Sacred Revolt: The Muskogees' Struggle for a New World [Paperback]

Joel Martin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1993 | ISBN-10: 0807054038 | ISBN-13: 978-0807054031

The Muskogees' Struggle for a New World

"In Sacred Revolt Joel Martin places the 1813-1814 revolt of the people who were called 'Creek Indians' in the context of world history while forsaking nothing of the texture of their own culture. With a deft use of multiple perspectives, he has rewritten a chapter in the history of the Old South. His book will do much to freshen stale ways of thinking about a valiant people." -Charles Hudson, author of The Southeastern Indians

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Martin's groundbreaking scholarly study places in a new, religious context the bloodiest battle between the U.S. Army and Native Americans, fought in 1814 along the Tallapoosa River in what is now Alabama.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In a compelling counterpoint to viewing colonial Indian-white relations as a series of uneven battles or unfair massacres, author Martin traces the cultural/religious history of the Muskogee "Creeks" from precontact times, through a century of nation-to-nation dealings with European traders, to a culmination of this interaction in the 1814 revolt against the U.S. Army at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. Placed in a Muskogee context, this revolt is more than an uprising against white encroachment; it is the culmination of an ongoing effort by the Muskogees for cultural reaffirmation. Part of a growing body of literature in which Native Americans are viewed as dynamic participants in the events that encompass their worlds, this is an important contribution to U.S. history collections.
-Mary B. Davis, Huntington Free Lib., Bronx, New York
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (April 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807054038
• ISBN-13: 978-0807054031
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #933,319 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Work of Native American, Religious and U.S. History, February 23, 2007

By 

Along Red River of the North "JMS" (Moorhead, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Revolt: The Muskogees' Struggle for a New World (Paperback)

Do not pay attention to the other reviewer's (Lilley Fleming) unsubstantiated critique of the author's historical interpretation or writing ability. This solid monograph has been rightly praised by Charles Hudson, the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History, and Tony Hillerman (a guy who knows a lot about good writing).

As a result of intense European American encroachment on their lands (state of Georgia, Andy Jackson and local militias) and assimilationist (Christian missionaries, federal agents) pressures on their culture, some Muscogees (Creeks) initiated a prophetic religious revitalization ("Redstick") movement to regain power and shape the future according to their own beliefs.

Martin's scholarship is based on substantial research that accords with a long line of "post-contact religious resistance" by various Native communities in American Indian history (e.g., Pueblo Revolt (1680), Neolin - the Lenape (Delaware) prophet in Pontiac's Revolt (1763), the Seneca Handsome Lake and the Longhouse Religion (1799), Tecumseh and his brother the Shawnee Prophet(1811), and the various Ghost Dance movements (1870s and 1890s).

The only reason for the four-star rating is Martin's occassional lapses into academic jargon.

7 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lacking in Literary Merit, November 20, 2002

By 

Lilley Fleming (Columbia, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Revolt: The Muskogees' Struggle for a New World (Paperback)

It is often said that history is written by those who win it. In Joel Martin's Sacred Revolt, the effort is made to stem the tide of assumption, broad generalization, and one-sided commentary of Southeastern American history. Unfortunately, this noble idea is unattainable in a historical monograph that falls prey to the same falliabilities as the histories it critiques. Due to the author being raised in the South,( born in Opelika, Alabama several miles from the actual site of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend of 1814) he is biased toward the subject. Martin's quest for the redemption of this particular piece of history is influenced greatly by his own beliefs. Interpreting, and thereby changing, history to suit his own needs makes this piece uncomfortably similar to the works it condemns. All this in additiion to an editor who seems to have given up half way through, has the reader questioning whether or not the author ever enrolled in English 101.