Swords in Their Hands: George Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy - Couverture rigide

Richards, Dave

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 1942016123 ISBN 13 : 9781942016120

Editeur : Pisgah Press LLC, 2015

Synopsis

Swords in Their Hands: George Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy, is the first book-length account of the closest thing to a coup that the United States has ever experienced.

In the autumn of 1782, many Revolutionary War officers in the Hudson Highlands have grown angry and frustrated that they have not been paid in months or even years. With victory over the British within sight, they begin to fear that they will never get their back pay and promised postwar pensions, because the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, meeting under the Articles of Confederation of 1777, has no power to raise funds to pay them. Two political factions are at loggerheads over taxation: nationalists want Congress to have direct taxation authority, while their opponents insist that only individual states should have the power to do so, as is the case under the Articles.

As the new year begins and the last months of the war approach, several key army officers, supported by some nationalist members of Congress, set in motion a desperate plot: they will terrify state legislators, and their delegates in Congress, into granting Congress the direct taxation authority it needs, under threat of two alternatives. One option is to lay down their arms before victory is achieved, and let the British quell the colonists' rebellion; alternatively, after defeating the British, they will refuse to give up their arms unless their demands are met.

In March 1783, hundreds of Washington's officers, "ready for revolt," gather at the Temple of Virtue in New Windsor, NY to agree on the first steps toward implementing their plan. But to their shock and chagrin, General Washington himself arrives, and in a 15-minute address changes the course of history.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

"Swords in Their Hands: George Washington and the Newburgh Conspiracy," is the first book-length account of a plot that can be described as the closest thing to a coup that the United States has ever experienced. In the autumn of 1782, many Revolutionary War officers in the Hudson Highlands have grown angry and frustrated that they have not been paid in months or even years. With victory over the British within sight, they begin to fear that they will never get their back pay and promised postwar pensions, because the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, meeting under the Articles of Confederation of 1777, has no power to raise funds to pay them. Two political factions are at loggerheads over taxation: nationalists want Congress to have direct taxation authority, while their opponents insist that only individual states should have the power to do so, as is the case under the Articles. As the new year begins and the last months of the war approach, several key army officers, supported by some nationalist members of Congress, set in motion a desperate plot: they will terrify state legislators, and their delegates in Congress, into granting Congress direct taxation authority it needs, under threat of two alternatives. One option is that, after defeating the British, they will turn their armies toward Philadelphia itself to enforce their demands; alternatively, they will lay down their arms before victory is achieved, and let the British quell the colonists’ rebellion. In March hundreds of Washington’s officers, “ready for revolt,” gather in Newburgh, NY to agree on the first steps toward implementing their plan. But to their shock and chagrin, General Washington himself arrives, and in a 15-minute address changes the course of history. Having himself “grown almost blind in the service of my country,” he gently chides the officers, puts down the uprising, and saves the future nation.

Biographie de l'auteur

Connecticut native Dave Richards served seven years in the U. S. Army, primarily in military intelligence. After two years of Russian language instruction and specialized training, he was assigned to West Berlin, where he transcribed and translated Soviet intelligence activities. While serving in that field he earned a BA in Russian language and literature from George Washington University and an MA in Slavic and East European languages and literatures from Ohio State. Upon completing his studies he joined the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, where he taught Russian to members of the armed forces. When the Cold War came to an end he earned certification to teach English as a Second Language and taught in Korea and Japan for twelve years. An avid student of American history, Dave writes regularly for The Historical News, a series of historical quarterlies published by the Southern Historical News that are distributed throughout the South, and he is a frequent speaker on a range of historical subjects. His interest in history led him into extensive research on the Newburgh Conspiracy and the key figures involved. Dave lives in Hendersonville, NC, where he is active with Toastmasters and a member of the Writers’ Guild of Western North Carolina.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Pisgah Press LLC
• Date d'édition: 2015
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 1942016123
• ISBN 13: 9781942016120
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 400
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Allemagne