Book Review: Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia Author’s Thesis

Holton’s (1999) book Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia makes the case that the Founding Fathers of the U.S.A. were not really motivated by the laundry list of grievances identified in the Declaration of Independence. Rather, their individual experiences in the country taught them that, on a practical level, it would be easier for them to obtain what they wanted by operating independently of the England than through England. The main argument that Holton (1999) makes is this—the tyranny of the Crown was not the real issue or driver of the push for independence; the real drivers were contentions over land, in-fighting among the colonists, a dislike of paying taxes, and the desire of the separate colonies to arrange affairs with foreign countries on their own.

Development of the Thesis

Holton (1999) develops the thesis by showing the practical troubles that the early colonists faced and how it simply made more sense for them to be in charge of their own individual affairs than have to rely on England for permission. For example, when it came to claiming land themselves, the colonists had to contend with the Native Americans. The Cherokee were worried that they would lose their hunting ground to the colonists,...

Their treaty put a stop to the land grab by the colonists—or at least that is what they hoped it would do. Found Father Thomas Jefferson had other plans. The Virginia House of Burgesses squashed the treaty and sought to take land in Kentucky and in the Ohio River Valley. This aggravated the Native Americans still more and they felt compelled to fight. The colonists, instead of relying on England for protection, wanted to have their own means of warding off the Native Americans. For them, it simply made more sense to be free and clear of the British and be in charge of their own affairs.
By describing the practical issues on an issue by issue basis, Holton (1999) justifies his claim. He shows step by step how one problem after another arose. He uses many examples to support his narrative: one being the debt problem that many colonists had. They came to the country on loans given by the British—but when their ventures failed, many of them could not pay their debts. The Virginia House of Burgesses sought to alleviate the situation of the colonists by allowing the colonists to settle under bankruptcy. This upset the English, who wanted their debts paid—not wiped away by the Virginia authorities. Thus, Holton (1999) shows that getting free of the British altogether made sense: throw off the Crown and they could throw off their debts.

Holton shows…