The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West
The #1 New York Times bestseller by Pulitzer Prize–winning historian David McCullough rediscovers an important chapter in the American story that’s “as resonant today as ever” (The Wall Street Journal)—the settling of the Northwest Territory by courageous pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would define our country.
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 named Manasseh Cutler was instrumental in opening this vast territory to veterans of the Revolutionary War and their families for settlement. Included in the Northwest Ordinance were three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly, the prohibition of slavery. In 1788 the first band of pioneers set out from New England for the Northwest Territory under the leadership of Revolutionary War veteran General Rufus Putnam. They settled in what is now Marietta on the banks of the Ohio River.
McCullough tells the story through five major characters: Cutler and Putnam; Cutler’s son Ephraim; and two other men, one a carpenter turned architect, and the other a physician who became a prominent pioneer in American science. “With clarity and incisiveness, [McCullough] details the experience of a brave and broad-minded band of people who crossed raging rivers, chopped down forests, plowed miles of land, suffered incalculable hardships, and braved a lonely frontier to forge a new American ideal” (The Providence Journal).
Drawn in great part from a rare and all-but-unknown collection of diaries and letters by the key figures, The Pioneers is a uniquely American story of people whose ambition and courage led them to remarkable accomplishments. “A tale of uplift” (The New York Times Book Review), this is a quintessentially American story, written with David McCullough’s signature narrative energy.
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Community Reviews
"Part I
1787–1794"
1. The Ohio Country
7/10
A lot of meetings and ideas described. It's not clear who plans what or who wants what as some official papers are written, by someone, and then some papers are voted on and signed. It's kinda clear what the plan is. USA needs money fast to repay for the independence war so they need to settle new areas. But this chapter is not about the settlers.
2. Forth to the Wilderness
7/10
Mainly focused on letters sent from pioneers to the state leaders in US government. It's largely salesmanship. We learn a bit about living conditions, but largely this is about single small salesmanship letters to "scam" people to move to Ohio and help out.
I like how they were friends with the Indians and how they explored the environment and built defense structures. I wish the book would explore the science and ideas behind constructing primitive buildings in no time and then the ideas behind town building and what works and doesn't. We get a bit of that, but overall it's mostly about what high ranking individuals experienced. Which to me seems a bit besides the point. Like, I'm not exploring this book to study old letters. I want to know how common people experienced this life. How did they find partners? What happened to the kids? What about schools? How well could they read? How dangerous were the animals? What new experiences would they have? What are the main dangers? It's not stuff you can find in letters, but it's stuff one could estimate by looking into their societal structures, environment and newspaper articles. This is done for even societies that no longer exist and didn't write anything down. So it should be possible here too. Yet McCullough focuses on single stories.
At the end of the chapter it finally gets really interesting. Indians just killed all wild animals so that the Europeans would starve. The winters were also very hard to survive through as you had little food and it was hard or impossible to travel. River travel was by far preferable, but you can't travel on a frozen river. And walking instead is hard in snow.
3. Difficult Times
8/10
They build up the town to make it a proper living space. The book is focused on a few towns in Ohio. Wild animals return. Initial winters are hard, but soon the population understands how to survive. They work together and gift food to people in need, making it possible to survive in extreme conditions. Kindness makes it all work. Winters become easier. New inhabitants arrive. Some are from France and only speak French. All want opportunities, but many have never even held a hammer before. Some of the people arrive after having bought fake land from scammers. They are now in the middle of nowhere with no house and the current inhabitants take them in.
Indians finally attack with greater force and massacre families. The town inhabitants are not well-prepared for these massacres and one big attack happens after they invite the Indians inside to eat. Are the Westerns a bit gullible here? Do they think savages are noble and kind? Seems like Western culture overestimates the moral values of people from a totally different kind of culture.
4. Havoc
9/10
Finally the Whites react to the attacks. Some write letters to politicians and ask for help. They also focus more on defense and counterattack. But overall they are too few and too badly armed. They don't have the tools to defend themselves properly. Congress finally creates a small unit of 2000 men to help out.
The new protective units are amateurs and don't help much. Indians massacre more men, women and children. They are winning battles and killing Whites where they can. Later president Washington hears about the massacres and invests very heavily into the military which requires overall expansion of the state as it demands a huge amount of money. From then on he won't be sending random random men or criminals to fight Indians. Rather the military is becoming professional and they tackle the problem head on.
This chapter is finally showing the true conditions and history of the pioneers. This is finally where the book shines and if you last this long you will be rewarded with magnificent history. One negative note I still have is that we kinda are thrown into it. Much of this is hard to understand. Where did that Indians suddenly come from? Why did they start slashing up innocent civilians? Was it just to protect the wild animals? Was it just how they used to survive with other tribes nearby? The White people are very friendly towards them overall and they even plant their own food too so you would think there is room for everyone in such rich conditions. The small Indian attacks early in the settlement were gruesome, but felt like some huge misunderstanding. Suddenly they are just fully psychopaths practicing genocide. Their goal is basically to kill every single White person.
"Part II
1795–1814"
5. A New Era Commences
7,5/10
Another strong chapter, but this is focused on shorter stories instead of one single mission like the last chapter. So it's a bit weaker for sure. Still, this feels more focused on the expansion and not letters and ideas. Now Ohio is growing fast.
6. The Burr Conspiracy
7/10
Burr kills Hamilton and later faces a trial for wanting to create an independent country in America. But there is not enough evidence to convict him even though they make his life terrible and make him an enemy of the state. It's not clear why any of this happens, but likely it's revenge.
7. Adversities Aplenty
7/10
The big names in Ohio. It's not really big names and the book is slowing down. We read a bit about the war against England and how it causes huge harm to USA. But it's not clear what this war is or what people are dying and suffering for? It's just… war. Like much of the book it's just happening and we get zero background info. With background info this would actually be a great book. Without it I'm often lost.
"Part III
1815–1863"
8. The Cause of Learning
6,5/10
Not a strong chapter. The book is fully slowed down. We now read about universal education in Ohio being implemented via bigger taxes. They create more colleges and want the state to sponsor all of this. It's focused on a single man with a plan. Frankly dry stuff. It's not bad. Nothing in this book is bad or boring. It's just not really even half as interesting as how they survive and make money. This is just politics and ideas.
9. The Travelers
6/10
Very dry chapter focused on personal stories again. Ohio is also a huge White settlement now and not a small colony barely surviving. The book is really up and down. There is a lot to learn here, but there are way too many stories about single people that are kinda not about past history or pioneers. Rather it's a collection of letters and personal diaries. This is still a good audiobook; it's just a bit of a letdown as a history book. The audiobook narration carries it.
10. Journey’s End
6/10
Another slow chapter just jumping from story to story and doesn't feel focused on a single topic.
My final opinion on the book overall
As I already said there are some really great chapters here. It's some great history at times and no chapter is boring or pointless. It's all history and therefore all interesting to some degree.
Everything about Indians at the start is great. That topic pretty much makes the book as it feels focused and emotional.
But let's compare this book to the amazing book about the Panama canal David McCullough published in 1977. It's a huge step down. You expect history focused on construction and expansion where everything is clearly explained. In the Panama canal book we followed the construction of the canal; it had a ton of personal stories too about the men who made it possible, but all the chapters moved towards a single point and goal = the canal being completed. You were following a story and all chapters took it a step further growing the story and the theme. In this book we instead jump from person to person following a timeline in a single state. McCullough doesn't explain engineering, medicine, tools, or problems in construction. He does explain a bit here and there when it fits into some biography, but it's marginal stuff and this reveals that he didn't quite do extra studies to write this book. Largely he leans into biographies. It's also not a single story. Sure all the people live in the same state and in the same period of time, but it's not like they are replacing each other doing the same job. A ship builder and a politician who never met each other are somehow found in the same book.
The chapters stand on their own. The audiobook narration is amazing, but it all feels a bit small and therefore pointless. A man traveling to a new hut is not an awfully important or engaging story. These small personal stories are taking us away from overall pioneers and their work. It feels like a sequel to a book about pioneers. A nerdy expansion of stories and people just mentioned in that main book about Ohio.
That one amazing story about Indians is must-read for sure and other chapters are fun. But as an overall book it's lacking. I'm European so maybe I'm just too stupid to "get it"? Maybe those historical Ohioan citizens are amazing historical figures that many Americans know and adore? Then for them the book would be a great intro to their own history. For me, as an European, the names don't ring a bell. Since the book depends on you caring about these individuals it doesn't really engage me.
If you are American think about it this way: How would you feel about reading a book with 20 biographies about Danes from 250 year ago? It would surely feel a bit aimless and you would often feel confused about the importance of these people. Let's say they created some small towns in Denmark and influenced some small region in Denmark politically. But it's not a region you know much about. This is my issue with this Ohio book. It's hard to judge. For some people this stuff is amazing personal history and will feel like a deep look into a curious culture. For others it will feel like a snapshot of history with no great focus.
It's not a book I will go around recommending. But if you are deeply interested in American history I recommend it. And either way the Indians stories are so illuminating that this part of the book is very must-read if you want to understand American history. Chapter 3 and 4 are the main chapters on this topic. But overall the book is strong in the first half then just completely drops in quality and becomes a dull affair.
1787–1794"
1. The Ohio Country
7/10
A lot of meetings and ideas described. It's not clear who plans what or who wants what as some official papers are written, by someone, and then some papers are voted on and signed. It's kinda clear what the plan is. USA needs money fast to repay for the independence war so they need to settle new areas. But this chapter is not about the settlers.
2. Forth to the Wilderness
7/10
Mainly focused on letters sent from pioneers to the state leaders in US government. It's largely salesmanship. We learn a bit about living conditions, but largely this is about single small salesmanship letters to "scam" people to move to Ohio and help out.
I like how they were friends with the Indians and how they explored the environment and built defense structures. I wish the book would explore the science and ideas behind constructing primitive buildings in no time and then the ideas behind town building and what works and doesn't. We get a bit of that, but overall it's mostly about what high ranking individuals experienced. Which to me seems a bit besides the point. Like, I'm not exploring this book to study old letters. I want to know how common people experienced this life. How did they find partners? What happened to the kids? What about schools? How well could they read? How dangerous were the animals? What new experiences would they have? What are the main dangers? It's not stuff you can find in letters, but it's stuff one could estimate by looking into their societal structures, environment and newspaper articles. This is done for even societies that no longer exist and didn't write anything down. So it should be possible here too. Yet McCullough focuses on single stories.
At the end of the chapter it finally gets really interesting. Indians just killed all wild animals so that the Europeans would starve. The winters were also very hard to survive through as you had little food and it was hard or impossible to travel. River travel was by far preferable, but you can't travel on a frozen river. And walking instead is hard in snow.
3. Difficult Times
8/10
They build up the town to make it a proper living space. The book is focused on a few towns in Ohio. Wild animals return. Initial winters are hard, but soon the population understands how to survive. They work together and gift food to people in need, making it possible to survive in extreme conditions. Kindness makes it all work. Winters become easier. New inhabitants arrive. Some are from France and only speak French. All want opportunities, but many have never even held a hammer before. Some of the people arrive after having bought fake land from scammers. They are now in the middle of nowhere with no house and the current inhabitants take them in.
Indians finally attack with greater force and massacre families. The town inhabitants are not well-prepared for these massacres and one big attack happens after they invite the Indians inside to eat. Are the Westerns a bit gullible here? Do they think savages are noble and kind? Seems like Western culture overestimates the moral values of people from a totally different kind of culture.
4. Havoc
9/10
Finally the Whites react to the attacks. Some write letters to politicians and ask for help. They also focus more on defense and counterattack. But overall they are too few and too badly armed. They don't have the tools to defend themselves properly. Congress finally creates a small unit of 2000 men to help out.
The new protective units are amateurs and don't help much. Indians massacre more men, women and children. They are winning battles and killing Whites where they can. Later president Washington hears about the massacres and invests very heavily into the military which requires overall expansion of the state as it demands a huge amount of money. From then on he won't be sending random random men or criminals to fight Indians. Rather the military is becoming professional and they tackle the problem head on.
This chapter is finally showing the true conditions and history of the pioneers. This is finally where the book shines and if you last this long you will be rewarded with magnificent history. One negative note I still have is that we kinda are thrown into it. Much of this is hard to understand. Where did that Indians suddenly come from? Why did they start slashing up innocent civilians? Was it just to protect the wild animals? Was it just how they used to survive with other tribes nearby? The White people are very friendly towards them overall and they even plant their own food too so you would think there is room for everyone in such rich conditions. The small Indian attacks early in the settlement were gruesome, but felt like some huge misunderstanding. Suddenly they are just fully psychopaths practicing genocide. Their goal is basically to kill every single White person.
"Part II
1795–1814"
5. A New Era Commences
7,5/10
Another strong chapter, but this is focused on shorter stories instead of one single mission like the last chapter. So it's a bit weaker for sure. Still, this feels more focused on the expansion and not letters and ideas. Now Ohio is growing fast.
6. The Burr Conspiracy
7/10
Burr kills Hamilton and later faces a trial for wanting to create an independent country in America. But there is not enough evidence to convict him even though they make his life terrible and make him an enemy of the state. It's not clear why any of this happens, but likely it's revenge.
7. Adversities Aplenty
7/10
The big names in Ohio. It's not really big names and the book is slowing down. We read a bit about the war against England and how it causes huge harm to USA. But it's not clear what this war is or what people are dying and suffering for? It's just… war. Like much of the book it's just happening and we get zero background info. With background info this would actually be a great book. Without it I'm often lost.
"Part III
1815–1863"
8. The Cause of Learning
6,5/10
Not a strong chapter. The book is fully slowed down. We now read about universal education in Ohio being implemented via bigger taxes. They create more colleges and want the state to sponsor all of this. It's focused on a single man with a plan. Frankly dry stuff. It's not bad. Nothing in this book is bad or boring. It's just not really even half as interesting as how they survive and make money. This is just politics and ideas.
9. The Travelers
6/10
Very dry chapter focused on personal stories again. Ohio is also a huge White settlement now and not a small colony barely surviving. The book is really up and down. There is a lot to learn here, but there are way too many stories about single people that are kinda not about past history or pioneers. Rather it's a collection of letters and personal diaries. This is still a good audiobook; it's just a bit of a letdown as a history book. The audiobook narration carries it.
10. Journey’s End
6/10
Another slow chapter just jumping from story to story and doesn't feel focused on a single topic.
My final opinion on the book overall
As I already said there are some really great chapters here. It's some great history at times and no chapter is boring or pointless. It's all history and therefore all interesting to some degree.
Everything about Indians at the start is great. That topic pretty much makes the book as it feels focused and emotional.
But let's compare this book to the amazing book about the Panama canal David McCullough published in 1977. It's a huge step down. You expect history focused on construction and expansion where everything is clearly explained. In the Panama canal book we followed the construction of the canal; it had a ton of personal stories too about the men who made it possible, but all the chapters moved towards a single point and goal = the canal being completed. You were following a story and all chapters took it a step further growing the story and the theme. In this book we instead jump from person to person following a timeline in a single state. McCullough doesn't explain engineering, medicine, tools, or problems in construction. He does explain a bit here and there when it fits into some biography, but it's marginal stuff and this reveals that he didn't quite do extra studies to write this book. Largely he leans into biographies. It's also not a single story. Sure all the people live in the same state and in the same period of time, but it's not like they are replacing each other doing the same job. A ship builder and a politician who never met each other are somehow found in the same book.
The chapters stand on their own. The audiobook narration is amazing, but it all feels a bit small and therefore pointless. A man traveling to a new hut is not an awfully important or engaging story. These small personal stories are taking us away from overall pioneers and their work. It feels like a sequel to a book about pioneers. A nerdy expansion of stories and people just mentioned in that main book about Ohio.
That one amazing story about Indians is must-read for sure and other chapters are fun. But as an overall book it's lacking. I'm European so maybe I'm just too stupid to "get it"? Maybe those historical Ohioan citizens are amazing historical figures that many Americans know and adore? Then for them the book would be a great intro to their own history. For me, as an European, the names don't ring a bell. Since the book depends on you caring about these individuals it doesn't really engage me.
If you are American think about it this way: How would you feel about reading a book with 20 biographies about Danes from 250 year ago? It would surely feel a bit aimless and you would often feel confused about the importance of these people. Let's say they created some small towns in Denmark and influenced some small region in Denmark politically. But it's not a region you know much about. This is my issue with this Ohio book. It's hard to judge. For some people this stuff is amazing personal history and will feel like a deep look into a curious culture. For others it will feel like a snapshot of history with no great focus.
It's not a book I will go around recommending. But if you are deeply interested in American history I recommend it. And either way the Indians stories are so illuminating that this part of the book is very must-read if you want to understand American history. Chapter 3 and 4 are the main chapters on this topic. But overall the book is strong in the first half then just completely drops in quality and becomes a dull affair.
I really love David McCullough's attention to detail in his books and this book is another example of that. Following 5 families in their efforts to settle in what was called the Northwest Territories (an area of what would become Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin). This books tells the story of the harsh conditions with problems with weather, Indians and the elements in founding this area. Most of the book centers around Marietta, Ohio. It might better be called something like "The Birth of Ohio" or something like that.
This book was rather limited in its scope and for that reason I am only giving it 3 stars out of 5.
This book was rather limited in its scope and for that reason I am only giving it 3 stars out of 5.
I learned a lot about how the 17th state was formed. Loved the 5 settlers that the book focused on; they were such good citizens. I teared up at the end when the one of them died at the end of a long and fulfilling life. The book had an Aaron Burr connection which was surprising! Why did I give it a 4? Not sure, but it seemed to ramble a little in places.
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