The Pioneers (Unabridged)
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3.9 • 466 Ratings
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
The #1 New York Times bestseller by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David McCullough rediscovers an important chapter in the American story that’s “as resonant today as ever” (The Wall Street Journal)—the settling of the Northwest Territory by courageous pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would define our country.
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, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. A Massachusetts minister named Manasseh Cutler 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. In 1788 the first band of pioneers set out from New England for the Northwest Territory under the leadership of Revolutionary War veteran General Rufus Putnam. They settled in what is now Marietta on the banks of the Ohio River.
McCullough tells the story through five major characters: Cutler and Putnam; Cutler’s son Ephraim; and two other men, one a carpenter turned architect, and the other a physician who became a prominent pioneer in American science. “With clarity and incisiveness, [McCullough] details the experience of a brave and broad-minded band of people who crossed raging rivers, chopped down forests, plowed miles of land, suffered incalculable hardships, and braved a lonely frontier to forge a new American ideal” (The Providence Journal).
Drawn in great part from a rare and all-but-unknown collection of diaries and letters by the key figures, The Pioneers is a uniquely American story of people whose ambition and courage led them to remarkable accomplishments. “A tale of uplift” (The New York Times Book Review), this is a quintessentially American story, written with David McCullough’s signature narrative energy.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Pulitzer-winning historian David McCullough moves away from in-depth presidential portraits to look at how everyday people lived during the settling of the Midwest in the late 1700s. The Pioneers focuses on the founding and settlement of Marietta, Ohio. Quoting from settlers’ letters and journals, McCullough creates an escapade full of wild animals, violent weather, famines, and deadly illnesses; John Bedford Lloyd’s stately narration brings it all to vivid life. Even with these adventurous details, the book focuses on the settlers’ indomitable spirits and lofty ideals, including their respect for the area’s Native Americans and steadfast objections to slavery. The Pioneers is a thrilling and illuminating frontier adventure.
Customer Reviews
A little zoomed-in on Ohio only
Great book and lots of info I didn’t yet know. Great audio reading! The title is a bit misleading. I think “the first settlers of Ohio” might be closer to accurate. It’s not really the broad book on all early American pioneers I hoped I’d get. Still good though.
Brilliant
Considering Ohio is a state I have thought about visiting exactly zero times, and had no idea of it’s importance in American history, or what is even there to be honest, I found this book absolutely fascinating. The journal entries that bring events to life, the gruesome massacres, Aaron Burr stirring up trouble…I could go on. Give it a listen if you have any interest in American history.
Settling Ohio Territory
This book is a fascinating tale of the settlement of Marietta, Ohio when it was considered America's western frontier. David McCullaough is not only a historian, but also a master storyteller and this book will entertain as well as educate the reader.