Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution
- ISBN-10
- 0812297458
- ISBN-13
- 9780812297454
- Series
- Occupied America
- Category
- History
- Pages
- 304
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2020-09-25
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania Press
- Author
- Donald F. Johnson
Description
Occupied America chronicles the everyday experience of ordinary people living under military occupation during the American Revolution. In Occupied America, Donald F. Johnson chronicles the everyday experience of ordinary people living under military occupation during the American Revolution. Focusing on day-to-day life in port cities held by the British Army, Johnson recounts how men and women from a variety of backgrounds navigated harsh conditions, mitigated threats to their families and livelihoods, took advantage of new opportunities, and balanced precariously between revolutionary and royal attempts to secure their allegiance. Between 1775 and 1783, every large port city along the Eastern seaboard fell under British rule at one time or another. As centers of population and commerce, these cities—Boston, New York, Newport, Philadelphia, Savannah, Charleston—should have been bastions from which the empire could restore order and inspire loyalty. Military rule's exceptional social atmosphere initially did provide opportunities for many people—especially women and the enslaved, but also free men both rich and poor—to reinvent their lives, and while these opportunities came with risks, the hope of social betterment inspired thousands to embrace military rule. Nevertheless, as Johnson demonstrates, occupation failed to bring about a restoration of imperial authority, as harsh material circumstances forced even the most loyal subjects to turn to illicit means to feed and shelter themselves, while many maintained ties to rebel camps for the same reasons. As occupations dragged on, most residents no longer viewed restored royal rule as a viable option. As Johnson argues, the experiences of these citizens reveal that the process of political change during the Revolution occurred not in a single instant but gradually, over the course of years of hardship under military rule that forced Americans to grapple with their allegiance in intensely personal and highly contingent ways. Thus, according to Johnson, the quotidian experience of military occupation directly affected the outcome of the American Revolution.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2020
- 304 pages
- Paperback
- Early American Studies
-
- 2014-03-05
- 445 pages
- Paperback
- Pearson College Division
Similar books
-
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos
By Rodolfo AcuñaThe most comprehensive book on Mexican Americans describing their political ascendancy Authored by one of the most influential and highly-regarded voices of Chicano history and ethnic studies, Occupied America is the most definitive ...
-
Occupied America: A History of Chicanos
By Rodolfo AcuñaOccupied America: A History of Chicanos
-
Occupy!: Scenes from Occupied America
By Keith Gessen, Mark Greif, Sarah LeonardScenes from Occupied America Carla Blumenkranz, Keith Gessen, Mark Greif, Sarah Leonard, Sarah Resnick. down. We did not back down when we were told, the first time that my friend Hena spoke, that our concerns could be emailed and ...
-
Occupied America; the Chicano's Struggle Toward Liberation
By Rodolfo AcuñaOccupied America; the Chicano's Struggle Toward Liberation
-
Occupy!: Scenes from Occupied America
By Astra Taylor, Keith Gessen, Mark GreifThe first book to explore the Occupy movement in depth, with reportage and analysis.
-
Occupied Territory: Policing Black Chicago from Red Summer to Black Power
By Simon BaltoRobert Nixon and Police Torture in Chicago, 1871–1971. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2016. Davis Angela. “Political Prisoners, Prisons, and Black Liberation.” In If They Come in the Morning: Voices of Resistance, ed.
-
Anything But Mexican: Chicanos in Contemporary Los Angeles
By Rodolfo F. AcunaOriginally published in 1996, this edition analyses the rise and rule of LA's first-ever Mexican American mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, as well as the harsh pressures facing Chicanos in an increasingly unequal and gentrifying city.
-
The Good Occupation
By Susan L. CarruthersFrom letters, diaries, and memoirs, Susan Carruthers chronicles the intimate thoughts and feelings of ordinary servicemen and women whose difficult mission was to rebuild nations they had recently worked to destroy.
-
Occupy
By Noam ChomskyWith urgency and clarity, Noam Chomsky speaks with the movement as it transitions from occupying tent camps to occupying the national conscience
-
When the Yankees Came: Conflict and Chaos in the Occupied South, 1861-1865
By Stephen V. AshOn the role of institutional propaganda in the Confederacy see Faust, Creation of Confederate Nationalism; Andrews, ... in the Confederacy” and Confederate Morale and Church Propaganda; and Wight, “Churches and the Confederate Cause.