Book Review

 The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789. (Robert Middlekauff, (Oxford University Press, New York, NY, 1982.) 

    The Glorious Cause, by Robert Middlekauff is a comprehensive narrative about the American Revolution from a political and military perspective. Middlekauff's main argument in the book is that the American Revolution was inspired by the “glorious cause,” that he acknowledges throughout the book.  The term “glorious cause,” is used as an amalgam of religious zeal and rhetoric about liberty.   

    The narrative begins with the passage of the various Intolerable Acts by British Parliament. He constructs an exposition about the war by political perspectives of both the British and her colonies. Key historical figures from a top-down perspective were used to make his arguments such as Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, William Pitt, George Grenville, and Charles Townshend (to name a few.)  Middlekauff makes an exemplary effort of relating the colonial experience with parliamentary politics. 

    Middlekauff maintains that early in American history, the colonists were rife with political and religious factionalism. He argues that the “glorious cause,” of political and religious liberty was a causal factor of the revolution.  The narrative describes assorted demographics that suggest that, for the inception of the Continental Army, there required a political and cultural impetus.  Religious zeal, the writings of John Dickenson, and Common Sense, by Thomas Paine, were all essential for producing the culture of revolution. 

    Middlekauff delves into the complex working of the militias and Continental Army as they were rallied by Congress. The author explores the nature of war time mobilization in a culture that valued freedom and liberty with the highest regard.  He contended that an adequate amount of a cultural phenomenon was required to unite the states into a functioning army through the capable hands of George Washington.  It is a testament to presence of the “glorious cause,” that a weaker and poorly trained army could defeat a colonial superpower like the British Empire. 

    Middlekauff had the arduous task of making the battlefield come alive to the reader. However, his ability to reach this challenge was limited, as his descriptions of battlefield encounters were often windy and confusing.  Middlekauff’s passages about battles like Bunker Hill, the Monmouth Court House, the Battle of Bemis Heights, and other key battles were difficult to follow and required a very keen understanding of battle formations. He described the arrangements of the troops, where flanks were attacked, where reinforcements were held, and other war details with great difficulty to the reader.  The common reader with little military understanding could quickly become lost. 

    The Glorious Cause did, however, capture the details of what the conditions of the war were.  His imaginative and detailed description of the winter at Valley Forge was memorable, interesting, and at times humorous. Middlekauff proved capacious in his ability to tell logistical difficulties in war time, as well as illustrating what motivated simple farmers and country folk to becoming a capable fighting force.  When Middlekauff utilized the term he coined, “the glorious cause,” he managed to prove its connectivity without making superfluous statements that belittled the readers intellect. 

    There are occasions when Middlekauff failed to direct the reader to sufficient sources in his topic sentences. His citations were missing in certain passages, sometimes using phrases like, “historians claimed...” without any mention of which historians he was referring to.  His footnotes and bibliography still suggested that Middlekauff was not outright making fallacious claims, but it can still be argued that his source notations could have used revision.  Additionally, his addition of the experiential factor of women, Native Americans, and African Americans was limited to only several pages. More effort could be placed here, while noting that there were some interesting passages in these areas.  More effort needs to be taken not to marginalize these groups. 

    Overall, if a reader was seeking to understand the Revolutionary War from a political and military perspective, The Glorious Cause is a worthwhile secondary source. His lengthy book provides both good insights and copious supply of factual information.  This book should be recommended for students and scholars with an emphasis on the first thirteen chapters and the last six chapters.  The information found in the middle of these mentioned areas still leaves a bit to be desired.