The American Revolution

Edward Countryman. The American Revolution. New York: Hill and Wang, 1985.

This short, readable volume is in some way a synthesis of scholarship on the Revolution. However, Countryman brings a narrative control and point of view so that the text never devolves into a mere recounting of historiography.

The central question Countryman addresses is simple: What was the American Revolution? The answer turns out to be that the Revolution was a complex phenomena which was experienced differently by different people at different times; but also that it was a dynamic process that exacerbated old stresses and reconfigured old institutions and practices. The Revolution began in 1763 with the Stamp Act, and ended in 1788 with the ratification of the Constitution; during this period, Americans of different classes and different regions found themselves negotiating between old structures and the fluidity of the era. And the reactions varied from colony to colony, state to state.

In more concrete terms, this is a book about how urban artisans and merchants were in the vanguard of a resistance movement to British rule. Those both above and below then had to react to the increased tensions of the era. Among the ruling elite, there were hard decisions to be made, as some in the upper class felt that the Empire no longer served their needs, while others chose loyalty. Ultimately, the Constitution (and many state constitutions) would be crafted by members of this elite who recognized that it was better to acquiesce to some popular discontent in order to help shape the new order once that change became inevitable.

In the back country, many small farmers felt little affinity for the Patriot movement, and many held pre-existing resentments against the political elites of their colonies; resentments which did not dissipate once independence beckoned. This was where the fighting of the Revolution was at its bloodiest. It was also where opposition to the Constitution would be the strongest.

This is a very good synthesis of scholarship, as well as a fine consideration of the how the Revolution can be understood by examining how differently various groups in colonial society experienced it.