Customer Reviews

William Blount (Southern biography series)

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Mr. Masterson's biography of the relatively little known William Blount is thorough and very readable. An amazing amount of detail is amassed on the life of this North Carolinian turned Tennessean. There are 347 pages on the speculator, governor, senator and speaker ending in his disgrace on the National scene, then embrace within his new home state of Tennessee.

My interest in Mr. Blount was as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, unfortunately this is a period of his life for which the record is less detailed. It appears his contribution at the convention was minimal - guided at times by his long-term financial interests, western land speculation. Mr. Madison's notes in Max Farrand's three volume publication also make little mention of Mr. Blount. His impact on the Constitution seems slight or as with some of the other delegates may be hidden to history within the unrecorded record of his state (NC) delegation. In any event expect little on the topic of the Constitutional Convention!

While the text is quite readable and no special prior knowledge is necessary, the book at times stumbles from simple structural failures - or inadequate copy editing. Characters come and go with very little development and sometimes very little introduction. As a result the cast of characters is seldom fully absorbed. The reader can often be left to backtrack through the book to "re-introduce" the character... or alternately to press on indomitably through the book in the vain hope of not missing issues of importance for ignorance of the cast.

The alternatives to this biography are few - Blount apparently does not attract the historical interest necessary. "Some Account of The Life and Services of William Blount...", by Marcus J. Wright, published in 1884 is sadly dated and of little historic worth for its lovingly whitewashed treatment of its hero.

Mr. Blount is an odd character worth learning if you have an interest in the period (1749-1800). The first U.S. Senator impeached, he conspired to foment war in the west for his own pecuniary interest in land speculation - and had the poor judgement and bad luck to document his own treason in a handwritten letter that fell into the hands of his political enemies - the Federalists.