Unbecoming British: How Revolutionary America Became a Postcolonial Nation - History Book on American Revolution & Colonial Independence - Perfect for Students, Historians & History Enthusiasts

The title of this book exploits the different possible meanings of "unbecoming." The word can be a gerund, suggesting a process by which, in this case, a group becomes something other than what it was or might have been. In this sense, during the years following the Revolutionary War, Americans were unbecoming British. But the word can also be an adjective suggesting impropriety. Although Americans were able to politically separate themselves from Great Britain, they were awkward and uneasy. They were, to use the word as an adjective, unbecoming British when it came to their quest for cultural respectability and economic standing. In Chapter One, Yokota points out that during the period in question, map-making and the publication of geography textbooks for Americans highlighted the tensions between dependence on, versus independence from, Europe and especially Great Britain. Americans might have been standing tall. But they were doing so along the undeveloped margin of civilization. Chapter Two reveals how it was more feasible for Americans to exploit the value of the impressive natural resources they controlled than it was for them to build factories that could produce fine manufactures. Consequently, in exchange for the bounties of their new homeland, Americans imported consumer items from Great Britain. Although the colonists had won the war, residents of the vanquished empire got a revenge of sorts when they produced and sold to Americans coveted consumer goods. In Chapter Three, Yokota tells the sometimes-funny story of trade with China initiated by America in 1784. She explains that in those early years Great Britain far outpaced and overshadowed America. Not until after the War of 1812 did the U.S. gain real momentum in international trade. In Chapter Four, the author expands on her main idea by pointing out the differences between European and American scientists and missionaries. Regarding the latter, Yokota anticipates her next chapter by showing how American missionaries to native peoples failed in their outreach partly because they wanted to maintain a cultural distance that would ensure their shaky identity. Chapter Five explains how, in relation to Indians and people of African descent, Americans of European descent claimed whiteness as the one object of refinement they did not have to purchase from abroad. In a conclusion, titled "The Long Goodbye," Yokota brings together the main ideas of her book and ends with a flourish. The outstanding feature of the entire book is that Yokota intelligently reads not only texts, but also objects like portraits, cartoons, buildings, and items made of porcelain. This is a brilliant piece of work.