Discussion Topics for Chapter Two of My Brother Sam is Dead

My Brother Sam is Dead Chapter II: 

Tim provides background information about his town, neighborhood and religion at the onset of chapter two.

Tim: "Redding was divided into two-parts: Redding Center and Redding Ridge"

• you can discuss Redding, Connecticut - where is it and why it was divided in two parts (Anglicans and Presbyterians).

Tim: "Church was practically the only time we ever saw some of the farmers from farther out in the parish - places like Umpawaug. They wanted to keep up with the news…"

• you can discuss how information was shared in colonial times and how these methods led to biased opinions on very important issues.
• you can also discuss Religion in colonial times.

Sam: "This is Tory Country. Father, Mr. Beach, the Lyons, the Couches - most of them in our church are Tories. And they think it's the same everywhere, but it isn't."

• you can discuss how a township could gain a reputation for being "Tory Country".
• you can also discuss who Tories or Loyalists were and why they were opposed to the rebellion, what they endured, etc...

The most important comment Tim makes in chapter two is "What kept confusing me about it was that the argument didn't have two sides the way an argument should, but about six sides." Tim is speaking of "opinions" people had of the British government's policies following the French and Indian War. These new policies hampered America's economic and geographical growth via:

• Taxes
• Trade restrictions
• The Presence of British troops in America (and cost of having them here)
• British efforts to prevent westward expansion of the colonies
• The Political corruption of Royal Governors

The anger over these policies had reached a boiling point and as Tim states: "..it wasn't going to be just arguments anymore." The reason Tim's comment is so important is that the debate over rebellion was a complex topic with many sides that needed to be examined and decided on by the American colonists prior to a rebellion. Issues like: economics, government, religion, and safety in the American Colonies should they gain Independence from Great Britain were very important questions that really did not have answers before the events at Lexington and Concord thrust the American citizens into war with the British.

Below are some examples of the loyalist's concerns regarding the rebellion:

• The British Army was powerful and experienced. Many men, 40 years of age or older, had fought along side the British soldiers in the French and Indian War. They had experienced, first-hand, the skill and tenacity of the enemy.
  
• Land to the West of the Appalachian Mountains was occupied by Indians, the Spanish and the French, not Americans. Would the colonists be able to defend themselves from attacks from any one of them without the assistance of the British Army?
  
• Successful businesses and merchants worried that if America split from England they would be at risk of losing their prosperity. Tobacco farmers are an example of those who actually did suffer as a result of the American Revolution.
  
• Without a plan for self-government in place how would the colonies function politically?

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My Brother Sam is Dead Topics

My Brother Sam is Dead is told in the first person by Tim Meeker. It recounts the hardships endured by Tim and his family during the Revolutionary War. When Tim's older brother Sam joins the rebel forces, it impacts the rest of his family who wish to remain neutral and/or avoid war with England. Tim's family is Anglican and thus loyal to the Church of England; a split with England would greatly affect them.

Tim Meeker is a metaphoric symbol of one third of the American population during the war. He portrays the American that is uncertain which side is right and does not wish to choose a side until forced to, sometimes referred to as a "fence-sitter". Sam and Life are examples of the other two thirds: the Rebel/Patriot and the Tory/Loyalist.

Through Tim Meeker we learn of the issues, the concerns and the conflicts of the rebellion on a personal level. Each chapter touches on a number of topics and issues that provide readers with a better understanding of the affects the American Revolution had on individuals, their families, their churches, their towns, their neighbors...in short, it allows readers to see the war from the position of those that lived through it. This is one of the greatest strengths of the novel; it quietly weaves all of the topics and issues of the early years of the American Revolution into a tragic story of a 10 year old boy’s role in a war he doesn't understand.

My Brother Sam is Dead begins in April 1775 and ends in February 1779...a very volatile period of the American Revolution as it was not clear which side would win the war. Many were either still confused about the issues or unwilling to solidify a position on the issues. As the story unfolds the consequences of the war prove devastating to the Meeker family as the rebelliousness of Tim’s brother, Sam, and the pacifist position taken by Tim’s father, Life, result in the ironic deaths of both, symbolizing the atrocities and unfairness of war.

The novel highlights many of the problems and events that impacted towns like Redding, CT. Several of these topics are:

Trying to stay neutral while living in a town that everyone assumes is a loyalist settlement. Redding's Anglican church leader and its members preferred not to rebel from England. This was well known across the State and resulted in Redding Ridge being labeled as an area heavily settled with loyalists/tories.

Currency Issues-The Meeker's own a tavern/store, and keeping it running is hard work. Even prior to the Revolution, to make money, each year Tim's Father and brother Sam would travel to New York State to sell cattle they received from people who owed them money. During the war it becomes even more difficult as paper money and commissionary notes destroy local economies and businesses.

Sacrifices- Since Sam has sided with the rebels and wasn't there, Tim's responsibilities have increased ten-fold. Jobs Tim and Sam used to share all now fall on Tim's shoulders. Father (Life) takes Tim on his yearly cattle run to New York. They have to travel without a Brown Bess (musket/gun used for protection), which Sam had recently stolen. Life is captured on their return trip, leaving Tim to take care of his mother and himself for the rest of the novel. Tim is forced to grow up over night seeing he is now the man of the house, with his father in prison and Sam fighting with the patriots.

Committees of Safety- These committees were formed early in the war to disarm people who could potentially give aid to the British. Life is an Anglican and thus seen as a Loyalist/Tory, by the local Committee of Safety which comes to the Meeker Tavern to disarm him. When Life tells them his son has sided with the Patriots and taken his gun, they initially don't believe him and rough him up.

Cowboys and Skinners- Life is captured on their way back to Redding on their cattle run by cowboys. Cowboys and skinners were groups of raiders who harassed and plundered the rural districts of the boundary between American and British forces in Westchester County, New York. Westchester County, was the so-called "Neutral Ground" seeing the British were in the Bronx and the Americans in Peekskill, New York.

The British march though Redding and capture several Patriots there on their way to Danbury, CT to destroy the rebels/Patriot's provisions of war which were being stored there. The Patriot soldiers arrive in Redding in pursuit of the British and Sam is with them so he gets to see his mother and Tim again.

Winter Encampments- General Israel Putnam's division of the Continental Army encamped at Redding in the winter of 1778-1779 and Sam Meeker is a soldier in one of Putnam’s camps. One evening, Sam slips away from camp and returns home to spend time with his family. While they discuss the war and related topics, Sam hears commotion outside…Patriot soldiers are attempting to steal their cattle! When Sam intervenes he is out numbered and beaten. Back at camp he is falsely accused of and court-martialed for deserting camp and stealing cattle. General Putnam having long dealt with ill-equipped troops, deserters and traitors, feels he needs to set an example in order to maintain discipline amongst his army. Sam, unfortunately, becomes one of the two examples that winter, and is executed.

Hardships of War- Tim's Mother goes a little crazy due to the stress of losing her husband and son to a war she doesn't support. Tim lives to be very old. He had a wife, children, even grandchildren. But his mother never recovers from Life and Sam's deaths.


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