Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution (Historical Dictionaries of War, Revolution, and Civil Unrest)

Although often overly romanticized, the American Revolution remains a pivotal period in the history of the United States of America. Beyond the essential history of military leaders and campaigns are the intertwined social and political issues of representation, colonialism, and taxation that drove the American colonies to armed conflict with Great Britain, and eventually produced a new, independent America. The book is organized into several distinct sections. An introduction discusses the numerous vectors of power that intersected to create a political atmosphere of revolution in the American colonies. The first section is a detailed chronology of the political and military events surrounding the American Revolution. The second section is a dictionary that includes entries about important persons, places, institutions, social and political conditions, and military engagements. The Southern campaigns from 1778 to 1781, which are often scantily detailed in American Revolution histories, receive full discussion. The third section is a selected bibliography that organizes the large number of sources and accounts of the American Revolution. The fourth section is a collection of primary documents from the time period that produce ample insight into the ways of thinking about this crucial moment in American history. The abundance of material on the American Revolutionary War only makes this volume more valuable as an immediate and concise reference source. The essential information is pleasantly organized in the "Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution", and allows for a quick understanding of the important topics of the war.