A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
~ “Paul Revere’s Ride” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
When we hear “the American Revolutionary War” we think George Washington – we think of the heroics of a ragged army fighting for and winning their freedom against the strongest military power in the world. We think of the tenacity of thirteen colonies rising against tyranny, of the strength of the rebels. Yet under all of that, we rarely speak of another facet to the war – the slaves. Slavery was prevalent amongst everyone, Tory or Patriot, and their role in the war is now often overlooked.
Fundamentally, the Seeds of America trilogy by Laurie Halse Anderson is about the very concept of freedom. Told from the points of view of two young slaves, the books introduce and follow Isabel, Curzon, and Ruth during the war for independence, through their own war for freedom.
The first in the series, Chains follows thirteen-year-old Isabel Finch in her desperate bid for freedom and safety for her younger sister Ruth amidst the turmoil and injustice of the Revolutionary War. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, they’re instead sold to a cruel Loyalist couple in New York City. Isabel, angry and determined, earns herself a slave’s brand for insolence as she tries to protect Ruth, plagued by seizures. As the war tears into the city, Isabel must follow her heart and head to understand which side she will support. As a slave, she is ignored and overlooked, used and abused because of the color of her skin – neither side promises her the safety she craves and so she holds no moral obligation to either the Loyalists or the Revolutionaries.
In the mess of everything surrounding her, she meets another slave, a boy named Curzon Smith – a staunch patriot. Curzon believes the Locktons have information vital to the patriots; he pleads with Isabel to aid him. Isabel tells him, “I’m just fighting for me and Ruth. You can keep your rebellion” (39) – but as tragedy strikes and her fear turns to reality, she turns to him and his compatriots, despair driving her to any possible glimpse of freedom. Surrounding them, revolution burns hot and bright as the Loyalists and patriots fight tooth and nail to retain control of a city in chaos. Curzon is caught up in the fervor of enlistment, of fighting for the soul of a new nation while Isabel, jaded and bitter, just wants to survive and save her sister.
“This is not our fight. British or American, that is not the choice. You must choose your own side, find your road through the valley of darkness that will lead you to the river Jordan.”
Forge, the second book, picks up Curzon’s storyline as he’s caught in the deadly winter at Valley Forge with no knowledge of where Isabel is or if she’s even alive. He must hold on to the secrets he possesses as a spy amidst the turmoil and the horrors of Valley Forge – that infamous encampment of the American army during the winter of 1777-78. Bigotry and intolerance run rampant even there; Curzon must use his wits to stay alive in the harsh landscape of the war and find Isabel again.
Isabel and Curzon are reunited in the tumultuous Ashes, which, even more directly than before, attacks the question of freedom for the overlooked in a war started on the principle of freedom from tyranny. Since it picks up the threads of story from the previous books, there’s a lot that can’t be spoiled, but Ashes is really about the internal struggles that Isabel continues to go through about the nature of being who she is in a time like that. Curzon stands even more unequivocally for the Patriots, believing that freedom for the colonies is a victory for the slaves. Meanwhile, Isabel is undergoing a process of realization about the meaning of being a slave, of being free – of the contradictions that rule her life and how the war affects her identity. Heartbreak and love, fear and joy, chaos and peace – Ashes comprises so much as the finale of many years. Isabel, alone for so long, learns the meaning of love – familial, platonic, and romantic – as she finally holds her own life in her hands.
The Seeds of America is about freedom – the freedom to find yourself, to forgive, to love, to control your own life and decisions and the tide of who you are in a world that doesn’t acknowledge you even amidst the tragedy of war. It’s about remembering the forgotten ones who played such an important role in the foundation of America.
“Of old sat Freedom on the heights,
The thunders breaking at her feet:
Above her shook the starry lights:
She heard the torrents meet.”~ “Of Old Sat Freedom On The Heights” – Alfred, Lord Tennyson