T.H. Breen presents a fresh perspective on the American Revolution in his most recent book, “American Insurgents, American Patriots: The Revolution of the People”. He strives to correct the popular narrative of American Independence by restoring ordinary individuals to the forefront of the Revolution. Breen argues that there would have been no Revolution and no independent nation if ordinary men and women had not chosen to act—the Revolution was, after all, a people’s revolution (p. 4). Although Breen doesn’t discredit the contribution of the Founding Fathers, he does argue that they were neither the first, nor the most powerful force behind independence. Rather, it was the insurgents who first sparked rebellion—the Founding Fathers came along behind them (pg. 4). Breen re-writes the historical timeline, one driven not by the elite but by the men and women that, in many ways, history has forgotten.
Early in the book, Breen acknowledges the reluctance to refer to American Patriots as insurgents. Insurgency is discomforting; it stirs up thoughts of violence and lawlessness. During the Revolution, even colonists active in rebellion against the crown didn’t see …show more content…
This makes for a fairly simple, fluid read. To support his arguments, Breen uses a variety of sources—diaries, history books, journals, letters, newspapers and governmental documents to name a few. Some of these sources were likely very difficult to locate considering Breen’s focus on the ordinary man. Although it’s easy enough to find information on some of the more well-known Revolutionary figures, Breen goes beyond the easily accessible to piece together the stories of people and communities that little has been written about. Unlike most authors of history texts, Breen does not choose to include a Bibliography of his sources, although they are cited in his end