"This long-awaited volume unites the mature reflections of several scholars known for their research in early American history.... The essays form an excellent synthesis of research while raising new questions and reexamining the Revolutionary heritage."—William and Mary Quarterly"The essays work together elegantly, offering scholars fresh insights to revolutionary battles."-Journal of American History"This fine collection of essays reflects the best scholarship of the last fifteen years on the impact of the American Revolution.... The essays add tremendous force to the argument that the revolutionary struggle involved a many-sided attempt to redefine and restructure American society as well as to gain independence."—Gary B. Nash, University of California, Los Angeles

• Table of ContentsIntroduction: Alfred F. Young Part 1: Who Shall Rule at Home? 1. The Making and Unmaking of an American Ruling Class: Gary J. Kornblith and John M. Murrin 2. The American Revolution, Capitalism, and the Formation of the Yeoman Classes: Allan Kulikoff Part 2: Liberty for Whom? 3. "To Secure the Blessings of Liberty": Language, the Revolution, and American Capitalism: Edward Countryman 4. "Liberty Is Sweet": African-American Freedom Struggles in the Years before White Independence: Peter H. Wood 5. "I Thought I Should Liberate Myself from the Thraldom of Other": Apprentices, Masters, and the Revolution: W. J. Rorabaugh Part 3: In Victory and Defeat 6. Agrarian Independence: Northern land Rioters after the Revolution: Alan Taylor 7. "The Key of Liberty": William Manning and Plebeian Democracy: Michael Merrill and Sean Wilentz 8. The Novel as Subversive Activity: Women Reading, Women Writing: Cathy N. Davidson Afterword: How Radical Was the American Revolution?: Alfred F. Young Contributors Index