Book Review
| Publication year | 2009 |
| Pages | 0068 |
| Citation | Vol. 14 No. 5 Pg. 0068 |
Footnotes to History:
A Primer on the American Political Character
by Griffin B. Bell, edited by John P. Cole
Mercer University Press, 186 pages
reviewed by Hollie Manheimer
Perhaps the Hon. Griffin B. Bell's life should be included within this volume, wherein he assembles brief but incisive examinations of the lives of American patriots, some famous, some not, who have marked their place in American history. With the assistance of lawyer John P. Cole, Bell offers the reader lessons in character─what contemporary citizens can learn from the contributions of historical patriots. The volume is a compilation of Bell's lectures delivered to a dinner club, perhaps what we might call a salon, "devoted to intellectual conversation," and each chapter is footnoted with the date and place of delivery of the subject lecture.
From the Revolutionary War era, Bell focuses a chapter on George Washington, several on Thomas Jefferson, and one each on John Marshall and Aaron Burr. From the Civil War era, he selects Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, John Singleton Mosby, and Generals Grant, Lee and
Sherman as character studies. Bell includes Lewis F. Powell Jr., and Oliver Wendell Holmes, as well. While all of the vignettes are rich in detail, the overriding theme in each chapter is the character, caliber and mettle of the individual subject. Bell asks, and asks us to ask of other historical figures: how are their examples and thinking applicable to contemporary problems?
For example, the book's second chapter examines George Washington as a military officer. We learn that Bell presented this paper initially on Feb. 22, 2006, George Washington's 274th birthday. The chapter provides rich detail concerning General Washington's military service and significant detail as to some of the Revolutionary War battles. Nevertheless, Bell focuses the reader on his subject's character. Regardless of the battles fought, many of which were lost, Washington persevered. From Bell's careful examination of Washington's life, he draws his own conclusion: "Whatever his doubts and fears, Washington kept up the fight long enough to know his enemy, to take back the momentum, to give time for the French to join the fray, to give legitimacy to the new American government." The overriding principle of character in Washington's life: leadership in the face of adversity.
Similarly, Bell...
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