John Fiske: Historian of Early America

[ScottP]

In past issues of PHR, I have tended to focus on specific subjects (such as Prince Henry "the Navigator" or French History). In this issue, I want to take the time to recommend a historian, whose range of historical works I am confident will satisfy any reader. That historian is John Fiske.

John Fiske (1842-1901) is a writer whose works have helped me to understand major topics in American history. His book, "The Critical Period of American History, 1783-1789," is definitely the best book I know of on the subject of the period immediately following the Revolutionary War. Another of his important titles is "The Discovery of America" (2 vols.), which has given me a deeper appreciation of the true place of Columbus in world history.

For books that examine delimited topics, Fiske's are remarkably accessible. Not surprisingly, this follows from the key premises that animate his work. In the preface to The Critical Period, Fiske writes, "I have aimed especially at grouping facts in such a way as to bring out and emphasize their causal sequence." If this weren't enough reason to recommend his works, Fiske is also obviously an admirer of the values that move history forward and that made America, and this makes his books all the more pleasurable to read. He writes admiringly of Columbus, and bluntly dismisses the Vikings (after accurately relaying the story of their wanderings). His admiration of the Founding Fathers, who, as he explains, "gave us a form of government under which we have just completed a century unparalleled for peace and prosperity," is obviously genuine. Fiske seems to have an especially keen sense of what is true and important to know about history.

As I scan the list of Fiske's writings, I am struck by the fact that he also seems to have been an advocate of the philosophy of Herbert Spencer, and that he wrote some interesting sounding titles on philosophy, but I cannot speak to the quality of those works. I recommend Fiske as a historian only. Though I haven't yet gotten to them myself, I look forward to reading his "The War of Independence" and "The Beginnings of New England," among other titles.

Best,

Scott Powell

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