These eight original essays by a group of America's most distinguished scholars include the following themes: the meaning and significance of the Revolution; the long-term, underlying causes of the war; violence and the Revolution; the military conflict; politics in the Continental Congress; the role of religion in the Revolution; and the effect of the war on the social order. This is the product of the celebrated Symposium on the American Revolution held in 1971 by the institute. Originally published 1973. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

To some, England had the right to govern the thirteen American colonies. To others, England was violating the colonists' rights. Still others took no side. Which would prevail loyalty to the king, freedom now, or peace at any price? Read these essays to find out.

DOCUMENTS AND ESSAYS OF MAJOR PROBLEMS IN COLONIAL AMERICA.

This volume brings together sixteen essays on the American Revolution by leading historian Jack Greene. Originally published between 1972 and the early nineties, these essays approach the Revolution as an episode in British imperial history rather than as the first step in the creation of an American nation. Greene addresses four major themes: why the Revolution occurred and how contemporaries explained it; how developments in the colonial era and the nature of colonial political societies affected the shape and character of the Revolution; what impact the Revolution had upon existing political cultures, particularly in Virginia; and how the experiences of important individuals can be used to illuminate the origin, nature, and impact of the Revolutionary experience. In Understanding the American Revolution, Greene explores such problems as Virginia's political behavior during the Revolutionary era; the roles of three cultural brokers, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, and Phillip Mazzei; and why the Revolution had such a short half-life as a model for large-scale revolutions. He explores the colonial roots of the political structures that Revolutionary leaders created, and he asks why the American Revolution was not more radical.

An effort to further the discussion of the necessity of a fundamental political and social revolution in the United States, this collection contains essays by 12 activists and authors, all of whom have demonstrated a lifelong commitment to revolutionary change. As inspiring as it is educational, this anthology is a must read for those involved with or considering advocating political or social change within. Arguing that reformist measures cannot be relied upon to correct the fundamental problems caused by the corporate elite and political structure, the contributors are unified in their call for a significant revolutionary change in the United States.

These nineteen essays richly confirm Gore Vidal's reputation as "America's finest essayist" (The New Statesman), and are further evidence of the breadth and depth of his intelligence and wit. Included here are his highly praised essays on Theodore Roosevelt ("An American Sissy"), F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edmund Wilson ("This Critic and This Gin and These Shoes"), the need for a new constitutional convention—as well as his controversial study of relations between the homosexual and Jewish communities ("Pink Triangle and Yellow Star"). Vidal's other subjects range from Christopher Isherwood to L. Frank Baum ("The OZ BOoks"), from the question of "Who Makes the Movies?" to the misadventures—religious and financial—of Bert Lance.

Building on a quarter century of scholarship following the publication of the groundbreaking Women in the Age of the American Revolution, the engagingly written essays in this volume offer an updated answer to the question, What was life like for women in the era of the American Revolution? The contributors examine how women dealt with years of armed conflict and carried on their daily lives, exploring factors such as age, race, educational background, marital status, social class, and region. For patriot women the Revolution created opportunities—to market goods, find a new social status within the community, or gain power in the family. Those who remained loyal to the Crown, however, often saw their lives diminished—their property confiscated, their businesses failed, or their sense of security shattered. Some essays focus on individuals (Sarah Bache, Phillis Wheatley), while others address the impact of war on social or commercial interactions between men and women. Patriot women in occupied Boston fell in love with and married British soldiers; in Philadelphia women mobilized support for nonimportation; and in several major colonial cities wives took over the family business while their husbands fought. Together, these essays recover what the Revolution meant to and for women.

A lavishly illustrated essay collection that looks through a global lens at the American Revolution and re-positions it as the real 1st world war “Every American should read this marvelous book.” —Douglas Brinkley, author of Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America From acts of resistance like the Boston Tea Party to the "shot heard 'round the world," the American Revolutionary War stands as a symbol of freedom and democracy the world over for many people. But contrary to popular opinion, this was not just a simple battle for independence in which the American colonists waged a "David versus Goliath" fight to overthrow their British rulers. In over a dozen incisive pieces from leading historians, the American struggle for liberty and independence re-emerges instead as a part of larger skirmishes between Britain and Europe’s global superpowers—Spain, France, and the Dutch Republic. Amid these ongoing conflicts, Britain's focus was often pulled away from the war in America as it fought to preserve its more lucrative colonial interests in the Caribbean and India. With fascinating sidebars throughout and over 110 full-color images featuring military portraiture, historical documents, plus campaign and territorial maps, this fuller picture of one of the first global struggles for power offers a completely new understanding of the American Revolution.

The story of the American Revolution in rural Pennsylvania.

The preeminent historian of the American Revolution explains why it remains the most significant event in our history. More than almost any other nation in the world, the United States began as an idea. For this reason, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Gordon S. Wood believes that the American Revolution is the most important event in our history, bar none. Since American identity is so fluid and not based on any universally shared heritage, we have had to continually return to our nation's founding to understand who we are. In The Idea of America, Wood reflects on the birth of American nationhood and explains why the revolution remains so essential. In a series of elegant and illuminating essays, Wood explores the ideological origins of the revolution-from ancient Rome to the European Enlightenment-and the founders' attempts to forge an American democracy. As Wood reveals, while the founders hoped to create a virtuous republic of yeoman farmers and uninterested leaders, they instead gave birth to a sprawling, licentious, and materialistic popular democracy. Wood also traces the origins of American exceptionalism to this period, revealing how the revolutionary generation, despite living in a distant, sparsely populated country, believed itself to be the most enlightened people on earth. The revolution gave Americans their messianic sense of purpose-and perhaps our continued propensity to promote democracy around the world-because the founders believed their colonial rebellion had universal significance for oppressed peoples everywhere. Yet what may seem like audacity in retrospect reflected the fact that in the eighteenth century republicanism was a truly radical ideology-as radical as Marxism would be in the nineteenth-and one that indeed inspired revolutionaries the world over. Today there exists what Wood calls a terrifying gap between us and the founders, such that it requires almost an act of imagination to fully recapture their era. Because we now take our democracy for granted, it is nearly impossible for us to appreciate how deeply the founders feared their grand experiment in liberty could evolve into monarchy or dissolve into licentiousness. Gracefully written and filled with insight, The Idea of America helps us to recapture the fears and hopes of the revolutionary generation and its attempts to translate those ideals into a working democracy. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash Broadway musical Hamilton has sparked new interest in the Revolutionary War and the Founding Fathers. In addition to Alexander Hamilton, the production also features George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Aaron Burr, Lafayette, and many more. Look for Gordon's new book, Friends Divided.