The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Oxford History of the United States)

by Robert Middlekauff

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Book Overview: The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789 (Oxford History of the United States)

The first book to appear in the illustrious Oxford History of the United States, this critically acclaimed volume–a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize–offers an unsurpassed history of the Revolutionary War and the birth of the American republic.

Beginning with the French and Indian War and continuing to the election of George Washington as first president, Robert Middlekauff offers a panoramic history of the conflict between England and America, highlighting the drama and anguish of the colonial struggle for independence. Combining the political and the personal, he provides a compelling account of the key events that precipitated the war, from the Stamp Act to the Tea Act, tracing the gradual gathering of American resistance that culminated in the Boston Tea Party and “the shot heard ’round the world.” The heart of the book features a vivid description of the eight-year-long war, with gripping accounts of battles and campaigns, ranging from Bunker Hill and Washington’s crossing of the Delaware to the brilliant victory at Hannah’s Cowpens and the final triumph at Yorktown, paying particular attention to what made men fight in these bloody encounters. The book concludes with an insightful look at the making of the Constitution in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 and the struggle over ratification. Through it all, Middlekauff gives the reader a vivid sense of how the colonists saw these events and the importance they gave to them. Common soldiers and great generals, Sons of Liberty and African slaves, town committee-men and representatives in congress–all receive their due. And there are particularly insightful portraits of such figures as Sam and John Adams, James Otis, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and many others.

This new edition has been revised and expanded, with fresh coverage of topics such as mob reactions to British measures before the War, military medicine, women’s role in the Revolution, American Indians, the different kinds of war fought by the Americans and the British, and the ratification of the Constitution. The book also has a new epilogue and an updated bibliography.

The cause for which the colonists fought, liberty and independence, was glorious indeed. Here is an equally glorious narrative of an event that changed the world, capturing the profound and passionate struggle to found a free nation.

The Oxford History of the United States

The Oxford History of the United States is the most respected multi-volume history of our nation. The series includes three Pulitzer Prize winners, a New York Times bestseller, and winners of the Bancroft and Parkman Prizes. The Atlantic Monthly has praised it as “the most distinguished series in American historical scholarship,” a series that “synthesizes a generation’s worth of historical inquiry and knowledge into one literally state-of-the-art book.” Conceived under the general editorship of C. Vann Woodward and Richard Hofstadter, and now under the editorship of David M. Kennedy, this renowned series blends social, political, economic, cultural, diplomatic, and military history into coherent and vividly written narrative.

ISBN-13	9780195315882
ISBN-10	019531588X
Publisher	Oxford University Press
Publication Date	2007-03-09
Edition	Revised
Language	en
Pages	752
Dimensions	in x in x in
Weight	lbs

Editorial Reviews

“This is narrative history at its best, written in a conversational and engaging style….A major revision and expansion of a popular history of the American Revolutionary period.”– Library Journal“A tour de force. Middlekauff has the admirable ability to capture historical truths in vivid images and memorable phrases….Middlekauff’s empathy enhances this massive book’s cumulative power. The cause was glorious; the book is too.”–Dennis Drabelle, Washington Post Book World“The reader in search of a wide-ranging overview of the Revolution would be better off turning to any number of earlier books (from Trevelyan’s classic ‘American Revolution’ to more recent works like ‘The Glorious Cause’ by Robert Middlekauff).”–Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times Acclaim for the First Edition:
“One of the best one-volume accounts of the Revolutionary war.”– The New York Times

“A striking success. Middlekauff is both elegant and eloquent. Whether he is describing the making of British policy, or sketching the character of Washington or Pitt, or explaining why Daniel Morgan positioned the American troops at Hannah’s Cowpens so retreat would be impossible, he does in a few paragraphs or pages what others might struggle through a chapter to get right.”– The New Republic

“A first-class narrative history. There is probably no history of the Revolution that better combines a full account of the military course of the war with consideration of all the other forces shaping the era.” — The Philadelphia Inquirer

“Middlekauff’s energy and clarity often make us read as eagerly as if we did not know how this struggle will come out.”– The New Yorker

“Writing with a grace and clarity that recall Samuel Eliot Morison, Middlekauff gives us classic entry into the critical period of American history.” — The Los Angeles Times

“His narrative account goes along at a fast pace. He moves with agility from profound political and philosophical disputes of the period to the scenes of battle and the problems of military strategy. A welcome addition to the history of the Revolution.” — The Washington Post Book World

“First-rate narrative history–one can hardly imagine a better one-volume introduction to the period. Graced with plentiful illustrations, gracefully written and long enough (at nearly 700 pages) to afford ample attention to detail, this book is highly recommended to the general reader.”– Newsday

About the Author

Robert Middlekauff

Robert Middlekauff is a distinguished historian and esteemed author chiefly credited for his insightful examinations of American colonial history. Born on July 3, 1929, he obtained his PhD from Yale and has since built an impressive career in academia, earning an emergitus status at the University of California, Berkeley, where he served as the Preston Hotchkis Professor of American History.

Middlekauff’s notable contributions to historical literature include his works on the American Revolution, from which “The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789” stands out as part of the Oxford History of the United States series. This hallmark of historical scholarship, among others, earned him the Bancroft Prize.

An active scholar throughout his career, Robert Middlekauff’s superior work has not only advanced our understanding of America’s development but also solidified his position as a leading figure in the realm of American historical literature. His rich legacy, imprinted in his significant body of work, continues to inspire countless historians and readers.