A âdeeply researched and bracing retellingâ (Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prizeâwinning historian) of the American Revolution, showing how the Founders were influenced by overlooked Americansâwomen, Native Americans, African Americans, and religious dissenters.
Using more than a thousand eyewitness records, Liberty Is Sweet is a âspirited accountâ (Gordon S. Wood, Pulitzer Prizeâwinning author of The Radicalism of the American Revolution) that explores countless connections between the Patriots of 1776 and other Americans whose passion for freedom often brought them into conflict with the Founding Fathers. âIt is all one story,â prizewinning historian Woody Holton writes.
Holton describes the origins and crucial battles of the Revolution from Lexington and Concord to the British surrender at Yorktown, always focusing on marginalized Americansâenslaved Africans and African Americans, Native Americans, women, and dissentersâand on overlooked factors such as weather, North Americaâs unique geography, chance, misperception, attempts to manipulate public opinion, and (most of all) disease. Thousands of enslaved Americans exploited the chaos of war to obtain their own freedom, while others were given away as enlistment bounties to whites. Women provided material support for the troops, sewing clothes for soldiers and in some cases taking part in the fighting. Both sides courted native people and mimicked their tactics.
Liberty Is Sweet is a âmust-read book for understanding the founding of our nationâ (Walter Isaacson, author of Benjamin Franklin), from its origins on the frontiers and in the Atlantic ports to the creation of the Constitution. Offering surprises at every turnâfor example, Holton makes a convincing case that Britain never had a chance of winning the warâthis majestic history revivifies a story we thought we already knew.