love and admire that about him. At one point in the text one of the book’s subjects says, “Certain epochs in the history of nations will always attract to themselves a lasting interest. Among other things their origin awakens a lively curiosity. From whence did they spring? At what period was their country settled? For what causes, under what circumstances, and for what objects were difficulties met and overcome?” These words, written over 200 years ago are the problem with the US today. Most people don’t look at these things with a desire to learn and understand context, they just want to feel a fake sense of moral superiority by looking down their noses at it. One review took umbrage that McCullough views these folks as heroes. Don’t get me started on that idiocy!This book is short, by McCullough standards, coming in under 300 pages, but it is an important one. I will end with what Mr. McCullough himself said was the reason he wrote it. “What was for me particularly exciting was the realization that I now had the opportunity to write about a cast of real-life characters of historic accomplishment who were entirely unknown to most Americans-to bring them to life, bring them center stage and tell their amazing, and I felt, important story.”

Excellent history of people and places. The determination to succeed is inspiring. I would like to visit the region and see the historic sites in person.

As a former American history teacher, I found this book very interesting and informative. Makes you think of the great debt that we owe to those pioneers who risked and conquered all.

If you like history, this book is worth reading. Learn things they didn’t teach in school. Well written. Fast reading.

Gives us a really good insight into what the lives of the early pioneers was like, with plenty of direct evidence obtained from letters and correspondence of the people who were actually there.

Whilst this is a story which focuses on five prime actors, the breath of what David McCullough describes is staggering. To put some perspective on the narrative, the American War of Independence, also known as the American Revolutionary War, which spanned the period from 19 April 1775, until the Treaty of Paris concluded the war on 3 September 1783, with the defeat of Britain and loss of its thirteen eastern seaboard colonies, together with what was known as the Northwest Territory, which is to say the area west of Pennsylvania, east of the Mississippi River, north of the Ohio River to the border with contemporary British Canada. It was a crushing blow for Britain, which some historians consider to be the end of the first British Empire. The Northwest Territory was a vast, lush wilderness, largely uninhabited land mass of some 260,000 square miles (670,000 square kilometres), home to approximately 45,000 indigenous Indian tribes and around 4,000 traders, the latter a mix of Canadian and British subjects. In the fullness of time this new land mass, almost one-third the total area of America would become the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. However, before all of that could take place, it would be the actions of a Massachusetts minister, Reverend Manasseh Cutler, co-founder of the Ohio Company of Associates who would, with Rufus Putnam, Ephraim Cutler (Manasseh oldest son), Joseph Barker House and Samuel Prescott Hildreth encourage a small group of intrepid pioneers to fulfil the intentions of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 by making the long and perilous journey up the Ohio River to found the first settlement on the river, which they named Marietta. The story David McCullough so skilfully tells is one of adventure, daring, sadness and injustice, certainly from the standpoint of the indigenous Americans. Notwithstanding the moral issues - and they are significant - this is a narrative that adds new understanding of how Americans populated the Northwest Territory, how the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 banned slavery within the territory, advanced public school education and perhaps above all else was a difficult but nonetheless great endeavour. This is a book which can engender a feeling of being part of this movement west. This is a highly recommended read.

Le Far West pour les contemporains de Benjamin Franklin se situait de l'autre côté des Appalaches. D'où la création à la fin du XVIIIème siècle d'une Société de l'Ohio pour coloniser notamment les territoires situés au confluent de cette rivière et de son tributaire. La petite communauté, qui s'établit à Marietta en Géorgie, s'est dotée d'idéaux très élevés: pas d'esclavage, pas de traitement injuste des Indiens. La réalité, fortement adoucie par l'auteur, sera tout autre.

As with all of David McCullough's work, I truly enjoyed the rich tapestry of characters and the settings found in this book. He has woven together a cast of characters connected through the settling of a community in Ohio and its development over the decades that followed. I think was fascinated me most was the sheer number of characters in this book who were completely unfamiliar to me (and I dare say to most of those who are well-acquainted with American history) but who came alive through their connected stories. And, even though we are often amazed at the pace of change in our modern lives, I was equally amazed at the pace of change following the settlement of communities in the Northwest territories - though the difficult circumstances they lived through at a personal level was so much more complicated (and deadly) than what we might experience these days. I have no hesitation in recommending this book very highly.