Preface to the First Edition

This book presents a new interpretation of the origins of the American Revolution. It argues that in every colony the revolutionary movement was led by an upper-class faction whose passionate commitment to the rise of the New World was evident well before 1763. Although the membership of this group reflected the influence of selfinterest, religion, and national origin, what truly gave the faction its unity was its dedication to the rapid development of America. This hypothesis, its relationship to other historical writing, and some key terms are discussed more fully in the Introduction. Several decisions helped shape the text. While setting forth a thesis couched in the broadest terms, the book examines only five colonies: Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina. These particular provinces were selected because of their size (in 1770 they had 58 percent of the population), the diverse geographical areas they represent, and their prominence in the clash with Britain. The demonstration of a hypothesis for these five important and varied colonies makes likely but, of course, does not prove that the same paradigm holds for the remaining eight. As for the names of the partisans, early in the writing of this work I decided to unburden the text of the long lists that could easily accompany any description of colonial factions. The appendix identifies the prominent party adherents in each province and also presents in tabular form some of the data used in grouping these individuals. Finally, in most instances I have modernized the spelling, punctuation, and capitalization in quoted material.