A01=Robert G. Parkinson
African Americans
American Revolution
Author_Robert G. Parkinson
Benjamin Franklin
Category=NHK
Continental Army
Continental Congress
Declaration of Independence
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eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
founding
Founding Fathers
George Washington
German mercenaries
Hessians
Indians
John Adams
mobilization
nation
Native Americans
newspapers
politics
press
printers
race
racism
Revolutionary War
slavery
Thomas Jefferson
union
Product details
- ISBN 9781469662565
- Weight: 545g
- Dimensions: 155 x 233mm
- Publication Date: 10 May 2021
- Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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In his celebrated account of the origins of American unity, John Adams described July 1776 as the moment when thirteen clocks managed to strike at the same time. So how did these American colonies overcome long odds to create a durable union capable of declaring independence from Britain? In this powerful new history of the fifteen tense months that culminated in the Declaration of Independence, Robert G. Parkinson provides a troubling answer: racial fear. Tracing the circulation of information in the colonial news systems that linked patriot leaders and average colonists, Parkinson reveals how the system's participants constructed a compelling drama featuring virtuous men who suddenly found themselves threatened by ruthless Indians and defiant slaves acting on behalf of the king.
Parkinson argues that patriot leaders used racial prejudices to persuade Americans to declare independence. Between the Revolutionary War's start at Lexington and the Declaration, they broadcast any news they could find about Native Americans, enslaved Blacks, and Hessian mercenaries working with their British enemies. American independence thus owed less to the love of liberty than to the exploitation of colonial fears about race. Thirteen Clocks offers an accessible history of the Revolution that uncovers the uncomfortable origins of the republic even as it speaks to our own moment.
Parkinson argues that patriot leaders used racial prejudices to persuade Americans to declare independence. Between the Revolutionary War's start at Lexington and the Declaration, they broadcast any news they could find about Native Americans, enslaved Blacks, and Hessian mercenaries working with their British enemies. American independence thus owed less to the love of liberty than to the exploitation of colonial fears about race. Thirteen Clocks offers an accessible history of the Revolution that uncovers the uncomfortable origins of the republic even as it speaks to our own moment.
Robert G. Parkinson is associate professor of history at Binghamton University.
