The King's Three Faces: The Rise and Fall of Royal America, 1688-1776 (Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press) - Hardcover

McConville, Brendan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807830658 ISBN 13: 9780807830659

Publisher: Omohundro Institute and UNC Press, 2006

Synopsis

Reinterpreting the first century of American history, Brendan McConville argues that colonial society developed a political culture marked by strong attachment to Great Britain’s monarchs. This intense allegiance continued almost until the moment of independence, an event defined by an emotional break with the king. By reading American history forward from the seventeenth century rather than backward from the Revolution, McConville shows that political conflicts long assumed to foreshadow the events of 1776 were in fact fought out by factions who invoked competing visions of the king and appropriated royal rites rather than used abstract republican rights or pro-democratic proclamations. The American Revolution, McConville contends, emerged out of the fissure caused by the unstable mix of affective attachments to the king and a weak imperial government. Sure to provoke debate, The King’s Three Faces offers a powerful counterthesis to dominant American historiography.

About this title

About the Author

Brendan McConville is professor of history at Boston University and author of These Daring Disturbers of the Public Peace: The Struggle for Property and Power in Early New Jersey.

From the Inside Flap

In a provocative reinterpretation of the first century of American history, McConville argues that colonial society developed a political culture marked by strong attachment to Great Britain's monarchs. This intense allegiance continued almost until the moment of independence, an event defined by an emotional break with the king. By reading American history forward from the 17th century rather than backward from the Revolution, McConville shows that political conflicts long assumed to foreshadow the events of 1776 were in fact fought out by factions who invoked competing visions of the king and appropriated royal rites rather than used abstract republican rights or pro-democratic proclamations. The American Revolution, McConville contends, emerged out of the fissure caused by the unstable mix of affective attachments to the king and a weak imperial government.

Edition details

• Publisher: Omohundro Institute and UNC Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0807830658
• ISBN 13: 9780807830659
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 344