Friends of Liberty: A Tale of Three Patriots, Two Revolutions, and a Tragic Betrayal of Freedom in the New Nation

by Gary B. Nash and Graham Russell Gao Hodges

Book Overview

Friends of Liberty tells the remarkable story of three men whose lives were braided together by issues of liberty and race that fueled revolutions across two continents. Thomas Jefferson wrote the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465048145
• ISBN13: 9780465048144
• Release Date: March 2008
• Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

A very unique argument setting the stage for the most tragic period of American history

Yes the book is highly speculative and contains many inferences to seemingly unprovable historical narrative. Yes the book can be a little uneven in the segues between the triumvirate of intertwined characters. Yes, as a history, the book is severely lacking. But the authors admittedly said so from the get-go. I for one, found it a very good read indeed...and very thought provoking, full of "what-ifs" and "could have beens". What if the main framer of the first successful application of the basic "Rights of man" in recorded history had had the courage to apply rather than obfuscate the ideals he so apparently cherished? Would Grippy himself have lived to see his fellow African-Americans gain the equality under the eyes of man that Jefferson so eloquently stamped in parchment? What could have been if only Kosciuszko had come back to the States to continue his ultimately futile attempts to coerce Jefferson, who had the power, to fully embrace and act on the ideals that Kosciuszko, who had no power, never wavered from 'til his dying day? Could the near-Armageddon of the Civil War been wiped off the books a half-century before it happened? Alas we will never know. What we do know is that this rather intriguing trio of true Patriots, so integrally linked by their own experiences and interactions, makes for a fascinating insight into what CAN happen when lack of personal courage forces abandonment of principles. No matter how minor it may look at the time, the consequences of the betrayal of a single man's own principles can often be judged by history to be exponentially more consequential than could possibly have been imagined in retrospect. As it happened with Jefferson's twisted betrayal of Kosciuszko's final wishes, Agrippa Hull's influence on history was a wasted opportunity. And so it goes that the first "four-score and seven" years of this country continued to be stained by the blight of slavery, only ending at the expense of over half a million American lives.

Jefferson's dilemma

Very interesting story of three very different participants in the American Revolution: Jefferson, Kosciuszko, and Hull. The book follows the three men faithfully from birth to their death and beyond and at first it reads like a story of parallel lives (with a few intersections). Kosciuszko can be considered a binding figure among the three. He knew Jefferson and Hull very well and he participated in both revolutions mentioned in the subtitle (the one in America and the one in Poland). Jefferson, of course, will always remain a towering figure as the author of the Declaration of Independence and later the third president of the United States. Agrippa Hull, on the other hand, plays the unsatisfying role of someone who could very little to change history. But there is more. This refers to the last part of the subtitle: "a tragic betrayal of freedom in the new nation." Historians for a long time pointed to the contradictions in the lives and thoughts of the founders of the new nation. Jefferson probably gets the most coverage. Usually because despite his authorship of the famous words "all men are created equal," he didn't seem worthwhile to free his own slaves, even in his will (only a few were given freedom). Further, even when promoting (in principle) liberation of slaves, he didn't see them equal and able to live among the whites. His affair with Sally Hemings adds still another aspect to the same problem. Nash and Hodges explore the same subject through the fascinating story of Kosciuszko's testament. In his last visit to the United States, Kosciuszko asked Jefferson to be the executor of his will. The will designated Kosciuszko's American estate to buy the freedom of American slaves and contribute to their education. In the same manner, parts of his Polish funds were to be used to free his serfs at his estate in Poland. Although the matter seemed simple, Kosciuszko's American wishes had never been fulfilled. Jefferson, who could have had use the money to buy freedom of his own slaves, struggled with making any decision and finally resigned his obligations to execute the will. Nash and Hodges focus on Jefferson, but don't neglect a broader context of the dispute. After all Jefferson was deeply involved in Virginia's life, society, and politics and the state was not exactly the most friendly to blacks. Unfortunately, Jefferson did not show the independence and courage to stand up to the Virginia's elites. Kosciuszko wrote his American will in 1798 and he died in 1817, but the dispute over the will ended only in 1852 with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. Here we encounter another name from American history, Chief Justice Roger Taney, who is better known for the 1857 Dred Scott decision upholding slavery in the United States. The court ruled that Kosciuszko's will is invalid and the estate should be distributed amongst the Polish claimants. Although the ruling was technically based on the existence of multiple

The Cause of Liberty: An American Aristocrat, a Polish Aristocrat, and an American Black Freeman

This book focuses on the friendship of Thomas Jefferson and Thaddeus Kosciuszko (especially in the 1790's), and that between the latter and Agrippa Hull. Kosciuszko was a military engineer, and played a vital role in the American victory over the British at Saratoga. (p. 52) As an engineer, Kosciuszko was also impressed with the achievements of black craftsmen, categorically rejected the notion of innate black inferiority, and favored interracial mixing. The best-known African American related to the American Revolution is probably Crispus Attucks. This book, in contrast, highlights the achievements of Agrippa Hull, a freeman who lived in Massachusetts. "Grippy" became a lifelong friend of Kosciuszko. Another black friend of Kosciuszko was "Negro John". He stayed at Kosciuszko's side in his abortive uprising against the foreign conquerors of Poland. Rousseau had diagnosed the problems facing Kosciuszko's Poland. It had degenerated into a society of extreme disparities in social status and personal wealth. A small fraction of the nobility was very wealthy and influential. The lesser nobility differed little from serfs except in the name. The rich nobility put self-interest ahead of Poland's interest, voting down anything that would lessen their influence (through the liberum veto), favoring a weak military and disorganized government, and often siding with Poland's enemies for personal gain. (This culminated at Targowica). De facto white-on-white slavery existed in Poland: The position of serfs in late 18th-century Poland was little different from that of black slaves in America. (p. 32). Kosciuszko was determined to change that. He came from the lower gentry, and hated tyranny--whether in Poland of the USA. The May 3, 1791 Polish Constitution was very progressive, and was enthusiastically received in France, the USA, etc. (pp. 100-101). It overhauled many of the inequities in Polish society, amounting to a de facto coup de'etat, and changing the nobleman-serf relationship from a master-slave relationship to a contractual one. But Poland's enemies were already at the gate, and it was too little too late. A last-ditch stand by Kosciuszko's forces in 1794 failed to prevent the final Partition of Poland, which was not to be reversed for another 123 years. By 1800, and again at 1815, Kosciuszko called for the emancipation of the serfs as part of a broader European plan that would resurrect the Polish nation. (p. 172, 209) It was not to be. Initially, Thomas Jefferson had favored the prompt abolition of slavery. But he also believed in innate black inferiority, and supposed that blacks and whites could not function together in America. For this reason, he came to think of slavery as something that would have to end "someday", and that blacks needed to be sent back to Africa (Liberia, etc.). He never fulfilled Kosciuszko's will, which was to free the slaves he owned and to provide for their education.

Real History

An extremely interesting book. It tells what actually happened in history and does it with excellent writing.