Examining the American Revolution

In honor of Independence Day, I wanted to share several recommendations from books I have read on early American history. Some are military histories of the American Revolution, others discuss politics in the era of the Founding Fathers, and still others focus on colonial society. I tried to limit the books to the era of the Revolution, though some address the intellectual groundwork laid years before.

One of the foundations of the Revolution was the press’s ability to print arguments for and against Independence. Freedom of the press was very limited in Europe at that time, while the American colonies’ rules were much more relaxed. Printer John Peter Zenger played no small part in this. In the 1730s, he was sued for libel, and his lawyer argued that no one could be prosecuted for telling the truth. While this may not seem like a radical statement today, it was groundbreaking in its time. The Zenger Trial is covered in Indelible Ink: The Trial of John Peter Zenger and the Birth of America’s Free Press by Richard Kluger. The book addresses the political climate that led to the case. Trying to understand New York politics at this time can be a quagmire, and Kluger focuses on a story much broader than just Zenger. That being said, the central heart of the trial still comes through in this account.

Freedom of the press would allow colonial thinkers to publish pamphlets discussing independence. The most notable author of one of these pamphlets was Thomas Paine. Paine’s seminal work Common Sense is addressed in Scott Liell’s 46 Pages: Tom Paine, Common Sense, And the Turning Point to Independence. The book is concise compared to others on this list, but this brevity allows Paine’s story to stand out more than Zenger’s in Indelible Ink. 46 Pages focuses almost exclusively on Paine, the lead-up to Common Sense’s publishing, and the Revolution. Readers looking for more detail about Paine’s later life, including his eventful time in France, should look elsewhere.

Gary B. Nash’s The Unknown American Revolution: The Unruly Birth of Democracy and the Struggle to Create America focuses on the voices calling for Revolution, particularly those underrepresented in many traditional accounts. While great thinkers were busy in Congress deciding the course of the new nation, and soldiers were off fighting for freedom on the battlefield, many average citizens were fighting for the Patriot cause. Nash’s account focuses especially on the role of women and Native Americans in the Revolution amidst the backdrop of war.

Not all Americans were unified behind the cause of independence, as highlighted in H. W. Brand’s Our First Civil War: Patriots and Loyalists in the American Revolution. Here, Brands focuses on the plight of loyalists and families divided by war. Reflecting on reading the book, the stories that stand out most are that of Benjamin and William Franklin, who were on opposite sides of the war, and Native American chief Joseph Brant, who stayed allied with the British. The story of the enslaved men recruited by the British army is also covered in depth.

Turning toward biographies brings us to Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson. It remains the most famous work in recent memory about the printer, statesman, diplomat, and scientist. The true breadth of Franklin’s activity is highlighted here. Moreso than any other book featured here, this book covers America’s development from a subservient colony to an independent nation throughout Franklin’s life. In addition to covering this Founding Father’s life, this biography also has an enlightening final chapter on how Franklin’s legacy has adapted and changed over time.

David McCollough’s John Adams is of a similar scope. Of all McCollough’s books, this remains one of his most widely read. Adams’ life, like Franklin’s, spans the course of the nation’s early growth. However, they cover very different periods, with Adams seeing America continue to grow into the nineteenth century. Like Franklin, Adams has had his reputation change and evolve, and McCollough’s John Adams has done much to rehabilitate it in recent years.

As a proud Georgian, one other biography of an American politician deserves inclusion here. Button Gwinnett, Signer of the Declaration of Independence by Charles Francis Jenkins,shares the story of Georgia’s most famous signer. His life, however, was very short. Less than a year after his signature made history, he died in a duel. Published almost a century ago, this remains a definitive account of Gwinnett’s life.

In military history, Rick Atkinson’s The British Are Coming: The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 is an enlightening account covering the early stages of the American Revolution. The book is the first in a trilogy, though sadly, its two sequels have not yet been published. I eagerly anticipate their release, as Atkinson adds vivid color and life to the war’s first years.

From the later stages of the war, The Swamp Fox: How Francis Marion Saved the American Revolution by John Oller is a fascinating look at the Revolution in the South. Francis Marion is considered the father of guerilla warfare and fought the British in a divided South Carolina. Because it does not feature Washington, the battles in the South can sometimes seem overlooked, and Oller’s account is an interesting window into some of the war’s bloodiest battles.

The American Revolution could not be won without allies, especially France. The war also served to inspire later Revolutions, including, in a twist of irony, France. These two themes converge in the life of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, the subject of Mike Duncan’s Hero of Two Worlds: The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution. This work shows how the ideals of the American Revolution were received in Europe and served to fuel the fire of the French Revolution. Lafayette serves as a bridge between these two conflicts and later to the reign of Napoleon.

No work on the American Revolution is complete without mentioning George Washington. Washington: A Life was written by Ron Chernow, who also wrote an insightful, detailed biography of Ulysses S. Grant. As fascinating as Grant was, Washington is less compelling. Washington remains an enigma to many historians, in no small part due to his stoic personality. Do not get me wrong; Washington: A Life is a detailed, well-written account of Washington’s life, but penetrating Washington’s mind remains difficult.

For a unique take on Washington’s life, I suggest Mary Ball Washington: The Untold Story of George Washington’s Mother by Craig Shirley. Mary Ball Washington has been treated by builders of American mythology as a saintly woman, but she often clashed with her famous son. Notably, many still suspect she was against the idea of independence. In addition to covering Mary’s life, this book also offers valuable insight into the life and times of a young George Washington.

On the other side of the conflict was George III, who Americans decried as a tyrant. Andrew Roberts’s The Last King of America: The Misunderstood Reign of George III offers a more sympathetic look at the king. At times, it seems Roberts believes the Revolution was a mistake. However, its offering of a British perspective on the war makes it an interesting read.

After the war was over, there was continued unrest in the United States. Two books cover this period well: We Have Not a Government: The Articles of Confederation and the Road to the Constitution by George William Van Cleve and The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution by Thomas P. Slaughter. The former book is about the national government operating under the Articles of Confederation, a document that soon proved ineffective in handling a young nation. At the same time, not everyone who fought for liberty believed that was the result. Taxes, in particular, caused grievances, leading to the Whiskey Rebellion. Both of these books show how the Revolution did not end with the surrender of Yorktown but instead was a process of national evolution for years afterward.

The legacy of the Revolution is covered in The Fourth of July and the Founding of America by Peter de Bolla. The author looks at how the history and myth of the Revolution, focused on the Declaration of Independence, have become intertwined since 1776. What the Revolution means to the average American shifts as the nation changes and will continue to change in the future. Another good exploration of this can be found in “Independence Day Dilemmas in the American South, 1848 – 1865” by Paul Quigley, an article published in The Journal of Southern History (Vol. LXXV, No. 2). Quigley examines how Independence Day was used for different political causes before and during the Civil War, and Americans’ perceptions of the meaning and importance of the Founding Fathers.

Fought almost 250 years ago, the American Revolution and the intellectual debates surrounding it continue to play a role in modern society. While the way the battles were fought may no longer be as impactful, the thoughts and ideas that brought about independence continue to drive America today. These books offer only a small look at such a broad topic, but I hope each offers unique and valuable insight into this critical era.

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For more information on the books I have read, check out my reading list at https://ajbramlett.com/books/