The Challenge of the American Revolution

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, Revolutionary Period (1775-1800)
Cover of the book The Challenge of the American Revolution by Edmund S. Morgan, W. W. Norton & Company
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Edmund S. Morgan ISBN: 9780393347487
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company Publication: February 17, 1978
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company Language: English
Author: Edmund S. Morgan
ISBN: 9780393347487
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication: February 17, 1978
Imprint: W. W. Norton & Company
Language: English

This volume presents an eminent historian's progress over thirty years in trying to understand the American Revolution. Here is the historian at his best—beginning with the assumption that things are not always as they appear to be, delighting in the discovery of the previously unknown, and offering new interpretations with style, wit, and the good sense to know that there are always more questions to be answered.

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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This volume presents an eminent historian's progress over thirty years in trying to understand the American Revolution. Here is the historian at his best—beginning with the assumption that things are not always as they appear to be, delighting in the discovery of the previously unknown, and offering new interpretations with style, wit, and the good sense to know that there are always more questions to be answered.

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.

More books from W. W. Norton & Company

Cover of the book Devotion and Defiance: My Journey in Love, Faith and Politics by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book The Kiss: Intimacies from Writers by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book American Son: A Novel by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book The Blind Watchmaker: Why the Evidence of Evolution Reveals a Universe without Design by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern Finance by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book Commander Will Cushing: Daredevil Hero of the Civil War by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book Love My Rifle More than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book The Thirteen Gun Salute (Vol. Book 13) (Aubrey/Maturin Novels) by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book The Black House by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book No Surrender: Poems by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book Emily's Ghost: A Novel of the Bronte Sisters by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book The Wizard of Loneliness by Edmund S. Morgan
Cover of the book Beautiful Eyes: A Father Transformed by Edmund S. Morgan
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy