Robert Middlekauff (1929–2021)
Author of The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789
About the Author
Robert Middlekauff is Preston Hotchkiss Professor of American History, Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. His most recent work, The Mathers, was the winner of the Bancroft Prize
Works by Robert Middlekauff
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Middlekauff, Robert
- Legal name
- Middlekauff, Robert Lawrence
- Birthdate
- 1929-07-05
- Date of death
- 2021-03-10
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Yale University (Ph.D|1961)
University of Washington (BA|1952) - Occupations
- historian
professor emeritus (History)
academic - Organizations
- University of California, Berkeley
Huntington Library
United States Marine Corps - Awards and honors
- American Philosophical Society (1997)
American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1984)
Bancroft Prize (1972) - Short biography
- Robert L. Middlekauff is the Preston Hotchkis Professor of American History Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was also Dean of Social Sciences between 1974 and 1977 and Provost and Dean of the College of Letters and Science between 1981 and 1983. The winner of a Bancroft Prize for The Mathers, he was Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford University in 1996-97 and also served as Director of the Huntington Library, Art Gallery, and Botanical Gardens from 1983 to 1988. Middlekauff has focused his research and teaching on colonial America. He has recently pushed his research forward into the nineteenth century for a study of Mark Twain. He has written on classical education in eighteenth-century New England, Puritanism, the American Revolution, Benjamin Franklin, and modern American historiography with an emphasis on narrative history. His first book (1963) was a study of secondary education in 18th-century New England. It was followed by a multi-generational intellectual history of the Mathers and their role in the evolution of Puritanism in the 17th and early 18th centuries. His most widely read book was The Glorious Cause, a narrative history of the American Revolution.
- Cause of death
- stroke (complications)
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Yakima, Washington, USA
- Place of death
- Pleasanton, Californa, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
The Glorious Cause is a sweeping account of the American Revolution, tracing events from the early tensions of the 1760s through the ratification of the Constitution. Although the book sets out to cover the full span of the era, it avoids becoming a mere survey. In part, this is achieved because Middlekauff pays close attention to the individuals who shaped the conflict, examining their backgrounds, circumstances, and characters.
That said, the book seems to give equal attention to each year show more from 1763 to 1789, an approach that may have drawbacks for readers seeking a more sustained treatment of the war itself. Much of the book's first half is absorbed by the dispute over taxation without representation, and the first shots aren't fired until about halfway through. The book then ends somewhat abruptly, with only a single chapter on the Constitutional Convention.
Still, Middlekauff offers fascinating, truly original historical analysis. One of the most compelling examples is his account of how the Continental Army kept fighting despite repeated defeats. His answer highlights the soldiers’ deep personal bonds with one another and the disciplined practice of “locking” together in the line, a linear maneuver by which soldiers interlocked limbs and stood shoulder-to-shoulder.
A recommended read for anyone seeking to refresh and deepen their understanding of the American Revolution. show less
That said, the book seems to give equal attention to each year show more from 1763 to 1789, an approach that may have drawbacks for readers seeking a more sustained treatment of the war itself. Much of the book's first half is absorbed by the dispute over taxation without representation, and the first shots aren't fired until about halfway through. The book then ends somewhat abruptly, with only a single chapter on the Constitutional Convention.
Still, Middlekauff offers fascinating, truly original historical analysis. One of the most compelling examples is his account of how the Continental Army kept fighting despite repeated defeats. His answer highlights the soldiers’ deep personal bonds with one another and the disciplined practice of “locking” together in the line, a linear maneuver by which soldiers interlocked limbs and stood shoulder-to-shoulder.
A recommended read for anyone seeking to refresh and deepen their understanding of the American Revolution. show less
Robert Middlekauff’s The Glorious Cause is a splendid read about the American Revolution. His account shows that the Americans had already wrested control of most of the local government. The British governors, though formally in charge, had to rely on the local oligarchy to execute their orders. The courts ruled not based of the laws but on family and political connections. Magistrates who tried to enforce the law were bullied and terrorized. A favourite tactic was razing their homes, a show more sort the colonial government was unable to prevent. The Boston “massacre” actually happened because the few British soldiers sent for protection were unable to control the mob. For all practical purposes, the Americans enjoyed a de facto independence which was disturbed by the inept and unplanned British efforts to suddenly exert control over “their” colonies. The government in England proclaimed stiffer regulations but failed to provide the necessary resources to enact them. The forces provided were used counter-productively: Similar to the Americans directly financing the Taliban in Afghanistan by paying for their services, the British soldiers paid their American opponents for rent and supplies. Thus, they both fuelled and financed the conflict.
Middlekauff’s narrative of the war is well done, shifting from Boston to New York to Philadelphia to Charleston and back to Yorktown. His account of 1776 offers quite a different view on the events than the hyperpatriotic impression created by McCullough in his “1776”. Again, like the Americans in Afghanistan, the British never had sufficient boots on the ground to control all vital areas. Their interventions exhausted their strength without achieving a strategic break-through. Inept British generalship resulted in the surrender of too many armies in the American wilderness.
After the military campaigns, Middlekauff shifts back to the political discussions that finally resulted in the US constitution. It is interesting to note that it took many years and multiple attempts to create the famous document and its political trade-offs. In the end, the oligarchies that had triggered the revolution enshrined their rule and created the framework for Western expansion. Recommended. show less
Middlekauff’s narrative of the war is well done, shifting from Boston to New York to Philadelphia to Charleston and back to Yorktown. His account of 1776 offers quite a different view on the events than the hyperpatriotic impression created by McCullough in his “1776”. Again, like the Americans in Afghanistan, the British never had sufficient boots on the ground to control all vital areas. Their interventions exhausted their strength without achieving a strategic break-through. Inept British generalship resulted in the surrender of too many armies in the American wilderness.
After the military campaigns, Middlekauff shifts back to the political discussions that finally resulted in the US constitution. It is interesting to note that it took many years and multiple attempts to create the famous document and its political trade-offs. In the end, the oligarchies that had triggered the revolution enshrined their rule and created the framework for Western expansion. Recommended. show less
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Oxford History of the United States) by Robert Middlekauff
I found this book and Middlekauff's description of narrative history odd, but perhaps I've been tainted by reading too many academic books. There is little discussion of source material other than secondary sources (I routinely glanced at the bottom of the page only to encounter a recommendation for a book published in the 30s), and it seems doubtful that your average reader would reach for a 700+ page book on the American Revolution for a little recreation. I certainly got some incredulous show more looks as I toted it around for a few weeks. However, the story of the revolution is pretty compelling stuff, and Middlekauff dexterously handles the personal (both famous characters and ordinary soldiers, patriots and loyalists) and the tide of history. If you've got a few volumes of Bruce Catton, you'll love this book.
A few minor irritations: typos scattered about (don't publishers employ copy editors any more?), the tacked-on chapter about women, Indians and slaves (leaving it out would have made it less obvious that our traditional story of the birth of the United States is completely dead-white-male-focused), and the phrase "to be sure," which sounds dismissive and unintelligent. Witness this waste of space: "In a sense no one in America escaped the war, even those in areas remote from it. To be sure much went on as usual... Yet the war could not be forgotten." [p. 650] In what sense? How sure are you? show less
A few minor irritations: typos scattered about (don't publishers employ copy editors any more?), the tacked-on chapter about women, Indians and slaves (leaving it out would have made it less obvious that our traditional story of the birth of the United States is completely dead-white-male-focused), and the phrase "to be sure," which sounds dismissive and unintelligent. Witness this waste of space: "In a sense no one in America escaped the war, even those in areas remote from it. To be sure much went on as usual... Yet the war could not be forgotten." [p. 650] In what sense? How sure are you? show less
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Oxford History of the United States) by Robert Middlekauff
I am slowly working my way through the Oxford History of the United States, mostly by audiobook. I previously reviewed What Hath God Wrought, which covers the years from 1815-1848; at that point I decided I'd better get up to speed on the earlier years before moving on to Battle Cry of Freedom, which I own in paper format. Based on what was available from Audible, I went back to the American Revolution; next, at some point in the future, will be Empire of Liberty.
The Glorious Cause begins show more some years before the Revolution, giving a lot of background about George II and III, the British Parliament, the French and Indian/Seven Years' War, and the first stirrings of unrest in the American colonies. Sometimes I felt that I was learning more than I really cared to know, but this is a serious, though quite accessible, work of history. It definitely filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of the period. My junior high and high school history teachers were both Civil War enthusiasts (on opposing sides) and I didn't take U.S. history in college, so my view of the Revolution came mostly from a Landmark book (Our Independence and the Constitution, by Dorothy Canfield Fisher), Johnny Tremain (by Esther Forbes), and a few other historical novels and a PBS series. The Glorious Cause offers a much less simplified and sanitized version of events.
For instance, I hadn't known before how Boston mobs attacked the houses of officials connected to British tax policies in the 1760s. The Revolution was much longer a-brewing than I had realized.
The audio format may not have been the best for this particular book. I'll be trolling the used book sales for a paper copy. I expect there'll be diagrams and maps that will help me understand the many battles, which I find confusing at the best of times.
To sum up, this is a fine, detailed biew of the years 1757-1789 in our history and nearly everyone would learn a lot by reading or listening to it. Highly recommended. show less
The Glorious Cause begins show more some years before the Revolution, giving a lot of background about George II and III, the British Parliament, the French and Indian/Seven Years' War, and the first stirrings of unrest in the American colonies. Sometimes I felt that I was learning more than I really cared to know, but this is a serious, though quite accessible, work of history. It definitely filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge of the period. My junior high and high school history teachers were both Civil War enthusiasts (on opposing sides) and I didn't take U.S. history in college, so my view of the Revolution came mostly from a Landmark book (Our Independence and the Constitution, by Dorothy Canfield Fisher), Johnny Tremain (by Esther Forbes), and a few other historical novels and a PBS series. The Glorious Cause offers a much less simplified and sanitized version of events.
For instance, I hadn't known before how Boston mobs attacked the houses of officials connected to British tax policies in the 1760s. The Revolution was much longer a-brewing than I had realized.
The audio format may not have been the best for this particular book. I'll be trolling the used book sales for a paper copy. I expect there'll be diagrams and maps that will help me understand the many battles, which I find confusing at the best of times.
To sum up, this is a fine, detailed biew of the years 1757-1789 in our history and nearly everyone would learn a lot by reading or listening to it. Highly recommended. show less
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