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Summary Of 1776 By David Mccullough

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1776 is a historical novel written by David McCullough that goes over the American revolution in the year of the Declaration of Independence.Throughout the novel, McCullough jumps back and forth with perspectives, telling the story from a British perspective, and from an American perspective. The American side is solely on George Washington and his best troops, while the British side is focused solely on King George the 3rd and the British redcoats. The novel also describes key battles in the war such as the battle of Bunker Hill and describes key moments such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Throughout the novel, McCullough presents many opinions and answers to questions in the project. 1776 by David McCullough did not …show more content…

If the Americans never got there before the British, the British most likely would've got there and won the war. Washington's intelligence and willingness to never give up and continue to work hard is what I think enables him to turn a lost cause into a victory. With intelligence and willingness to keep going, anything can happen. However, things may not work out sometimes as seen at the end of chapter 4 when Washington splits his army between Long Island and New York City. Even though Washington is given an indicator that the vast attack will be on Long Island, he does nothing as McCullough indicates that Washington and the Continental army are left reeling, kind of not knowing what to do in the situation. Due to this mistake, many actually thought Washington should be stripped of his title and not allowed to lead the Continental army anymore. However, even with this mistake, it would not have been possible for the colonies to win this war without George Washington leading them. The colonies were just so inexperienced, and lacked discipline, that without Washington, they would've lost the war in a heartbeat. Washington just instills that discipline into the army and has that swagger about him that gives the colonies a fighting …show more content…

McCullough points out the importance of this because Washington rebounds with a successful invasion on Christmas that helps them win the war. The untrained impromptu existence of the Continental gave it little to no advantages over the British. The British were healthier, better fed, and had more military training compared to their American opponents. They also had the strongest Naval force in the world at that time. However, one minor advantage the Continental army had was that they had nothing to lose and could fight like they have something to prove. The pressure was on the British on how they could handle internal affairs. The British were also too confident which hindered them, while the Americans fought to prove something. In the novel, McCullough provides insight into the Continental army’s experience and their work ethic using sources like quotes.An example is at the beginning of Part two of the novel, when a quote states”The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army”. George Washington saying this implies the fight of this army, and how they are taking responsibility, even though they may not have the experience like the

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