Setting the world ablaze : Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution / John Ferling.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ferling, John E.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Statesmen--United States--Biography.

Statesmen.

United States.

Washington, George, 1732-1799.

Washington, George.

Adams, John, 1735-1826.

Adams, John.

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826.

Jefferson, Thomas.

United States--History--Revolution, 1775-1783--Biography.

History.

United States--Politics and government--1775-1783.

Politics and government.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxiv, 392 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2000.

Summary:

This major reconsideration of the American Revolution shows in dramatic detail how George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson were transformed into radical revolutionaries, and in doing so, it illuminates the remarkable transformation of His Majesty's colonies into the United States.

Contents:

Prologue: "Embarked on a Most Tempestuous Sea" July 1, 1776 XIV

Part 1 "Distinguished from the Common Run of Men" Children Who were Fathers of the Men

1 "The Strong Desire of Distinction" The Vagaries of Youth 2

2 "Getting under Sail" The Decisions of Youth 18

3 "This Desultory Life" Toward Mid-Life 41

Part 2 "Fortitude, Vigour, and Perseverance" Waging War and Independence

4 "An Epocha in History" Revolutionaries 64

5 "To Ride in This Whirlwind" Independence 92

6 "Turning the Tide of Arms" War and Reform 138

Part 3 "It Is Impossible to Exceed This" From Despair to Triumph

7 "A Fatal Crisis" The Great Peril, 1778-1780 186

8 "The Womb of Fate" Victory 223

9 "Who Shall Write the History of the American Revolution?" Memory and Meaning 273

Epilogue: The "Sword" and "Bulwark" of the American Revolution 296.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [362]-371) and index.

ISBN:

0195134095

OCLC:

43118302