Kevin Phillips (1) (1940–2023)

Kevin Phillips makes a compelling case that 1775 was at least as important as 1776 in the American Revolution and that the Patriots made many de facto declarations of independence well in advance of the moment we have all come to celebrate as the Birth of the Nation. I have to say his work came up short in convincing me that 1775 was more imporatant than 1776, the latter of which was the year that Americans throughout the colony took up the public debate that tipped the scales in favor of independence. Nevertheless, the book was rich with details and social factors that shaped the emerging American psyche in the late 18th century. Parts of this book read well, while others were more tedious, and I think he gave undue short shrift to the ideological origins of the revolution that cannot be divorced from the events, the economics, culture, and the prevailing social atmosphere.… (meer)