Woody Holton – författare

In this provocative reinterpretation of one of the best-known events in American history, Woody Holton shows that when Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and other elite Virginians joined their peers from other colonies in declaring independence from Britain, they acted partly in response to grassroots rebellions against their own rule. The Virginia gentry's efforts to shape London's imperial policy were thwarted by British merchants and by a coalition of Indian nations. In 1774, elite Virginians suspended trade with Britain in order to pressure Parliament and, at the same time, to save restive Virginia debtors from a terrible recession. The boycott and the growing imperial conflict led to rebellions by enslaved Virginians, Indians, and tobacco farmers. By the spring of 1776 the gentry believed the only way to regain control of the common people was to take Virginia out of the British Empire. Forced Founders uses the new social history to shed light on a classic political question: why did the owners of vast plantations, viewed by many of their contemporaries as aristocrats, start a revolution? As Holton's fast-paced narrative unfolds, the old story of patriot versus loyalist becomes decidedly more complex. |Challenging traditional interpretations of the American Revolution, Woody Holton argues that the Virginia gentry were forced to rebel against Britain because of pressures exerted by Indians, farmers, and slaves.

The preeminent historians of the founding era speak their mind on the anniversary of the United States' birthIn these powerful and personal essays, some of the most celebrated historians of the American Revolutionary era reflect on the meaning of 1776 to the nation in 2026, offering fresh insights and food for thought on every page. They tackle the most pressing topics that Americans debated in 1776 and continue to debate today: the meaning of democracy; the nature of information wars; immigration and the rights and obligations of citizenship; race and slavery; public health; the various and conflicting legacies of the founders; and the shifting nature of commemoration itself. Like the Revolutionary generation they know so well, on some issues these scholarly authorities find themselves largely in accord; on others they vehemently disagree. This is historical debate at its most urgent.Contributors: Allison Bigelow * T. H. Breen * Katherine Carté * Lindsay M. Chervinsky * Marlene L. Daut * Andrew M. Davenport * Christa Dierksheide * Lauren Duval * Joanne B. Freeman * Annette Gordon-Reed * Eliga H. Gould * Patrick Griffin * Nicholas Guyatt * Ricardo A. Herrera * Woody Holton * Brendan McConville * Michael A. McDonnell * Peter S. Onuf * Robert G. Parkinson * Teresa R. Pollak * John A. Ragosta * Bertrand Van Ruymbeke * Rosemarie Zagarri

An accessible framework for teaching America's founding documents Reading America's founding documents in historical context invites students to grapple with enduring questions about liberty, power, citizenship, and constitutional government. America's Founding Documents: A Documentary Reader provides a clear, structured guide to those debates and meets the requirements of South Carolina's REACH Act.The volume collects the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, selections from the Federalist Papers, the Emancipation Proclamation, and additional texts connected to the African American struggle for freedom. Each section includes a concise introduction that situates the documents in their historical moment and explains their continuing significance. Study questions are provided for further discussion.Uniquely, this reader approaches the founding documents through a geographical framework, encouraging students to explore how ideas about rights and governance emerged from specific places and communities. By anchoring political thought in lived experience and lively disputes, the book moves beyond abstract theory to highlight the dynamic and contested nature of the American experiment.Developed by scholars affiliated with the University of South Carolina's Founding Documents Initiative, this volume offers instructors a classroom-ready text for teaching America's political heritage.

An accessible framework for teaching America's founding documents Reading America's founding documents in historical context invites students to grapple with enduring questions about liberty, power, citizenship, and constitutional government. America's Founding Documents: A Documentary Reader provides a clear, structured guide to those debates and meets the requirements of South Carolina's REACH Act.The volume collects the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, selections from the Federalist Papers, the Emancipation Proclamation, and additional texts connected to the African American struggle for freedom. Each section includes a concise introduction that situates the documents in their historical moment and explains their continuing significance. Study questions are provided for further discussion.Uniquely, this reader approaches the founding documents through a geographical framework, encouraging students to explore how ideas about rights and governance emerged from specific places and communities. By anchoring political thought in lived experience and lively disputes, the book moves beyond abstract theory to highlight the dynamic and contested nature of the American experiment.Developed by scholars affiliated with the University of South Carolina's Founding Documents Initiative, this volume offers instructors a classroom-ready text for teaching America's political heritage.