Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold

Traitor is a juvenile biography of Benedict Arnold, the general who ironically made American history by switching over to the British side of the war in 1779. The book was an enjoyable read, giving enough detail to not only tell Arnold's life story but also to make me want to read more about the politics and society during the Revolutionary War. Benedict Arnold himself was quite a character. Ms. Fritz portrays him with some sympathy but never really holds him up as anything like a hero.
--J.

This book is a biography about Benedict Arnold. It starts off with his childhood in building his personality. When he is older he becomes an apprentice for an Apothecary store and eventually opens his own later. He never pays his debts and is always fast to jump into a fight with anyone that questions his trustworthiness. After his store he began trading, finding anyway that he could to cut corners. Then he joined military to get on the battlefield. He quickly jumped ranks and became a General eventually before becoming a traitor and joining the British. I thought this book was very detailed in drawing in the reader to see what Arnold would do next. Everything that he did led to violence or a fight although many people did follow him. show more
Classroom Extensions: I would have the students write a report on this book and then research other people that may have been traitors. This would be a good time to explain what that is and talk about the Constitution.
Secondly, I could use this book as a way to build on a history lesson on the Red Scare. This was a time when many were accused of being traitors for one reason or another due to Mccarthyism, and then we could look into what he did as well. (Joseph McCarthy) show less

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