Many people know about the Boston Tea Party and 'the shot heard 'round the world' that began the American Revolution, but 16 months divided these two iconic events, a period that has nearly been lost to history. The Spirit of '74 fills in this gap in America's founding narrative, showing how in these mislaid months, step by step, real people made a revolution. This exciting text places America's founding moment in a rich and new historical context, both changing and deepening its meaning.

In twenty-two original essays, leading historians reveal the radical impulses at the founding of the American Republic. Here is a fresh, new reading of the American Revolution that gives voice and recognition to a generation of radical thinkers and doers whose revolutionary ideals outstripped those of the "Founding Fathers."
While the Founding Fathers advocated a break from Britain and espoused ideals of republican government, none proposed significant changes to the fabric of colonial society. Yet during this "revolutionary" period some people "did" believe that "liberty" meant "liberty for all" and that "equality" should be applied to political, economic, and religious spheres. Here are the stories of individuals and groups who exemplified the radical ideals of the American Revolution more in keeping with our own values today. This volume helps us to understand the social conflicts unleashed by the struggle for independence, the Revolution's achievements, and the unfinished agenda it left to future generations to confront.

Historian Ray Raphael has chosen seven representative characters--some famous, some unknown--to anchor a sweeping new history of the entire Founding Era, from the beginnings of unrest in 1761 through the passage of the Bill of Rights thirty years later. Readers experience the Revolutionary War by following the lives of both George Washington and a private soldier in his army. America's richest merchant, who rescued the nation from bankruptcy, goes head-to-head with a peripatetic revolutionary who incited rebellion in seven states. Rounding out the company is a richly nuanced cast of other characters, including Mercy Otis Warren, the most politically engaged woman of the times; a common village blacksmith; and a conservative slave owner, together with his abolitionist son. The culmination of Raphael's extensive research into the history and meaning of our nation's origins, "Founders" returns us to the dynamic roots of American patriotism.

First published ten years ago, award-winning historian Ray Raphael's "Founding Myths" has since established itself as a landmark of historical myth-busting. With the author's trademark wit and flair, "Founding Myths" exposes the errors and inventions in America's most cherished tales, from Paul Revere's famous ride to Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech. For the seventy thousand readers who have been captivated by Raphael's eye-opening accounts, history has never been the same.
In this revised tenth-anniversary edition, Raphael revisits the original myths and explores their further evolution over the past decade, uncovering new stories and peeling back additional layers of misinformation. This new edition also examines the highly politicized debates over America's past, as well as how school textbooks and popular histories often reinforce rather than correct historical mistakes.
A book that "explores the truth behind the stories of the making of our nation" (National Public Radio), this revised edition of "Founding Myths" will be a welcome resource for anyone seeking to separate historical fact from fiction.