Williamsburg Regional Library

Forced founders, Indians, debtors, slaves, and the making of the American Revolution in Virginia, Woody Holton

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

government publication of a state province territory dependency etc

illustrationsmaps

index present

non fiction

Forced founders

bibliography

Woody Holton

Indians, debtors, slaves, and the making of the American Revolution in Virginia

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 Virginians 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

Grievances, 1763-1774. Land speculators versus Indians and the privy council ; Tobacco growers versus merchants and Parliament -- Boycotts, 1769-1774. Nonimportation ; Nonexportation -- Unintended consequences, 1775-1776. Free Virginians versus slaves and Governor Dunmore ; Gentlemen versus farmers -- Independence, 1776. Spirit of the people

adult