Introduction

The American Revolution was one of the most dramatic and important eras of our history. It was during this period that a group of relatively unconnected colonies revolted against the king of England, proclaimed their independence, and reformulated politics. In the process, Americans not only molded representative government within the states but also created a new nation. This story has larger-than-life characters—George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and James Madison, to name just a few. At the same time, there were others who made sacrifices and left an indelible mark on what it means to be an American. Without the men who lived and died aboard the Jersey prison ship, without the Native Americans who fought with and against the British, and without the slaves who seized upon the ideal of liberty in the Age of Revolution, our history would have been very different. In relating how colonial America became a vibrant and expanding republic, this volume does more than tell the story of the victors.

The word patriots for supporters of revolution has been avoided, and it is not assumed that the advocates of the Constitution were right in attacking the Articles of Confederation. Loyalists were as concerned with liberty as revolutionaries, and the anti-Federalists sought to protect the republic as well as the Federalists. Within this volume the reader will find entries on the founding fathers alongside entries that reveal the range of voices—Native American, African-American, European-American, male and female—of the people who made the American nation.

—Paul A. Gilje University of Oklahoma