Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution by Woody HoltonRead about another entry on the list.
Woody Holton has produced this season’s most ambitious Revolutionary War history with “Liberty Is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution.” Beginning with the French and Indian War and concluding after the ratification of the Constitution, the book integrates the stories of marginalized people into familiar historical events; Holton argues that “much can be gained from bringing all Americans of the founding era into the same timeline.” In doing so, Holton creates a fuller and richer account of events.
The author’s intention is clear from the outset. He notes that Native Americans “remain invisible in most accounts of the origins” of the Revolution. But he begins his narrative with the French and Indian War, observing that in the wake of Britain’s defeat at the hands of the French and their Indian allies in the Battle of the Monongahela in 1755, the British realized the need to mollify Native American tribes. To do so, they promised to keep Colonial settlers off tribal land. Britain, he writes, “somewhat succeeded at placating the Native Americans – but at the same time infuriated a significant portion of its own colonists: those who had hoped to make or improve their fortunes selling Native American land.” Forgotten conflicts like these, Holton argues, “set the stage for the American Revolution.”
Throughout the book, Holton adds fresh dimensions to history. For instance, he integrates women’s previously unheralded roles in the Revolution into the narrative, describing those who initiated boycotts of British goods before the war and those who accompanied their husbands into battle after its onset. Telling these less well-known stories enriches the ones we already know.
--Marshal Zeringue
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