Independence
The Struggle to Set America Free
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- $27.99
Publisher Description
No event in American history was more pivotal-or more furiously contested-than Congress's decision to declare independence in July 1776. Even months after American blood had been shed at Lexington and Concord, many colonists remained loyal to Britain. John Adams, a leader of the revolutionary effort, said bringing the fractious colonies together was like getting "thirteen clocks to strike at once."
Other books have been written about the Declaration, but no author has traced the political journey from protest to Revolution with the narrative scope and flair of John Ferling. Independence takes readers from the cobblestones of Philadelphia into the halls of Parliament, where many sympathized with the Americans and furious debate erupted over how to deal with the rebellion. Independence is not only the story of how freedom was won, but how an empire was lost.
At this remarkable moment in history, high-stakes politics was intertwined with a profound debate about democracy, governance, and justice. John Ferling, drawing on a lifetime of scholarship, brings this passionate struggle to life as no other historian could. Independence will be hailed as the finest work yet from the author Michael Beschloss calls "a national resource."
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Noted for his knowledge of the Revolutionary era, Ferling (The Ascent of George Washington) again gives us a narrative hard to surpass in fluency and authority. It covers the coming of the American Revolution from the Stamp Act in 1765 to the Declaration of Independence. Familiar leading characters on both sides of the Atlantic, from Lord North to Benjamin Franklin and George Washington, fill the pages, their motives examined as are the battles raging in both the colonies and Parliament on how to resolve their differences. Ferling treats them all with understanding and balance even while he offers criticism where it's due (as with Franklin's trying to play all sides). The problem is that Ferling's take on the coming of independence is conventional, limited, and out of date. Ferling fails to discuss how the American people's own activities pushed their leaders to take stronger stances, or the worries aroused by the Indian tribes or restive slaves once full-scale war broke out. Of thousands of Loyalists, only Joseph Galloway plays a role. When Abigail Adams puts in a short appearance, it isn't clear why. Ferling had a chance to give us a full picture of the turmoil and confusion of the decade before 1776. It's unfortunate that he hasn't done so. B&w illus.
