L. Dupont Syle

This book is actually a speech given by Edmund Burke to Parliament in 1775 regarding the deteriorating situation between England and the American Colonies. His position is that peace should be pursued before force because one can always use force if peace fails, but if force fails then you cannot try peace because the bad blood of war will linger. Furthermore, he believed that England should make concessions to please the colonies because England had the power, and so could bestow concessions and seem like benevolent rulers. If the colonies made concessions it would look like weakness on their part, and they would be humiliated.

My favorite part is when he lays out the six characteristics of American colonists that make them unsuited to the loss of their liberty, which was what was happening with all the taxe hikes, port blockades, and lack of representation in government. It was very interesting to see the blooming national character from an outsider's perspective, and to think on how it has/hasn't changed.

What I didn't love about this book was that it was very long-winded, and that it was pretty dull in some parts. As a research document this is probably very useful, but as a fun read it was a dud. What I liked about this book was the British viewpoint of the situation, especially an anti-war viewpoint, since that isn't often taught in American schools' coverage of the Revolutionary War.… (altro)