Book Review Of Becoming British By Kariann Yokota

Ricardo Holmes

Bradley Borough

HIST 1301

25 April 2017

Historical Book Review

Unbecoming British is a book written by Kariann Yokota that handles a certain dilemma the United States of America faced after the Revolutionary War ended in 1783. Judging by the title one could possibly assume that the subject matter would be the colonies’ rebellion against King George III and Great Britain but this is not the case. After the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the United States became officially recognized as its own country. They wanted to be distinct from the rest of the world, not just Britain. It is much more common to hear about the political and economic changes of the United States, so this book provides a somewhat different perspective than what would usually hear.

Oxford University press published this book. This press is known for being one of the world’s largest and oldest university presses. Yokota herself has a PhD in early American history. She had researched extensively throughout the process of writing this book. She wrote out of a natural curiosity and to expand her horizons. Though originally from California, Yokota traveled to a few foreign countries such as Scotland and Ireland. She wrote the book for the sake of fellow scholars and historians. However, people do not necessarily need to be scholars and/or historians to

However, the book more so discusses the cultural changes of the United States. Despite their success in breaking away from Britain, the country struggled to find their own identity. Political changes were proceeding considerably more rapidly than cultural changes. Americans had many similarities to the people of England. They spoke the same language, practiced the same religions, and had the same heritage inherited Anglo-Saxon society. Habits such as those are not easy to