Wilderness at Dawn: The Settling of the North American Continent by Ted Morgan

Wilderness at Dawn: The Settling of the North American Continent by Ted Morgan

About the Author

Ted Morgan is a French-American journalist, historian, and biographer. Born in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1932, Ted is an Alma mater of Yale University and won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. Morgan had a stint of service in the military as he was drafted into the French army, and after his service in the army he returned to the United States. Morgan has also written biographies of notable figures that include Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Williams Burroughs.

A brief summary of the thesis and main arguments in the book

In this book, Morgan presents a host of discussions about migrations and settlements by different peoples into the present United States and other parts of North America; Canada and Mexico. The author’s main thesis is the biography of North America, where he presents how different peoples and races settled in this new place. Morgan discusses the continent’s history, “right from the advent of early man who walked over the Bering land bridge from Asia around 40,000 B.C., through to the 17^th century when European powers colonized the eastern shores” (Morgan, 1994). The author also argues that the Revolutionary War led to the conquest of the Middle West.

Drawing on memoirs, journals, and academic studies to develop colloquial and panoramic narrative, Morgan shows how the early settlers affected the native peoples. The author also uses anecdotes through characters to show the conquest of the U.S. as the author addressed the European advances and the shaping up of the U.S. and other parts of North America, he does not ignore the many depredations of the mighty in the land. Morgan begins with the first hunter-gatherers who started entering the continent using the Asian land bridge over fifteen thousand years ago and continues through the arrivals, interactions, and competitions of different European colonists. The book ends with the status of these different colonists and the advent of the 19^th century. The author covers four major areas that include the initial arrivals, the English footholds, the English advances, and the retreat of French. In the last part, the author looks at America for Americans after the conquest, independence, and formation of the union.

Review

Morgan presents a new dimension about the American history that has been told over and over again. Morgan is keen on having his readers look at the country’s history in a different way. The author uses the reminiscences of individuals and little-known discoverers, settlers, entrepreneurs, and slaves to recount the story of this land. Using a panoramic view of the North American continent and a host of characters, the author shows the unsung heroes and heroines as well as rogues who turned this rugged land into the country that it is today. The author wants his readers to understand the history of the country from ordinary people who had been ignored by eminent writers.

The author’s biases turn on the use of the ordinary settlers, pioneer women, Native Americans, and unknown soldiers as well as scalawags to show the history of this land. Morgan utilizes scenes, anecdotes, and dialogues from letters, diaries, and journals to develop and create the adventures, the odysseys, and human drama and suffering that shaped the U.S. and the entire continent of North America. The author shows his perspective in the book by emphasizing the role played by the unknown people and illustrating that the continent was settled by different cultures and countries. The author triumphs in telling the story of the frontiers of the country.

Through his book, Morgan uses reason and is fair to his readers as he demonstrates that all people have a story about their dream in the country and how they came here. However, Morgan fails to provide analytical accounts of how the colonists disrupted the cultures and the lives of different people that lived in this country. The continent continues to attract European settlers even after the different wars that people; both colonists and natives, fought to have control of the region. Morgan’s search for relevance is strained, and he makes efforts to apprise the audience of current debates about the interpretation of historical events. For instance, he strains to connect colonial tobacco propaganda to the last century’s adverts like “Marlboro Country. Through the use of anecdotes and perspectives from ordinary people, the author shows how the past has been shaped. These people are the ones who have suffered and toiled to make the country what it is; the little known settlers, slaves, and entrepreneurs.

The perspective of the book

Morgan’s book is a must-read for those who want to know the history of North America from ordinary people who also made a mark through their activities. I liked the book because it provides a different perspective on how people settled in North America. Ted’s text emphasizes that multiple settlements and beginnings happened in the history of America. For instance, in the early chapter, Morgan focuses on Indian Americans and their presence before the arrival of European settlers.

Through the book, my understanding of the settlement history in North America has expanded. I now understand that Native Americans and other migrants traversed and lived in many parts of the continent until the arrival of European settlers who were keen on disrupting the native cultures and populations. The arguments presented by the author are persuasive as they demonstrate how different people viewed the settlement in the continent and their interactions with early settlers who were there before them. Consequently, the book challenged my preconceived ideas about the earliest settlers in the continent. Initially, I thought that the continent had just a few native settlers before colonists.

Reference

Morgan, T. (1994). Wilderness at Dawn: The Settling of the North American Continent. New

York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster.