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Betsy Ross and the Making of America Paperback – June 7, 2011

4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 129 ratings

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Beyond the legend of the creation of the American flag, we know very little about the facts of Betsy Ross' life. Perhaps with one snip of her scissors she convinced the nation's future first president that five-pointed stars suited better than six. Perhaps not. Miller recovers for the first time the full story of Betsy Ross, sharing the woman as she truly was. Miller pieces together the fascinating life of this little-known and much beloved figure, showing that she is important to our history not just because she made a flag, but because she embraced the resistance movement with vigor, reveled in its triumphs, and suffered its consequences.

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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

MARLA R. MILLER, a historian of early American women and work, has made a career uncovering the lives of women who left little in the way of a documentary record. Her books include Betsy Ross and the Making of America. She is a Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and directs the Public History program there. She has won the Organization of American Historians’ Lerner- Scott Prize for the best dissertation in Women’s History and the 1998 Walter Muir Whitehill Prize in Colonial History.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition (June 7, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312576226
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312576226
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1.09 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 129 ratings

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4.2 out of 5 stars
129 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book informative, interesting, and well-researched. They describe it as an excellently written, meaningful read that offers insights into common life during history. Readers appreciate the historical accuracy and recommend it to American history teachers and students.

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17 customers mention "Information quality"17 positive0 negative

Customers find the book informative and interesting. They appreciate the detailed research and insights into common life on the edge of history. The book is considered a good resource and one of the most informative books on the artisan class.

"...These were real people and real experiences, not the usual dry recitations of politics and battles and tactics. I never liked American history...." Read more

"Awesome, entertaining, fascinating read bringing home the history of America's formation, particularly for the Philadelphia area and women working..." Read more

"...imaginative methods and exhaustive research, she has artfully sorted fact from fiction, uncovered a great deal of new information, and presented her..." Read more

"...They were the ones who worked, fought and died for it. Her exhaustive research not only led to new discoveries on my part, but connected the dots,..." Read more

15 customers mention "Readability"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They appreciate the author's empathy and storytelling style, which makes it easy to read by anyone. The book provides a good history lesson and is enjoyable for readers of biographies and history in general.

"...It is precisely the "sentimental fiction" that makes this book interesting to the general reader...." Read more

"...Meticously researched, insightful, easy to read and relate to. Well-done!" Read more

"...Dr Miller has given us a realistic account of the life of Betsy (Ross) Claypoole to replace the iconic one created by Charles H. Weisgerber in 1893..." Read more

"...Appreciate the work the author put into her text." Read more

11 customers mention "Historical accuracy"11 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the historical accuracy of the book. They find it a great addition to Revolutionary War history and recommend it to American history teachers and students. The book provides historical background on Betsy's family and immerses readers in the time period surrounding the Revolution. It helps readers become more discerning when sifting through facts.

"...of Betsy's life, despite the fact that these are the best documented years of her life...." Read more

"Very historical book...." Read more

"...Until now! Professor Miller's work is a major boon for other historians, and for all persons who have wanted to know more about Betsy..." Read more

"...upholsterers' trade in the 18th century and the Revolutionary War period in the Philadelphia area." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2010
    Normally when I review a book, I first read the book and write my review, then I read reviews written by other people. In the case of "Betsy Ross and the Making of America", my introduction to the book was via a review in the "New York Times Book Review" dated May 9, 2010. It was not a flattering review. The reviewer, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, a professor at Harvard, accuses the author, Marla R. Miller, a professor of American History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, of "sentimental fiction" which "weakens her own historical prose, which is strong enough to stand on its own" and "defeats the ultimate purpose of her book, which is to rediscover the woman behind the legend." Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the fact that, other than books for children, this is the first biography of Betsy Ross ever written. Intrigued enough to buy and read the book despite the poor review.

    By the end of the first chapter, I had forgotten about the scathing review and was completely hooked. I literally couldn't put the book down. This was American history as I had never read it before. These were real people and real experiences, not the usual dry recitations of politics and battles and tactics. I never liked American history. I felt it was boring compared to the thousands of years of history of Europe and the Mediterranean. Having been forced in high school to memorize every battle and every general of the Revolutionary War, I subsequently tuned out the following 200 years, learning just enough to pass exams while devoting my spare time to Egyptian pharaohs, Roman emperors and English kings who chopped their wives' heads off. Now that's history.

    It is precisely the "sentimental fiction" that makes this book interesting to the general reader. Rather than a dry overview of the development of the city of Philadelphia, we see it from the point of view of Betsy's great-grandfather, a master carpenter. It's one thing to read about the tactics, such as boycotts, the colonists used to protest what they perceived to be unfair taxation. It's quite another to read about the effects those boycotts had on the local artisans and merchants. The yellow fever epidemics that killed so many residents of Philadelphia are more meaningful when we learn of the various family members lost. Rather than just numbers, they are people that we have come to know. Small details like the families who were split between loyalty to the king and loyalty to the rebellion, illustrates the upheaval caused by this colonial rebellion much better than the usual political analysis commonly found in books on the American Revolution.

    The final criticism in the review with which I disagreed was that the author devoted "only" 50 pages out of a total of 362 pages to the last 40 years of Betsy's life, despite the fact that these are the best documented years of her life. I have to admit that after 300 pages, I was pretty much Betsy Ross'ed out. Not only was her life prior to and during the Revolution tumultuous (three husbands and seven daughters), but just trying to keep all the people, many of whom had the same names, straight made my head spin. The author's decision to gloss over the details of the latter part of Betsy Ross' life was a sound one. And, in the best Hollywood tradition, leaves room for a "sequel", a more in depth analysis of her life after the Revolution, to be written by the author or another historian.

    After I finished the book, I went back and read the review again. My second reading of the review led me to the conclusion that the problem lay in the intention of the author. The reviewer was critiquing the book from a scholarly point of view whereas it seemed to me that the author intended her book to be read by both scholars and general readers. Scholars are more interested in facts and conclusions supported by facts. Hence the harsh review. General readers like myself do tend to speculate as we read. What was she thinking? How would I have reacted in this situation? We enjoy seeing events through the eyes and emotions of ordinary people like ourselves rather than from the lofty perspective of presidents, kings and generals.
    62 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2014
    Awesome, entertaining, fascinating read bringing home the history of America's formation, particularly for the Philadelphia area and women working in the textile trades. Meticously researched, insightful, easy to read and relate to. Well-done!
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2010
    As a descendent of Betsy, I was thrilled to receive and read this book. Dr Miller has given us a realistic account of the life of Betsy (Ross) Claypoole to replace the iconic one created by Charles H. Weisgerber in 1893 with his famous picture "Birth of Our Nations Flag". Drawing on details from a vast number of resources, Marla sees her as exemplifying the industrious women whose needlework provided the comforts and attractive touches for households before the machine age. Marla brings to life a true patriot who could be emulated by young women today as we see again increased patriotic fervor.

    I was excited to read her take on the family story that Betsy met with George Washington, Morris and Ross and drew up a flag to their specifications, and added the 5-pointed star rather than 6 pointed. She weaves a theory of meeting with the committee amidst the "chaotic nature of rebellion" and the fact that these men may have come to ask her to make more than just a flag. Very plausible. She also agrees that, in fact, the five-pointed star did emerge as the standard, for which Betsy, her friends, and relatives reflected on with pride in the coming years.

    I was a little disappointed she did not use family and non-family evidence of this event more convincingly, much like my father, John B. Harker did in his book "Betsy Ross's Five Pointed Star". Marla was only willing to speculate that she "might" have made a "specimen flag" to Washington's design. She believes there are too many "infelecities" in the tale for an academic historian to sign on to the idea that Washington may have had a rough design adjusted by Betsy. What is too bad about her analysis is that she has more evidence in her footnotes that could have been put in the text to convince others that Betsy did produce and adapt the design of the flag for Washington as stated in the family history. Instead Marla says " The flag, like the Revolution it represents, was the work of many hands".

    Marla may have missed the possibility that two different flags were created by Betsy at this time. One was for the Pennsylvania Navy and had stars arranged in rows, and the other which Marla speculates that was made by Betsy was the circle of stars flag made for General Washington. The fact that the Flag Resolution of June 14, 1777 only refers to the arrangement of the stars as representing a "new constellation" and does not say they were "in a circle" would appear to confirm that Betsy had made a specimen flag at that time and all involved were fully aware of the simplicity of the layout of the five-pointed stars. This simplicity of design would have been much different than what Hopkinson may have designed, but for which a time strapped General Washington, Ross and Morris needed ASAP. My father's book clarifies this distinction quite nicely.

    Again, overall, a FIVE star read and kudo's to Marla for bringing the life and times of Betsy to a new American era of patriotic fervor, and showing us that Betsy was part of a community of folks, WOVEN together in desire for freedom, toiling to make life a bit better, and succeeding amidst the trials and tribulations that life brings to mortal humans.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2012
    Very historical book. I was disappointed that more was not written about Betsy and the other women in her life compared to the amount of info given on the men.I do realize that men were the prime focus at that time. I am usually a fast reader and this one took some time. Appreciate the work the author put into her text.
    One person found this helpful
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