Title: Forced founders
Subtitle: Indians, debtors, slaves, and the making of the American Revolution in Virginia
First published: 1999
Description: In this provocative reinterpretation of one of the best-known events in American history, Woody Holton shows that when Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and other elite joined their peers from other colonies in declaring independence from Britain, they acted partly in response to grassroots rebellions against their own rule. The Virginia gentry's efforts to shape London's imperial policy were thwarted by British merchants and by a coalition of Indian nations. In 1774, elite Virginians suspended trade with Britain in order to pressure Parliament and, at the same time, to save restive Virginia debtors from a terrible recession. The boycott and the growing imperial conflict led to rebellions by enslaved Virginians, Indians, and tobacco farmers. By the spring of 1776 the gentry believed the only way to regain control of the common people was to take Virginia out of the British Empire. Forced Founders uses the new social history to shed light on a classic political question: why did the owners of vast plantations, viewed by many of their contemporaries as aristocrats, start a revolution? As Holton's fast-paced narrative unfolds, the old story of patriot versus loyalist becomes decidedly more complex. - Back cover.
Subjects: Social aspects, Social classes, Gentry, Social conditions, Causes, History, Classes sociales, Histoire, Aspect social, Conditions sociales, Amerikaanse Vrijheidsoorlog, Petite noblesse, American Revolution (1775-1783) fast (OCoLC)fst01351668, War, Oorzaken, United states, history, revolution, 1775-1783, Virginia, history, revolution, 1775-1783, Virginia, history, colonial period, ca. 1600-1775, Virginia, social conditions, Virginia, economic conditions, United states, history, revolution, 1775-1783, causes
Places: Virginia, United States
Time periods: Revolution, 1775-1783, 18th century
LC classification: E210 .H695 1999