Sweet Land of Liberty (Old Times in the Colonies) by Charles Coffin

 

Sweet Land of Liberty (Old Times in the Colonies)

Charles C. Coffin

Published 1880

Early / Colonial American History

⭐⭐⭐⭐ 

When I looked upon my unread bookshelf for another book to begin, I pulled Sweet Land of Liberty down and read the cover. The inscription beneath the title reads: To inspire Americans to return to, "...one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all." That is what prompted me to read it, without hesitation.

Charles C. Coffin (1823-1896), an American Civil War correspondent, wrote numerous wonderful books about important topics, including independence, liberty, and the fight against tyranny. This particular title, also known as Old Times in the Colonies, focuses on the American Colonial period -- from the European discovery of the new continent to the eve of the Revolutionary War. 

Before this book, Coffin had written two other stories -- I call them stories because his method of writing about history is a pleasantly-told narrative. One was The Boys of '76, published in 1876, and is purely about the battles of the Revolutionary War. Then he wrote The Story of Liberty, an amazing work of five hundred years of history from the signing of the Magna Charta in Runnymede, England, to the settlements of Jamestown and Plymouth in America. Old Times in the Colonies was meant to fill in the time between these two other titles.

Coffin wrote Old Times for children that they may see how history is connected and how events cause other events; how men and women have struggled against tyranny for ages; and how the advancement of certain situations and impacts helped prepared new civilizations for self-government. 

Men die, generations come and go, but ideas live on.

By the way, this is not a typical child's history book. I suppose it was written with children of the late 1800s in mind, but it is not child-like, nor does it shade the truth about war, mass slaughter, and indiscriminate bloodshed. Coffin made obvious the connections between England and America, and how the English colonists were affected by the conflicts between England and France or Spain. I did not realize how much carnage and butchery there was before the Revolution.

The author followed the story of exploration into Canada and the American colonies; development of individual colonies, which later become independent states; interaction with Native Americans and their involvement with the European and French forces in America; and conflicts between France, the Catholic Church, and the Protestants.

All of the events which took place leading up to America's Revolution had a purpose and meaning. These events "tell the story of a great nation, the growth of individual liberty, and the coming of constitutional government in the Western World." But through it all, Coffin was certain that "Right, Justice, and Liberty" always "advances" and that America would spread great ideas and lead the world to something great and glorious. 

Since I have read three of his books, I am confident that he is one of my favorite early American historical writers. I would like to read more from Coffin in the future. Here are some of this other titles, many of which can be read for free on Internet Archive:

Our New Way Around the World

My Days and Nights on the Battlefield

Redeeming the Republic

Freedom Triumphant

Abraham Lincoln

Daughters of the Revolution and Their Times

Marching to Victory

Chalres Carleton Coffin
1823-1896