Vindication

Despite his Quaker beginnings, Nathanael Greene became a very strong believer in the patriot cause.  He firmly believed in the struggle for liberty, even if he was not at the forefront of political theory.   While he did not have as firm a grasp of the logic of rebellion as a Jefferson or Adams, he did manage to come down on the right side.  All things considered, rebellion was the logical choice for the colonies.  Nathanael led the military phase of the American Revolution and was responsible for the fruitation of patriot ideology more than any other soldier save his mentor, George Washington.  He matured politically while serving for his country and became a firm nationalist and advocate for a strong central government.  Here he probably would have led the intellectual struggle had he not passed away so early.  His beliefs were later justified by the ineptitude of the Articles of the Confederation and the endurance of the Constitution.  For his role in creating and preserving the United States of America, Nathanael Greene deserves much more credit than he has received.

Notes

1. David McCullough, 1776. (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005), 22.
2. Terry Golway, Washington’s General: Nathanael and the Triumph of the American Revolution. (New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2005), 21.
3. Ibid., 33.
4. Ibid., 34.
5. Ibid., 37.
6. Ibid., 38.
7. Ibid.
8. Gaspee Virtual Achieves. “Research Notes on Rufus Greene, Jr. (c1748-1831).” February 2005. <http://gaspee.org/RufusGreene.htm&gt; (2 November 2005).
9. Golway, 42.
10. Ibid, 44.
11. Bernard Bailyn, The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 1967), 144.
12. Golway, 156.
13. Ibid, 156-157.
14. Leckie, Robert. George Washington’s War: The Saga of the American Revolution. (New York, NY: HarperPerenial, 1992), 248-249.
15. McCullough, 250.
16. Bailyn, 1.
17. Golway, 42
18. Leckie, 594.
19. Nathanael Greene, The Papers of General Nathanael Greene Vol. 7, ed. Dennis Conrad et al. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1994.<http://adh.sc.edu/ dynaweb/MEP/ng/@Generic__BookTextView/315;td=2;hf=0> (26 October 2005)
20. Stephen E. Haller, William Washington: Cavalryman of the Revolution. (Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 2001), 69.
21. John M. Dederer, “Making Bricks without Straw: Nathanael Greene’s Southern Campaigns and Mao Tse-Tung’s Mobile War.” Military Affairs Vol. 47, No. 3. (Oct., 1983) <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-3931%28198310%2947%3A3%3C115%3AMBWSNG% 3E2.0.CO%3B2-W>, 115-121> (26 October 2005), 119.
22. Golway, 128.
23. Ibid, 235.
24. Ibid, 314.
25. Ibid, 185.
26. Ibid, 310.

References

Bailyn, Bernard. The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press, 1967.

Dederer, John M. “Making Bricks without Straw: Nathanael Greene’s Southern Campaigns and   Mao Tse-Tung’s Mobile War.” Military Affairs Vol. 47, No. 3. (Oct., 1983) <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-3931%28198310%2947%3A3%3C115%3AMBWSNG%    3E2.0.CO%3B2-W>, 115-121> (26 October 2005).

Gaspee Virtual Achieves. “Research Notes on Rufus Greene, Jr. (c1748-1831).” February 2005. <http://gaspee.org/RufusGreene.htm&gt; (2 November 2005).

Golway, Terry. Washington’s General: Nathanael and the Triumph of the American Revolution. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2005.

Greene, Nathanael. The Papers of General Nathanael Greene Vol. 7, ed. Dennis Conrad et al. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1994. <http://adh.sc.edu/dynaweb/MEP/ng/@Generic__BookTextView/315;td=2;hf=0&gt; (26 October 2005)

Haller, Stephen E. William Washington: Cavalryman of the Revolution. Bowie, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 2001.

Leckie, Robert. George Washington’s War: The Saga of the American Revolution. New York, NY: HarperPerenial, 1992.

McCullough, David. 1776. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005.