Virginia's American Revolution: from Dominion to Republic, 1776-1840

Book Cover - Virginia's American Revolution

Virginia's American Revolution follows the Virginia revolutionaries from their decision for independence on May 15, 1776, through the following sixty-four years-when the last of them finally passed from the scene.

To their surprise, the decision to break with Great Britain entailed reconsideration of virtually all their major political and social institutions, from the established church, their aristocratic state government, and feudal land tenures, to slavery and their federal relations with the other American states.

Some of these issues, such as the place of the Church of England in the newly republican Virginia, received quick resolutions; others, such as the nature of the relationship between the elite and other men, were not so easily decided.

All of them were considered against the backdrop of Virginia's decline from preeminence in the Revolution and Early Republic to the position of just another state in the Age of Jackson.

By following Virginia's American Revolution from start to finish, this account shows why so many revolutionaries in the Old Dominion died doubting that their great struggle had been worth the effort.

Reviews

In recent years, Kevin Gutzman has earned rank as one of our finest young historians of the American Founding. In Virginia's American Revolution, he calls attention to 'the old reality of American political life that the state was the primary unit of political allegiance, the chief locus of political identity, and the level at which most significant political questions were decided in the Early Republic.' Pursuing the history of the most important of the first thirteen states in light of this neglected truth, Gutzman provides a new and valuable perspective on our origins. –Clyde Wilson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History, University of South Carolina

In short, Virginia's American Revolution is not only an invaluable contribution to the scholarly literature, but it is also a treasure trove for those who would recapture the original American republic.–lewrockwell.com

Gutzman displays a detailed, even at times sympathetic (though not uncritical) understanding that many readers should find particularly worthwhile. –May 2008, H-Net

Kevin Gutzman's important new book shows how Virginian patriots sought to secure provincial liberties and create a new American union in the Old Dominion's image. Challenging the conventional nationalist bias in Revolutionary historiography, Gutzman points the way toward a broader, more compelling interpretation of the history of the federal republic in its formative decades. Lucidly written and powerfully argued, "Virginia's American Revolution" is a superb addition to the literature. –Peter S. Onuf, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor, University of Virginia, and author of "Jefferson's Empire: The Language of American Nationhood "