The Challenge of the American Revolution
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Book Overview
The Revolution is fertile ground for the historian's craft, as these essays attest. Edmund S. Morgan discovers in American protests against British taxation an affirmation of rights that the colonists adhered to with surprising consistency, and that guided them ultimately to independence. Then, after a general reassessment of the importance of the Revolution, he moves to a study of it as an intellectual movement, which challenged the best minds of the period to transform their political world. Next, in studying the ethical basis of the Revolution, Morgan traces the shaping of national consciousness by puritanical attitudes toward work and leisure. This leads him to an exploration of the paradoxical relationship between slavery and freedom, and the role their relationship played in the Revolution. Finally, thinking about the Revolution on its anniversary, Morgan looks once again at the Founding Fathers and the innovative daring, admiring most their ability to reject what had hitherto been taken for granted.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0393008762
ISBN13:9780393008760
Release Date:February 1978
Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company
Length:240 Pages
Weight:0.45 lbs.
Dimensions:0.6" x 5.0" x 8.0"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
An excellent collection of essays
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Edmund Morgan is America's most readable colonial historian, author of the ground-breaking "American Freedom, American Slavery" and the seminal "The Puritan Family" among other classics. This collection of loosely organized essays about the American Revolution is not meant as an introduction to the subject (for which see Morgan's "Birth of the Republic"), but a conversation for those who already know something of the subject. These essays range from a discussion of the sources of the revolution (legal, traditional rights, intellectual, religious) to the conflicts between the calls to freedom and the existence of slavery. First-rate reading for anybody interested in the subject area, but especially for AP history teachers like me.
Very insightful, and stimulating, yet VERY readable.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 27 years ago
This was a wonderful overview of many of the different aspects of the American Revolution. It deposes many widely held myths, but is never cynical. It presented many interesting ideas and opens up many new avenues of study. It is perfect for anyone who would just like to know more about why the American Revolution took place than the surface skimming that most of us got in High School and College.
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