Gordon Wood's The American Revolution: Book Review

Introduction and Overview of Wood's Book

The American Revolution, written in 2002 by Gordon Wood, is a study of this seminal event that won the Bancroft Prize, awarded annually by Columbia University for distinguished portrayals of American history. In a concise 166 pages, Wood covers more than twenty years of revolutionary history in an engaging and accessible way — remarkable given that this topic has been addressed time and again, often in a very dry fashion.

The book is divided into seven parts: "Origins," "American Resistance," "Revolution," "Constitution-Making and War," "Republicanism," "Republican Society," and "The Federal Constitution."

Summary of the American Revolution's Causes and Outcomes

Wood's book begins with a description of the contributing causes that led to the Declaration of Independence in 1776, including the increasingly strained relations between the British and the colonists, who were rapidly growing more independent. As John Adams observed, "the Revolution was affected before the war commenced." It was a change "in the minds and hearts of the people." The strength of British leadership was further diluted by a decentralization of the colonial population. Where most settlers had originally lived along the coasts, over time they began moving into rural areas. Meanwhile, the standard of living rose as prices soared for exports of colonial agriculture and manufactured products.

The paternalistic structure of colonial society was eroded permanently when the British passed the Stamp Act in 1765, which levied a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspapers, and nearly every other type of paper used by the settlers. Although Parliament repealed the act in 1766, relations would never be the same, and Americans grew increasingly sensitive to any further taxation. The Tea Act struck the final blow to positive interactions between the two parties.

In retaliation for the Tea Act, the colonists assembled the Continental Congress to announce their grievances. By 1775, the crisis had deepened to the point where no prospect for agreement remained. Thomas Paine's Common Sense clarified the American position and broke the colonists entirely from the British. With the Declaration of Independence, the settlers established new state governments grounded in the principles of republicanism. Later, in 1787, Americans recognized a need for a stronger central government to regulate trade, raise taxes, and reduce political abuses, and the Articles of Confederation were amended at a convention in Philadelphia. Built on this political foundation, republicanism gave way to the democratic structure that persists today.

Wood's Central Argument and Historiographical Debate

Early in his book, Wood makes clear that he views what happened in America during this period as a "momentous event" that, as President Lincoln later noted, "gave birth to whatever sense of nationhood and national purpose Americans have had."

He acknowledges with some reluctance that "some historians today are more apt to stress the failures of the Revolution" than to believe that anything substantially progressive emerged from this historical event. One historian Wood cites argued that the Revolution "failed to free the slaves, failed to offer full political equality to women, … failed to grant citizenship to Indians, failed to create an economic world in which all could compete on equal terms."

In response, Wood argues that "such anachronistic statements suggest a threshold of success that no eighteenth-century revolution could possibly have attained." Rather than judging the American Revolution as simply good or bad, he contends that it should be explained and understood as the complex story it was.

Strengths and Limitations of Wood's Narrative

One of the notable strengths of Wood's book is its succinct coverage of a complicated era. The reader, instead of being overwhelmed by names, facts, and figures, is moved briskly through history. There is no need to provide particulars on every battle and player; what is needed, as Wood demonstrates, is a basic understanding of what took place and why. After only a few hours of reading, one gains a sound overview of the period. One can almost forget that this is a textbook.

When something is written so concisely, however, some information may be treated too lightly or omitted altogether. A reader unfamiliar with the period might come away thinking that nearly everyone in the colonies was united in support of the Revolution. Wood does offer detail on the loyalists, noting that approximately 20% of white Americans remained loyal to the Crown. About 20,000 fought for the king in regular army regiments, and thousands more served in local loyalist militia units.

Conclusion

The best approach regarding this combination of film and book is to watch the movie first, get energized by the battle scenes and Mel Gibson's passion, and then sit down with Wood's book and learn the facts. Together, they illustrate how differently — and how unevenly — the American Revolution is understood across popular and scholarly media.

Reference Cited

Wood, Gordon. The American Revolution. New York: Modern Library, 2002.