The Spirit of '74
How the American Revolution Began
Published on 19. July 2019
306 pages
978-1-62097-127-7 (ISBN)
Description
How ordinary people went from resistance to revolution: "[A] concise, lively narrative . . . the authors expertly build tension." -Publishers Weekly
Americans know about the Boston Tea Party and "the shot heard 'round the world," but sixteen months divided these two iconic events, a period that has nearly been lost to history. The Spirit of '74 fills in this gap in our nation's founding narrative, showing how in these mislaid months, step by step, real people made a revolution.
After the Tea Party, Parliament not only shut down a port but also revoked the sacred Massachusetts charter. Completely disenfranchised, citizens rose up as a body and cast off British rule everywhere except in Boston, where British forces were stationed. A "Spirit of '74" initiated the American Revolution, much as the better-known "Spirit of '76" sparked independence. Redcoats marched on Lexington and Concord to take back a lost province, but they encountered Massachusetts militiamen who had trained for months to protect the revolution they had already made.
The Spirit of '74 places our founding moment in a rich new historical context, both changing and deepening its meaning for all Americans.
Americans know about the Boston Tea Party and "the shot heard 'round the world," but sixteen months divided these two iconic events, a period that has nearly been lost to history. The Spirit of '74 fills in this gap in our nation's founding narrative, showing how in these mislaid months, step by step, real people made a revolution.
After the Tea Party, Parliament not only shut down a port but also revoked the sacred Massachusetts charter. Completely disenfranchised, citizens rose up as a body and cast off British rule everywhere except in Boston, where British forces were stationed. A "Spirit of '74" initiated the American Revolution, much as the better-known "Spirit of '76" sparked independence. Redcoats marched on Lexington and Concord to take back a lost province, but they encountered Massachusetts militiamen who had trained for months to protect the revolution they had already made.
The Spirit of '74 places our founding moment in a rich new historical context, both changing and deepening its meaning for all Americans.
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11/2015
The New Press
€25.50
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Persons
Ray Raphael's seventeen books include "A People's History of the American Revolution," "The First American Revolution," "Founders," "Constitutional Myths," and "Founding Myths." He is a senior research fellow at Humboldt State University. Marie Raphael, author of two historical novels, has taught literature and writing at Boston University, College of the Redwoods, and Humboldt State University. They live in Northern California.
Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Contents
- Introduction: The Missing Sixteen Months
- How the American Revolution Began: Timeline
- A Note on Nomenclature
- Part I: Setting the Stage
- 1. Boston: Tea
- 2. London: Crackdown
- Part II: The Revolution of 1774
- 3. Salem: Provincial Assembly and Town Meetings
- 4. Berkshire County: Committees of Correspondence
- 5. Hampshire County: "River Gods"
- 6. Massachusetts Towns and Countryside: "Mobs"
- 7. Charlestown and Cambridge: Powder Alarm
- 8. Worcester County: Militia
- Part III: Defending the Revolution
- 9. Philadelphia and Cambridge: Two Congresses
- 10. New England: Arms Race
- 11. Salem, Worcester, or Concord: Where Will the British Strike?
- 12. Massachusetts: Sixteen Days
- 13. Lexington and Concord: War
- Postscript: Local Events, National Narratives, and Global Impact
- Acknowledgments
- Notes
- Index
- About the Authors
