The American Revolution Reborn, ed. Patrick Spero and Michael Zuckerman

Abstract

The American Revolution Reborn is a mess. This is no criticism! In fact, by the lights of co-editor Patrick Spero, this is actually the volume’s central aim. Rather than attempting to conjure up a fresh, grand narrative of revolutionary America, this group of fifteen contributors (unfortunately, only three contributors are women) provides what Spero calls a ‘messy’ view of the revolution that deconstructs longstanding historiographical pieties (p. 4). In doing so, the collection brings the lived experiences of individuals to the fore. Readers will discover an eclectic cast of characters who ordinarily exist on the periphery of revolutionary narratives. Among others, we are introduced to Quaker loyalists, a captive of the Seneca carrying a mysterious piece of parchment, Presbyterian schoolteachers, a Scottish sea captain cruising the Barbary Coast and a gang of barnyard chemists. The authors avoid caricaturing these individuals as purely heroes, victims or villains. Instead, many of these subjects are simply trying to make sense of the brutal ‘civil war’ in which they are caught up.