Bøger af Ray Raphael

In twenty-two original essays, leading historians reveal the radical impulses at the founding of the American Republic. Here is a fresh, new reading of the American Revolution that gives voice and recognition to a generation of radical thinkers and doers whose revolutionary ideals outstripped those of the "Founding Fathers." While the Founding Fathers advocated a break from Britain and espoused ideals of republican government, none proposed significant changes to the fabric of colonial society. Yet during this "revolutionary" period some people did believe that "liberty" meant "liberty for all" and that "equality" should be applied to political, economic, and religious spheres. Here are the stories of individuals and groups who exemplified the radical ideals of the American Revolution more in keeping with our own values today. This volume helps us to understand the social conflicts unleashed by the struggle for independence, the Revolution's achievements, and the unfinished agenda it left to future generations to confront.

The best single-volume history of the Revolution I have read.

The best single-volume history of the Revolution I have read.Howard ZinnThe first major effort to tell the history of the American Revolution from the often overlooked standpoints of its everyday participants, A Peoples History of the American Revolution is a highly accessible narrative of the wartime experience that brings in the stories of previously marginalized voices: the common people, slave and free, who made up the majority in eighteenth-century America.This first volume in The New Press Peoples History Series skillfully weaves diaries, personal letters, and other long-overlooked primary source material into the historical narrative. The result is a remarkable first-person perspective on the events leading up to and during the war. With a simple shift of the focus of historys lensaway from Revolutionary leaders such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson and on to the slaves they owned, the Indians they displaced, and the men and boys who did the fightingauthor Ray Raphael brings us a true peoples history of the Revolutionary experience.

Americans on both sides of the aisle love to reference the Constitution as the ultimate source of truth. But which truth? What did the framers really have in mind? In a book that author R.B. Bernstein calls essential reading, acclaimed historian Ray Raphael places the Constitution in its historical context, dispensing little-known facts and debunking popular preconceived notions.For each myth, Raphael first notes the kernel of truth it represents, since most myths have some basis in fact. Then he presents a big BUTthe larger context that reveals what the myth distorts. What did the framers see as the true role of government? What did they think of taxes? At the Constitutional Convention, how did they mix principles with politics? Did James Madison really father the Constitution? Did the framers promote a Bill of Rights? Do the so-called Federalist Papers reveal the Constitutions inner meaning?An authoritative and entertaining book, which should appeal equally to armchair historians and professionals in the field (Booklist), Constitutional Myths reveals what our founding document really says and how we should apply it today.

How ordinary people went from resistance to revolution: "[A] concise, lively narrative . . . the authors expertly build tension." -Publishers Weekly   Americans know about the Boston Tea Party and "the shot heard 'round the world," but sixteen months divided these two iconic events, a period that has nearly been lost to history. The Spirit of '74 fills in this gap in our nation's founding narrative, showing how in these mislaid months, step by step, real people made a revolution.   After the Tea Party, Parliament not only shut down a port but also revoked the sacred Massachusetts charter. Completely disenfranchised, citizens rose up as a body and cast off British rule everywhere except in Boston, where British forces were stationed. A "Spirit of '74" initiated the American Revolution, much as the better-known "Spirit of '76" sparked independence. Redcoats marched on Lexington and Concord to take back a lost province, but they encountered Massachusetts militiamen who had trained for months to protect the revolution they had already made.  The Spirit of '74 places our founding moment in a rich new historical context, both changing and deepening its meaning for all Americans.

With wit and flair, Founding Myths exposes the errors and inventions in thirteen of Americas most cherished tales, from Paul Reveres famous ride to Patrick Henrys Liberty or Death speech. Exploring the dynamic intersection between history-making and story-making, award-winning author and historian Ray Raphael shows how these fictionsconceived in the narrowly nationalistic politics of the nineteenth centuryundermine our democratic ideals.