In his germinal 1791 account ""Travels"", William Bartram recorded the natural world he saw around him but, rather incredibly, omitted any reference to events of the American Revolution. Cashin places Bartram in the context of his times and explains his conspicuous avoidance of people, places, and events embroiled in revolutionary fervor. Cashin suggests that Bartram offered ""Travels"" as a means of shaping the new country and illuminates the convictions that motivated Bartram - that if Americans lived in communion with nature, heeded the moral law, and treated the people of the interior with respect, then America would be blessed with greatness.