The Pioneers

By David McCullough,

Book cover of The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West

Book description

As part of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the new United States of America, Britain ceded the land that comprised the immense Northwest Territory, a wilderness empire northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. A Massachusetts minister…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked The Pioneers as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

McCullough’s last book is about the history of pioneers in the Northwest Territory. It is the same place and period as my novel. The first tool McCullough shows pioneers using is a saw to cut lumber. The first business, my book's main character, Tom Beard knows he needs to attract and does is a lumber mill. When McCullough iterates the goods available from the first trading post the largest supply they have is of whiskey. The second business Beard attracts, and knows he must to build population is a distillery. McCullough and I are telling the same story it’s just…

From Sam's list on creating civilization.

One of the best ways to learn about leadership is to study history. A good starting point is anything written by Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian David McCullough. In this book he recounts an important period of American history—the settling of the Northwest Territory. The pioneers exhibited incredible leadership and bravery in the face of primitive and dangerous living conditions. One takeaway from the book is that you will learn about the importance of this territory in the fight to eliminate slavery. 

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Interested in pioneers, the American West, and American Indians?

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