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The Perils of Peace: America's Struggle for Survival After Yorktown

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Thomas Fleming's The Perils of Peace traces the two years of the American Revolutionary War after the great victory at Yorktown and how close our nation came to total financial as well as military collapse thanks to the self-interest and self-centered actions of Congress and the local state governments. Anyone reading this book would no longer able to say that America's victory at Yorktown sealed the independence of our nation when in ironic turnaround, the victory at Yorktown almost sealed the fate our nation in defeat.

I found the book to be well written and well researched. While the subject matter isn't ground-breaking, it is an area of American history that most Americans are not very familiar with. Reading this book will bound to astound many readers. Self-centered and self-seeking Congress of our period have nothing on the Continental Congress back then. The book also gives a strong case for a strong central federal government and laid seed to why the Articles of the Confederation failed and strong Constitution was needed to run our nation.

Two main founding fathers emerged from Thomas Fleming's book that saved our nation, Benjamin Franklin who kept the alliance with France going and with that, badly needed money from France that was also ironically, bankrupting that nation as well. Then we have George Washington who was still trying to win a war that everyone thought was already won. Both men struggled hard since they were the only main characters of the book who really had their eyes on the ball for the long haul. Another founding father, John Adams, suffered greatly by the author, as man who suffered mightily from his own sense of self-importance as well extreme jealousy of Franklin.

The book carefully traces the military, political and financial events that made it clear that our nation was more in danger after Yorktown then before. Also clearly told were the in-fighting among the British and the in-fighting among the Americans as they slogged to the finished line with a peace treaty both sides can live with. After reading this book, the reader will muse in sheer wonderment how our nation came through this period in one piece.

Any reader may also note that this period of the war really wasn't one of our finest moments in history as the fates of white loyalists and black slaves under British protection faced a harsh vendetta by the Americans. Part of this as the author notes, was due to Franklin's distaste for his son, William Franklin, a turncoat loyalist.

The book come highly recommended to anyone interested in the American Revolutionary War period and who like expand their knowledge in the details of what happened between the British surrender at Yorktown and the peace treaty that granted independence to our nation.

Thomas Fleming's "The Perils of Peace" is an enjoyable narrative that effectively illustrates the difficulties the United States faced between the climactic battle of Yorktown and the signing of the peace treaty. It's a fairly quick read and relatively suspenseful. I was glad to learn more about this oft-overlooked period of the Revolution.

What I most like about the book is the way Fleming keeps the reader apprised of the developments in England, France and the U.S. He provides an interesting look into the upheaval in George III's government, as well as the discontent among American peacemakers and the shockingly bad financial management by Congress. Having read books about Hamilton, Adams, Franklin and Jefferson, I wondered how much new information I'd learn, but I was pleasantly surprised.

While the subject matter is interesting, it's not so riveting that it provides 230 pages of a gripping drama. It's good, and Fleming does an effective job with it; I would recommend it to history buffs. But I wouldn't put it in the category of historical narratives that transcend history and would appeal to the average reader. For those like myself with an interest in this period, it's well worth the time and shouldn't take too long to read. All in all, a pretty solid book from Fleming.

The British surrender at Yorktown in 1781 hardly made the independence of the United States a done deal, as Thomas Fleming amply demonstrates in this fast-paced narrative. In fact, considering the pitiful state of Washington's Army, the bankruptcy of the new government, the fecklessness of Congress, and political back-stabbing and conniving at home and abroad, it is something of a miracle that America made it through to the final signing of the peace in 1783.

Fleming casts a welcome light on these events, with ample attention to the issues, the personalities, the military and diplomatic maneuvers, and the small telling anecdotes (the last British soldiers out of New York in 1783 pettily greased the flagpole, in a vain attempt at preventing the Americans from raising Old Glory!)

The author has very decided opinions about the character and competence of everyone involved in the struggle; George Washington comes out as one Great Man, with Ben Franklin a close second. I have no quarrel with this, but fans of the Virginia Lees and Ethan Allen, among others, are likely to take exception to Fleming's characterizations (he flatly accuses Allen of "stealing" Vermont from New York!) The British politicians are given rough handling, although George III comes across as a strong ruler.

In short, "The Perils of Peace" is a partisan but worthwhile history. Although the book stops in 1783, it also provides enough background to be useful for the study of the following period, 1783 - 1789, that led up to the adoption of the U. S. Constitution.

A most valuable book for all those who want to understand and appreciate the fragileness of our country's early days after the Declaration of Independence, during the long war, and especially from Yorktown to the Peace of Paris. The years from 1781-1783 were perilous times. The War was not really over; George III did not want to give the fledging United States independence; George Washington's Continental Army was a shambles; the "country" was bankrupt; the Continental Congress was useless.

Mr. Fleming does a superb job of depicting and explaining one near tragedy after another as well as all the real tragedies that did occur in those years of 1781-1783. Was it luck, was it Providence, was it the slowness of across the Atlantic communication, was it some combination of all three and other factors that made it so fortuitous that this country survived before it was stomped to death in its infancy?

If you want to know, then read this book. Excellent use of sources, easily accessible writing, very emotionally gripping, important information to have in every American's head. This book would be perfect to be read and taught in every high school in our country.

I'll give Fleming five stars for choice of subject matter and three stars for execution. This area of American history certainly needs more ink, and I have no problem with it presented in narrative form. The problem with history presented in a narrative format is how deep do I go? And how do I sustain that chosen depth through out the narrative? Fleming struggles with this problem throughout the book. It is uneven, thin in many spots, and all too often downright patronising. Plus there is a bit of the old "it was a miracle" feeling, a sin committed by too many historians and writers of this era. That having been said I commend Fleming for choosing this subject matter. The years after Yorktown and the entire era of the Articles of Confederation are little understood by the American people. It has been the domain of scholars. This book for all its flaws is a step in the right direction.

I liked this book and learned a lot from it, but it was not exactly what I had expected it to be. I expected a book that detailed the military perils that existed after the American victory at Yorktown. The battles between Loyalists and Rebels in the southern states are discussed, as are Washington's attempts to have his troops paid and thereby prevent a full-scale mutiny. However, the book is first and foremost a political history of the development and signing of the Treaty of Paris that ended the Revolutionary war. As such, most (but certainly not all) of the action takes place in Paris and London, rather than in the America. The book focuses on the complex political maneuverings that were required before the terms of the treaty could be agreed upon. It shows how the worldwide nature of the conflict played a very important role in deciding things, as did the financial drain the war was having in Britain and France as well as in the fledging United States. Much of the story is thus economic as well as political. The book shows how Ben Franklin was instrumental in developing the treaty and discusses his opponents in Congress who fought him at every turn. Had they prevailed the war might have dragged on, possibly leading to an eventual British victory.

An important secondary theme of the book is how the reluctance of the various states to pay for the war almost led to defeat, or to the victorious Continental Army imposing a military dictatorship in order to get the pay that was promised to them. Without Washington's firm leadership this may well have been the case. As it was, the army did force Congress to flee Philadelphia. The question of taxes has particular relevance to our own times.

This book answered several questions for which I had not heretofore found a good answer. It detailed the military engagement that led to the death of John Laurens and explained why Spain received Florida as part of the peace treaty. Laurens death is typically only mentioned in most books, but not explained and neither is why Spain was apparently rewarded even though she was not engaged in the fighting in America (it was a trade for relinquishing claim to Gibraltar).

I liked this book; it is well written and is a good narrative history. I was a bit disappointed by the photographs, which in this paperback edition are printed on the same coarse paper as the text, but they are quite clear and legible. I give the book five-stars, even though it was not quite what I expected it to be. Those who want to learn more about how the Treaty of Paris will find this book of great interest, but those who are primarily interested in a military history are apt to be disappointed.

The Perils of Peace: America's Struggle for Survival After Yorktown by Thomas Fleming (Paperback - Sep 30, 2008) 368 pages

The British forces under LTG Charles Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown on the 19th of October 1781. The Treaty of Paris officially ending the conflict between the 13 independent states and the British crown was signed on the 13th of September in 1783 (ratification documents were exchanged on the 12th of May 1784.) This book is about the period between the surrender at Yorktown and the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 which formally ended the war a period of almost two years. Two years in which battles occurred, troops mutinied, and economies collapsed. Two years which have been mostly forgotten by Americans. Two years of Clasuwitzian struggles in which the war could just as easily have been lost.

Though this book is about war it adheres to the Clauswitzian notion of war as a continuation of politics and hence it is brutal political warfare which is focused on. Very little of the text talks about those battles which occurred both in America and around the world during this two year period. Most Americans will be surprised to learn that there were still battles in America which occurred after Yorktown and that this was a global war with battles fought in India, Europe, and the Caribbean. The bulk of this text shuttles between the political players in France, the US, and in London. Occasionally it makes a stop in the Continental Army to show how these events affected that body soldiers. A body of soldiers who were poorly paid, if paid at all, living on inferior rations, wearing rags as often as uniforms, getting little or no support from the American people.

To those readers who believe that we live in an era of political nastiness this book will come as a bit of a shock. The vigorous infighting among the Americans and even among the British will surprise many readers. The myths of the founding are stripped away and the bruising battles for control, the egoism, and the competing viewpoints will stun many readers. War is hell and politics are worse it seems. Many familiar figures like Washington, Hamilton, Burr, Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams struggle to exert their ideas and impose their vision on the new country.

A country which did not want to be a country, which saw it self as 13 independent countries. This was generally the case except among those men would become the Federalists and those in the Continental Army. It is that struggle between states and a central authority which characterizes the entire American experience the individual vs. the collective. You see its origins and its fault lines laid out in the competing agendas and egos of the founders. That we survived has perhaps more to do with the fact that England stood at the precipice and blinked.

The political situation in England, the party struggle in parliament the manipulations by King George III are well documented. They are also dizzying in the test of nerves and the Kings attempt to control the shaping of the situation. I had not realized how intimately involved, how hands on George the Third was during this war. The military focus of England certainly changed when France entered the war and in many ways the struggle in North America became for them a side show. Yet the King never lost hope that the colonies could be put once more under his rule. He had far more faith than his ministers who eventually took advantage of a small window of opportunity to make the Treaty of Paris possible. This window of opportunity was small, had it been missed, had there been greater perseverance to the war aims perhaps the Americans would have imploded.

Franklin and Washington stand out in this text as pillars of their era as heads and shoulders above all around them. Men of vision capable of staying the course, using compromise, and charisma to achieve that vision. To these two men we owe a debt of gratitude which belies simple explanation or mythologizing.

The book is well researched and annotated, it is well written and a dry subject such as interpersonal negotiation and scheming is informative and more importantly readable. It does require some effort to get through given the complexity of what was going on though the author has does a good job of laying it out.

The Perils of Peace provides a comprehensive and fascinating look at the pivotal years after Yorktown on which the fate of the newly formed United States hung. While many assume the war simply ended after Yorktown it took another two years for the British to surrender and this time of "peace" nearly proved to be the undoing of the United States. From a demoralized American army that could not seek battle with the enemy to a broke United States treasury that could not buy basic supplies nor raise the requisite taxes to pay the interest on the debt the country stood paralyzed to fall. As states became mini-fiefdoms under various local governors and the army begin to foment revolts those that we call founding fathers stepped forward to master the chaos.
What this book does better than many that come before it, is to show what was happening on both sides of the oceans. The European theater was pivotal during these times especially the military action at Gibraltar. In addition to the military actions the author pays a lot of attention to domestic British affairs and international diplomacy. With the fall of the North ministry after Yorktown and the rise of the successive coalitions a greater emphasis for peace is made even with some glaringly dangerous concessions are offered (fortunately for the British those are not acted on).
This book is detailed, well researched and holds the readers interest. It reads as if it was a diplomatic thriller and times you just can't wait to see the next development. It is truly historical writing at its best and what you expect from Thomas Fleming. Overall a highly recommend read.

This is the best book I have read on the two year period of America's history starting just after Washington's victory over Cornwallis at Yorktown and concluding with his retirement to Mount Vernon after the final Treaty of Paris is executed. Others have said it before but the profusion of individual special interests, the self-interested sovereignty of the individual States and the complete lack of a functioning Congress to even execute the American Revolution's Peace Treaty almost assured the collapse of the United States into vicious civil war before the new nation was formally recognized by the rest of the world!

Incredibly, the first Continental Congress required unanimity, total agreement of all the States, before binding legislation on all the States could be adopted. Time and again Rhode Island, the smallest, would go out of their way to obfuscate legislation designed promote the common good. So acrimonious was Rhode Island that not only was the Continental Army not paid during the war, the Army was sent home, disbanded, without receiving its back pay or promised benefits. Yes, that's right; Congress welched on their obligations to the soldiers who fought to gain our independence, sending them home without their pay, food, transportation, medicines or clothing. And remember, the soldiers walked back then, hundreds and hundreds of miles to their homes without so much as a by-your-leave!

Informative, enormously entertaining and well written in the extreme, this spellbinding work is a fascinating look at how the United States could have fallen into the Terror that plagued France after its Revolution. This is a work to savor and enjoy. We were an angel in the whirlwind and it was all of our own making.

This is a book about extraordinary people, not only Washington and Franklin, but lesser known figures and the militia. I want to know more about poor Thomas Paine (I pity the man) and Franklin's "turncoat" son. I want to know why the militia didn't mutiny like was threatened so often. A book like this leads to other books and stimulates the mind.
It is well organized into subchapters that allow the reader to digest bite size pieces.
Improvements? I'd like a glossary of people. At times, it was hard to follow everything that was going on between Parliament and our ineffective Continental Congress. (Did these men actually want independence or not. I got to read more about this group.) And even though the timeline was only a couple of years, a monthly milestone chart would have helped.
The book gets bogged down, I think, in the chapter that dealt with the debates in Parliament. Here is where a name chart would have been helpful to understand all the players.
I haven't read a lot about this period within our history but I am glad that this is one of the first that I had read. It will lead to others.