Join the HCSF Reading Group to discuss The Pioneers by David McCullough
Sunday, May 19, 2024
4:30-6:00 pm PT
ALL VIRTUAL
Zoom links will be emailed to registrants at least twice in the days prior to the meeting.
HCSF Members Free, but RSVP required
Non-Members $10
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The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West
David McCullough
258 pages
2019
As part of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the new United States of America, Britain ceded the land that comprised the immense Northwest Territory, a wilderness empire northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indian, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. A Massachusetts minister was instrumental in opening this vast territory to veterans of the Revolutionary War and their families for settlement. Included in the Northwest Ordinance were three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly, the prohibition of slavery. The first band of pioneers set out from New England in 1788. (Simon & Schuster)
While appreciated by many reviewers, this book —McCullough's last— has also been criticized for not telling the stories of those people already living on the land where the pioneering Europeans were establishing themselves. Meeting participants will be welcome to provide additional historical context to fill in McCullough's gaps and to present counter-narratives.
Meeting organizer:
Kirsten Miclau
readinggroup@harvardclubsf.org