American Revolution : People and Perspectives (Perspectives in American Social History)

Moving beyond traditional texts, this revealing volume explores the world of the average citizens who played an integral part in the Revolutionary era of American history. American Revolution looks at one of the most significant eras in American history through the eyes of its least famous, least studied citizens. It is an eye-opening collection of essays demonstrating how the wrenching transformation from English colonies to an emerging nation affected Americans from all walks of life. American Revolution features the work of 14 accomplished social historians, whose findings are adding new dimensions to our understanding of the Revolutionary era. But some of the most fascinating contributions to this volume come from the people themselves—the anecdotes, letters, diaries, journalism, and other documents that convey the experiences of the full spectrum of American society in the mid- to late-18th century (including women, African Americans, Native Americans, immigrants, soldiers, children, laborers, Quakers, sailors, and farmers). Fourteen distinguished historians examine the social effects of the American Revolution on the people who lived through it Includes diary entries, personal letters, news stories, and other first-person accounts of people often ignored in history