Thirteen Clocks is a book focusing on the founding fathers and their view on race and exclusivity during the American Revolution to create the Declaration of Independence in 1775. The main idea that Robert Parkinson is trying to communicate to readers is, “Race made the 13 clocks chime together; the consequences would last long after 1776.” Throughout his book on the founders and the Thirteen Clocks, Parkinson makes extensive use of both primary sources and secondary works. Among the primary sources that Parkinson uses extensively are the Journals of American History and the American Archives. Secondary works that Parkinson uses extensively include journals like the American Journal and the Constitutional Journal. Parkinson’s central argument, …show more content…
Thirteen Clocks is a story about the use of racial prejudice against Native Americans and Africans that were formulated to unite the American Colonies together. The book goes on to explain how newspapers were the main source of information back then and how they started to foster fear among the colonies. I feel like this book would be a good read if you are interested in these events in our country. I find that I kept having to re-read parts to fully understand what Parkinson was trying to convey, but I would recommend this book to my friends who like a good brain scratcher. The way he dives into the hidden parts of our history interests me and makes me think about the truth of our foundation as a country. I like how he touches on subjects such as plantations and backcountry colonies being portrayed as enemies to the colonies as a way to fearmonger. In a review of Thirteen Clocks, written by Serena Zabi, Zabi concludes that Parkinson wrote a compelling book that presents how the colonies united in the months leading up to July 1776. Her review is overwhelmingly positive, congratulating Parkinson for writing another award-winning novel about the history of our