The debate on the American Revolution

by Gwenda Morgan

This book is the first in-depth study of the way in which historians have dealt with the coming of the American Revolution and the formation of the US Constitution. The approach is thematic, examining how historians in different periods interpreted these events and their causes and, more contentiously, their meaning.

Making accessible to modern readers the work of often-neglected early historians, this book examines how the emergence of history as a professional discipline led to new and competing versions of the history of the Revolution. It spans the entire period from the first generation of writers, whose ideas about history were shaped by the Enlightenment, to those of the twenty-first century who drew on the rich legacy provided by black studies, gender and women’s studies, cultural studies and ethnohistory.

This book will be an invaluable resource for all students and scholars of the American Revolution.

Genres: History, American Revolution

336 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 2008

Reviews

[Michael Hattem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Morgan's book is a solid introduction to the historiography of the American Revolution. It's chronological structure works best for an overview but doesn't seem to have allowed the author to really get inside of the various interpretations as well as Alan Gibson did in his two books on the historiography of the Founders. Morgan recounts the major historians and works of the field and one of the strong points of her book is her coverage of the pre-professionalization historians of the 19th century. Early America and especially the founding has one of the richest strains of historiography and scholarly debate in the entire field of history. And, as a student of early America, I would recommend reading Morgan and then following it up with Gibson's two books for an extremely well-rounded and in-depth knowledge of the subject.