A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence

Upon its first publication in 2001 as the inaugural volume in The New Press People’s History series, edited by the late Howard Zinn, Ray Raphael’s magisterial A People’s History of the American Revolution was hailed by Fresh Air as “relentlessly aggressive and unsentimental.” With impeccable skill, Raphael presented a wide array of fascinating scholarship within a single volume, employing a bottom-up approach that has served as a revelation to thousands of Americans.

A People’s History of the American Revolution draws upon diaries, personal letters, and other Revolutionary-era treasures, weaving a thrilling, “you are there” narrative—“a tapestry that uses individual experiences to illustrate the larger stories” (Los Angeles Times Book Review). In the trademark style of Howard Zinn, Raphael shifts the focus away from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to the slaves they owned, the Indians they displaced, and the men and boys who did the fighting.

This “remarkable perspective on a familiar part of American history” (Kirkus) helps us appreciate more fully the incredible diversity of the American Revolution by helping us see it through different sets of eyes.