Precedent for John Jakes's Kent Family Chronicles can be found in the early writings of Howard Fast. Although each novel is limited to a singular historical incident, Fast uses an existing problem in American history to form the basis of his novels. The Last Frontier (1941) is based upon an Indian uprising in 1878 and Freedom Road (1944) revolves around the situations emanating from the Civil War. The Kent Family Chronicles are not that simple; a myriad of historical events are woven into the fiction.

Fast, like Jakes, is prolific. However, Fast's novels invoke different characters and situations and bear no relationship with each other. Jakes links his works and develops them into volumes.

Whereas Jakes in the Kent Family Chronicles portrays the Americans as domineering pioneers in quest of democratic principles, Fast's books emphasize problems in American society. The U.S. Army's attempt to capture the Indian is...