Showing titles in Revolution & Founding

In Cords of Affection: Constructing Constitutional Union in Early American History Emily Pears investigates efforts by the founding generation's leadership to construct and strengthen political attachments in and among the citizens of the new republic. These emotional connections between citizens and their institutions were critical to the success of the new nation.

Scholars have long debated the meaning of the pursuit of happiness, yet have tended to define it narrowly, focusing on a single intellectual tradition, and on the use of the term within a single text, the Declaration of Independence. In this insightful volume, Carli Conklin considers the pursuit of happiness across a variety of intellectual traditions, and explores its usage in two key legal texts of the Founding Era, the Declaration and William Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England.

The American War for Independence was fought in nearly every colony, but some colonies witnessed far more conflict than others. In the first half of the war, the bulk of military operations were concentrated in Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. A shift in British strategy southward after the Battle of Monmouth in 1778 triggered numerous military engagements in 1779 and 1780 in Georgia and the Carolinas. Surprisingly, Virginia, the largest of the original 13 colonies, saw relatively little fighting for the first six years of the Revolutionary War.

Thomas Jefferson lived a dozen lifetimes in one. Patriot, scientist, architect, president, author of the Declaration of Independence - he preferred, above all titles, “father” and “grandfather". Yet, time and again, demand for his unique skills drew him from the quiet home he loved. In this recording, you will thrill to true stories of war and peace, loyalty and betrayal, battles against empires, and struggles against slavery.

In General Peter Muhlenberg: A Virginia Officer of the Continental Line, historian Michael Cecere cuts away the romanticism surrounding this fascinating character to present him as a highly capable and dedicated officer who served for seven long years in America’s War for Independence; a man of faith who held the high ideals of that office in his conduct with fellow officers and regular soldiers alike.

Revolutionary Surgeons offers an integrated picture of surgeons as political and military leaders of the American Revolution.

The British Legion was one of the most remarkable regiments, not only of the American Revolution, but of any war. A corps made up of American Loyalists, it saw its first action in New York and then engaged in almost every battle in the Southern colonies. Relying on firsthand accounts - letters, diaries, and journals - War at Saber Point: Banastre Tarleton and the British Legion is the enthralling story of those forgotten Americans and the young Englishman who led them.

George Washington spent more of his working life farming than he did at war or in political office. For more than 40 years, he devoted himself to the improvement of agriculture. Washington at the Plow depicts the "first farmer of America" as a leading practitioner of the New Husbandry, a transatlantic movement that spearheaded advancements in crop rotation.

We the Fallen People presents a close look at the ideas of human nature to be found in the history of American democratic thought. McKenzie, following C. S. Lewis, claims there are only two reasons to believe in majority rule: because we have confidence in human nature - or because we don't. The Founders subscribed to the biblical principle that humans are fallen and their virtue is always doubtful, and they wrote the US Constitution to frame a republic intended to handle our weaknesses.

Accomplishing the Impossible draws contemporary leadership lessons from the events and people that were central to the beginning of the American Revolution. Retired general, scholar, and educator William E. Rapp cuts through the popular mythology around the Boston Campaign and applies the historical lessons to challenges faced by today's business and public sector leaders. By doing so, he inspires today's leaders to view contemporary leadership and change management through a fresh lens.

This addition to Oxford's Very Short Introductions series traces how Americans have addressed the issues and events of their time and place, whether it is the Civil War, the Great Depression, or the culture wars of today.

In a world rife with conflict and tension, how does a great power prosecute an irregular war at a great distance within the context of a regional struggle, all within a global competitive environment? The question, so pertinent today, was confronted by the British nearly 250 years ago during the American War for Independence. And the answer, as this book makes plain, is: not the way the British, under Lieutenant General Charles, Earl Cornwallis, went about it in the American South. Southern Gambit presents a closely observed, comprehensive account of this failed strategy.

On a December night in 1773, in an iconic act of civil disobedience, American colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded a merchant ship laden with tea. They tossed the tea into the Boston Harbor in protest of taxation without representation. Their motivation at the time was not one of a battle for independence; rather, they sought what they viewed as their constitutional right to representation in the British Parliament.

On the night of March 5, 1770, British soldiers fired into a crowd gathered in front of Boston’s Custom House, killing five people. Denounced as an act of unprovoked violence and villainy, the event that came to be known as the Boston Massacre is one of the most familiar incidents in American history, yet one of the least understood.

The Battles of Saratoga are often regarded as the turning point in the American War of Independence when the North American colonies began their march to triumph against Great Britain. Fought in September and October 1777, these two battles were significant victories for a variety of reasons. The actual history of these monumental battles - their causes, the battles themselves, and their aftermath - is both complex and thrilling. Discover the history and legacy of the Battles of Saratoga in this book.

The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War by historian J. L. Bell reveals a new dimension to the start of America’s War for Independence by tracing the spark of its first battle back to little-known events beginning in September 1774. The author relates how radical Patriots secured those four cannon and smuggled them out of Boston, and how Gage sent out spies and search parties to track them down.

First published in 1964, this series of essays gives important insight into American history by one who could trace American development in terms of the Christian ideas which gave it direction. These essays will greatly alter your understanding of, and appreciation for, American history. Topics discussed include: The legal issues behind the War of Independence, sovereignty as a theological tenet foreign to colonial political thought and the Constitution, the desire for land as a consequence of the belief in "inheriting the land" as a future blessing, and more.

He was the greatest spy of the American Revolution - so much so, that at times, it was hard to tell if he was working for the British or the Americans.

In this under-reported and under-taught story of the American Revolution, light is shed on the little-known role Benjamin Franklin played in bringing the Northern and Southern colonies together against corrupt British rule. Along with an “Inner Circle” of British Abolitionists, Franklin worked behind the scenes to help free one American slave, James Somersett; and then, in cooperation with a vast network of colonial allies, set in motion a series of events that provided the impetus for Northern patriots and reluctant Southern slaveholders to join forces.

Dine with Thomas Jefferson and Fascinating Guest is an adventure of 25 fact-based dinners at Monticello, the White House, and at Minster Jefferson's Paris residence. The dinners center on four of Jefferson passions: wine, food, conversation, and travel. The guests are a who's who of famous people of the time, such as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John and Abigail Adams, Marquis de Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton, Dolley and James Madison, and more.