The Spirit of 74: How the American Revolution Began

Raphael, Ray; Raphael, Marie

ISBN 10: 1620971267 / ISBN 13: 9781620971260

Published by The New Press, 2015

About this Item

Seller Inventory # I-9781620971260

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Spirit of 74: How the American Revolution Began
• Publisher: The New Press
• Publication Date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1620971267
• ISBN 13: 9781620971260
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

How ordinary people went from resistance to revolution: “[A] concise, lively narrative . . . the authors expertly build tension.” ―Publishers Weekly
 
Americans know about the Boston Tea Party and “the shot heard ’round the world,” but sixteen months divided these two iconic events, a period that has nearly been lost to history. The Spirit of ’74 fills in this gap in our nation’s founding narrative, showing how in these mislaid months, step by step, real people made a revolution.
 
After the Tea Party, Parliament not only shut down a port but also revoked the sacred Massachusetts charter. Completely disenfranchised, citizens rose up as a body and cast off British rule everywhere except in Boston, where British forces were stationed. A “Spirit of ’74” initiated the American Revolution, much as the better-known “Spirit of ’76” sparked independence. Redcoats marched on Lexington and Concord to take back a lost province, but they encountered Massachusetts militiamen who had trained for months to protect the revolution they had already made.
 
The Spirit of ’74 places our founding moment in a rich new historical context, both changing and deepening its meaning for all Americans.

About the Author

Ray Raphael’s seventeen books include A People’s History of the American Revolution,The First American Revolution, Founders, Constitutional Myths, andFounding Myths. He is a senior research fellow at Humboldt State University.Marie Raphael, author of two historical novels, has taught literature and writing at Boston University, College of the Redwoods, and Humboldt State University. They live in Northern California.