The Will of the People: The Revolutionary Birth of America

by T.H. Breen

Over eight years of war, ordinary Americans accomplished something extraordinary. Far from the actions of the Continental Congress and the Continental Army, they took responsibility for the course of the revolution. They policed their neighbors, sent troops and weapons to distant strangers committed to the same cause, and identified friends and traitors. By taking up the reins of power but also setting its limits, they ensured America's success. Without their participation there would have been no victory over Great Britain, no independence. The colonial rebellion would have ended like so many others - in failure.

The driving force behind the creation of a country based on the will of the people, T. H. Breen shows, was in fact the people itself. In villages, towns, and cities from Georgia to New Hampshire, Americans managed local affairs, negotiated shared sacrifice, and participated in a political system in which each believed they were as good as any other. Presenting hundreds of stories, Breen captures the powerful sense of equality and responsibility resulting from this process of self-determination.

With striking originality, Breen restores these missing Americans to our founding and shows why doing so is essential for understanding why our revolution ended differently from others that have shaped the modern world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American Revolution, American History, American, 18th Century, American Revolutionary War

Audible Audio

Published December 24, 2019

About the author

Timothy H. Breen is the William Smith Mason Professor of American History at Northwestern University. He is also the founding director of the Kaplan Humanities Center and the Nicholas D. Chabraja Center for Historical Studies at Northwestern. Breen is a specialist on the American Revolution; he studies the history of early America with a special interest in political thought, material culture, and cultural anthropology.

Breen received his Ph.D in history from Yale University. He also holds an honorary MA from Oxford University. In addition to the appointment at Northwestern University, he has taught at Cambridge University (as the Pitt Professor of American History and Institutions), at Oxford University (as the Harmsworth Professor of American History), and at University of Chicago, Yale University, and California Institute of Technology. He is an honorary fellow of the Rothermere American Institute at Oxford University. He has been the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, and has also enjoyed research support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Humboldt Foundation, the National Humanities Center, the Mellon Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. An essay he published on the end of slavery in Massachusetts became the basis for a full-length opera that was produced in Chicago. He has written for the New York Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, American Scholar, the New York Times, and the London Review of Books.

Reviews

[Joe]

This is an important book for any student of the American Revolution. Whereas most histories of the struggle for independence are told through the deeds of the Founders and the Enlightenment philosophy of the age, this book tells the unheralded tale of how the Revolution's origins, reach and progress arose from the cultural, religious and economic reality of everyday life in small towns across the colonies. Before and during the war, local communities of farmers, merchants, tradesmen, ministers and others adopted the call for independence from monarchy as the creed of a newly emerging political culture based on faith in the liberation stories of the Old Testament and belief in God-given personal rights. These ordinary citizens, through their (mostly extra-legal) local committees and councils, became the engine for spreading and sustaining the Revolution's aspirations and unifying sense of purpose in the face of long and trying years of war, social upheaval and economic distress. While not discounting the indispensable contributions of the Revolution's legendary leaders, the author concludes that "ordinary people saved the Revolution," and he makes a vivid case for his conclusion.

[Leigh Kimmel]

In school we learn about the great figures of the American Revolution: George Washington, John and Samuel Adams (cousins), Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, etc. And without their leadership, the Revolution probably would've come to naught.

But it also would've come to naught if not for a multitude of ordinary people, the "far trees" we only glimpse except as they serve as the basis of characters in historical fiction set in the Revolutionary era, or in genealogy. But it was their determination, their sermons, their sacrifices, their innovations and improvisations, and at the end their willingness to be generous in peace and reconcile with neighbors who'd considered separation from King and Crown an unwise move. That last is what makes the American Revolution so unusual in the history of such events.

This is a book about those ordinary people, from obscure pamphleteers and preachers to militia leaders and the new judges who sorted out the concepts of justice separate from the King's Bench.

[Peg - The History Shelf]

I wrote a review published at Open Letters Review here: https://openlettersreview.com/posts/t...

[Sarah Shepherd]

The book is written through the lens of the history of emotions and micro history which gives a unique look into the common people. Enjoyable! The only reason it gets four stars is because he really focuses almost exclusively on New England! Very little mention of the lower southern colonies.

[Cindi Love-Westberg]

This book gives a detailed telling of the fight for liberty by ordinary Americans!! It goes beyond the famous founding fathers to the struggle that regular Americans had to ensure freedom for America was guaranteed!!!

[Andrew Martin]

T. H. Breen has written a different type of book concerning the American Revolution. He does not center on the famous individuals who are most credited with securing independence for the new nation. Rather, his emphasis is on the common man and how the resolve of these people helped to sustain the revolutionary spirit for the eight long years of the war. Breen divides his book into chapters which highlight themes themes that he wants to address. This is not strictly a chronological approach although the chapters do have a loose time line to them. The general public can relate to this book because it discusses the feelings of the locals harkening back to that old saw that "all politics are local". Breen skillfully proves that point and many more. He has written many books which earn him the accolades of many in the history profession. This is a great book to read and digest at your leisure.

[John More]

Prof. Breen's work examines the essential role of the common people in ensuring that the American Revolution succeeded. It was not just the usual suspects -- generals, politicians, and essayists about whom large histories are typically written. It. was the thousands of ordinary citizens who organized themselves into committees to manage various aspects of the Revolution, including what to do with its opponents. Especially noteworthy are the role of preachers in motivating their parishioners and the relative restraint showed with respect to Loyalists compared to what happened with the French and other revolutions. Written in straightforward, non-academic English. Clear and easy to read.

[Elizabeth]

I hit a reading slump just after starting this and now I finally finished. This is a relevant read especially since it covers areas of the Revolutionary War that don't normally get covered. A recommend.

[KEN]

Mostly focused on New England history. Lots of interesting stories

[Saralyn]

Interesting twists on how to look at the period of time of the revolution. I found some of his views enlightening.

[James Bechtel]

Brilliant!

[Vincent]

A fascinating inquiry that provides a gripping re-interpretation of not only how the how the American Revolution operated, but also how the Revolution held itself together amid uncertainty. More importantly, Breen's work examines the emotions that were felt by the masses who were so fundamentally vital in their involvement in the revolutionary enterprise, ranging from fear to betrayal and vengeance. It is important to note that Breen's study is rather disaggregates in its scope, primarily in the sense that the analytical framework is geographically centered at the locality level. As such, the study takes the form of a history from below, as opposed to a history centered on main characters at the upper echelons of the nascent American revolutionary provisional government (if one can reasonably call it that).

One can only marvel at how the American Revolution actually managed to succeed when flipping through the pages of this book, examining the developments, feelings, motivations, and characters of American localities. Breen does not take long to emphasize that the American Revolution was truly carried out by the masses - fitting with the title of the work itself - rather than by an insurgency group or a revolutionary vanguard. Speaking of which, the comparative analysis between his evaluation of the American Revolution compared to other revolutions (such as those in Russia, France and Ireland) is instructive, albeit brief and surface-level. In any case, the survey of what motivated the majority of ordinary people is a major strength of this book.

That said, Breen's commentary becomes invaluable in his revisionary assertion that the lofty, noble ideas from the likes of Paine, Locke, Franklin, and so on, were not the prime motivators of the masses who lived in their respective localities. Rather, Christian doctrine and those devoted to teaching it provided the people with an easily comprehensible and relatable set of ideas to become intimately involved in the revolutionary enterprise and to fight for independence. Breen's in-depth examination of this phenomenon, coupled with the words of priests and newspapers that bring the subject matter to life, was one of the most intriguing parts of the book in my opinion.

Other elements of Breen's book are strong, as well. An especially important theme towards the end of the book centers around the exceeding restraint that Americans had regarding the general treatment of traitors and enemies, whether real or suspected. In comparison with other revolutions, it becomes abundantly clear that traitors were faced with punishments that feel almost tame. Another important theme that permeated throughout the book was a notion of local revolutionary justice, in which the citizenry in their own localities were faced with implementing their own revolutionary justice in the midst of threatening and fierce uncertainty.

Overall, the book presents a compelling thesis on the success of the American Revolution being driven in significant part from local participation, where such localities had to implement justice in their own way while confronting fear, anger, betrayal, uncertainty, triumph, and the like. In the reviewer's personal opinion, there was a great opportunity to expand on the comparative political similarities and differences between between the American Revolution and the French and Russian Revolutions. Namely, in how they were carried out, mass support or discontent, excesses, treatment of traitors, operations at the local level, and ultimate success or shortcoming. In consideration of this, 4/5 stars seems appropriate. Highly recommended for new readers of the American Revolution.

[Leslie]

This rating is strictly based on the audiobook. The reader was awful and I couldn’t listen to another minute.