Let the Cannon Blaze Away

Joseph P. Thompson (1819-1879) was asked to deliver these six lectures in five leading cities in Europe and Britain in the Centennial year of the United States as a Nation. The response was overwhelming. Put them in print, was the response in all five cities of Berlin, Dresden, Florence, Paris and London. He tells why he went to press in the following words: My purpose is to deal with my country in the candid spirit of historical criticism; and history, and, above all, the philosophy of history is what no lover of truth and of man should fear to unfold. Besides, if my country is under a cloud, shall I skulk behind that cloud, and, in the day of her calamity, seek to hide my nativity? There are Americans of whom I am ashamed; but I am not ashamed of America. There are things in America for which I blush; but I do not blush to own myself an American. If my country is dishonored, brave and manly words for her may be heroic deeds - from the Author’s Preface America needs this book at this hour. It is not however, only for Americans. Recall that these were lectures given in Europe and in Britain. I am often amazed at the ignorance of too many Americans regarding our own history. I am often just as amazed at the ignorance of the rest of the world with regard to America and its institutions. Too many Americans today are ashamed of America. Too many non-Americans display a sense of superiority to America. Joseph Thompson’s ‘Let The Cannon Blaze Away’ should go a long way to correct both of these errors. -David Dykstra, from The New Introduction