1619

Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy

De: James Horn

Narrado por: Dan Woren

The essential history of the extraordinary year in which American democracy and American slavery emerged hand in hand in Virginia

“If anyone today knows colonial Virginia, it is James Horn.” —Wall Street Journal

Along the banks of the James River, during an oppressively hot spell in the middle of summer 1619, two events occurred within a month of one another that would profoundly shape the course of history. At the end of July, the General Assembly—the first representative governing body in America—met in the newly built church at Jamestown. Several weeks later, two battered privateers entered the Chesapeake Bay carrying the first African slaves to arrive in mainland English America.

In 1619, historian James Horn sheds new light on the year that gave birth to the most important political development in American history, the rise of democracy, and then emergence of what would in time become one of the nation’s greatest challenges: the corrosive legacy of slavery and racism that has afflicted America ever since.

Questioning many of the cherished myths of our founding, 1619 is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand America’s true beginnings.

Reseñas de la Crítica

“James Horn’s 1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy tells the story of this momentous year, when colonial founders tried to put into place the kind of rational, civil society Americans today might see as our own goal as we live through yet another fractious era in American history. If anyone today knows colonial Virginia, it is James Horn.”
—Wall Street Journal

"Horn's elegant story-telling and plain prose, supported by a wealth of scholarship and knowledge of the founding of Virginia, provide an easily read journey in time as we are introduced to the details of Virginia's early decades."—Roanoke Times

"Readers may question whether the 1619 election deeply influenced our institutions, but it was the first, and Horn has expertly illuminated a little-known era following Jamestown's settlement."—Kirkus

"Horn's observations allow for a better understanding of the colonists' conflicting views toward Native peoples in this well-documented work for readers of history, especially the precolonial era."—Library Journal

"Horn's detailed analysis of events reveals how these twin events foreshadowed what would culminate in America's birth as a nation."—Booklist

"This well-told account is strongest in its exploration of the conflicts among various English factions: in the 17th century, the utopian ideals of the earliest colonists clashed with and succumbed to mercantilist designs of private property, government by an elite planter class, conquest, and slavery."—Publishers Weekly

"Freedom and slavery in America were born at the same time and the same place, two hundred years ago in Virginia. Master historian James Horn tells these two inextricably linked stories in his powerful new book, 1619: Jamestown and the Forging of American Democracy. Inspired by a vision of establishing a just commonwealth, the Virginia Company authorized the first meeting of an elected legislature in English America in late July or early August; a few weeks later an English privateer sold approximately 20 enslaved Africans to Virginia planters. If at the first the coincidence seemed unremarkable to colonists, its consequences soon proved fateful for Virginia-and ultimately for America. If the tragic legacies of racial slavery are still with us, so too is the possibility of progress in an enlightened, self-governing commonwealth."—Peter S. Onuf, University of Virginia

Good book

Lots of information, well presented. Must read for everyone that wants to understand how and why we are here.

My History

The great moment the Johnson story and my Mon history in Va. my Dad Maryland.

Meh....

Narrator did a nice job. I just found the content to be somewhat boring. You may enjoy it however!

Clear and vitally important

As so many conversations revolve around the 1619 project, I wanted to read the original book about that year and the significance of the events that took place. This book was absolutely excellent. It is short but not too short. It covers three groups of people all of whom had extremely different experiences during colonial times. Those people and their experiences have shaped the America we know today. Thank you.

Great book

I highly recommend this book. It tells the real story about our history.
Everyone should read it.