I was interested in a book that looked at the American Revolution from the standpoint of the common man and disenfranchised. Raphael sets down some stories that I have not seen before, but some of his excerpts ran so long that I was definitely bored. Raphael tends to hammer his point in more often that I appreciate. While Raphael does point out some of the inconsistencies of the ‘people’s’ actions, it struck me that he failed to point out that the ‘heroes of western Massachusetts may have closed courts, but the local militia stayed local, almost never participating in campaigns outside the immediate area. Some did show up for the Saratoga campaign, but not until it came close to home. They really only gathered for Shays’ Rebellion, closing local courts and protesting the actions of the rich (Boston, not London this time).

But Raphael does highlight the participation of Negroes and Indians, and he drives home the point that they fought for their own freedoms, not those of their white compatriots. Raphael does not go into woke overdrive, noting that the freedom that the American whites wanted cannot be judged by the values of today. rather their attempt to free themselves from Britain was the start of a process that has given the vote to Negroes and women – with obvious work yet to be done.

So I found parts very good, and parts downright tedious. but a needed start to seeing the American Revolution in a wider scope.