Reviews of Books

For teachers of early American history, the beginnings of European colonization in North America are full of adventure and conflict, and the struggle for American independence readily commands interest. But what to do about those long, confusing decades from 1680 to 1760 that, as Ned C. Landsman notes, have been called "the Death Valley" (p. xi) of the United States history survey course? The period offers no clear narrative and (except for the Salem witchcraft trials and the Great Awakening, half a century apart) it lacks major landmark events that stir strong student interest. Crucial developments took place, to be sure, notably, the decisive turn to African slavery in the Chesapeake, the formation and growth of new colonies (Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, Georgia), and the imperial wars that led to British triumph in North America. Even so, it is difficult to find a dominant theme among them or to chart the movement of the colonies along a common path. Given these difficulties of conceptualization, perhaps these decades do not constitute an historical period at all.	1
Scholars and students attempting to make sense of this confusion should welcome From Colonials to Provincials. Originally published in 1997 as part of Twayne's "American Thought and Culture" series, the volume has now been reissued in paper by Cornell University Press. Its new lease on publishing life should attract further attention to a work that is easily the fullest and most intelligent survey of colonial culture available.	2
From Colonials to Provincials recounts the cultural transformation of the mainland English colonies. Scattered outposts on the edges of the Atlantic world in the seventeenth century became full participants in cosmopolitan British cultural life in the eighteenth century--and on the same terms as the provincial cities of the British Isles. In 1680, Landsman writes, the colonists were "isolated" (p. 8) from England and each other. This condition began to change over the next generation. The crown showed new interest in colonial governance; the settlement of the Middle Colonies opened fresh territory for migration and trade; and, in the wake of the Union of England and Scotland in 1707, a host of ambitious Scots gained access to opportunities for wealth and leadership in the Americas. Increased communications, most notably the greater availability of printed material, helped integrate colonials into the international republic of letters.	3
Having established the starting point and set the mechanisms in motion, Landsman goes on to consider three primary themes: the Enlightenment, evangelical religion and the Great Awakening, and ideas about liberty. In each case, he argues, immigrants from other British provinces (particularly Scotland) played important roles, and the result was a growing convergence with the mother country.	. . .