The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789

38: 37: 340: 974: 716: 286: 837: 631: 383:) but had been asking to be switched to write about the American Revolution, was reassigned to replace Peterson. When Woodward asked Jensen about his progress as of December 1970, Jensen reported that he had made none and surmised the series might be better off with a new, younger scholar for the project, to which Woodward agreed, dropping Jensen from the series. 623:, "the story moves, especially in descriptions of the smoke and din of battle when the narrative become fast-paced and sometimes exciting". Literature professor Robert Reynolds wrote that although Middlekauff "is a very intelligent writer" with "interesting views and judgments which he backs up effectively", the book is challenging to read, as 1131:, on the grounds that the national government created by the latter was unable to meet the needs of postwar governance (particularly for what constitutional proponents perceived as failures in foreign affairs and national solvency). The Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation and went into effect in 1788. 1140:

Also called the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, this document was the United States' first constitution, endorsed by the Continental Congress in November 1777, fully ratified by all thirteen states by March 1781, and in effect until the adoption of the U. S. Constitution in 1788.

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played a major role in motivating the American Revolution. Higginbotham's review averred that the book's "religious theme has interesting possibilities" but Middlekauff did not sufficiently integrate it with the narrative after 1775. Burnard criticized Middlekauff's depiction of religion and noted

927:

a "neo-Whig book" and averred that Middlekauff "virtually ignores" historical scholarship that argues the Revolution and Constitution were controversial and divided early Americans. Condon criticized the book as having an "outworn, nostalgic interpretation" and called it "at bottom a romance" in

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According to Condon, the first and third sections—covering the lead-up to the war for independence and the postwar period—are unbalanced and flawed but the second section, focused on military history, is "full of solid information and good insights": Middlekauff "skillfully assesse" both sides'

390:

and signed him on to replace Jensen as writer of the series' volume on the American Revolution, making Middlekauff the third author the series had contacted for that task. Before writing for the Oxford History of the United States, Middlekauff had been known as a specialist in colonial American

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lacks balance because it "ignores several of the more important interpretive problems raised by scholarship". Norton argued that "professional historians will probably be more than a little disappointed". Reviewer G. C. Gibbs wrote that the book's relative inattention to the colonial and

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which George Washington and the revolutionaries are heroes, the "villains are the wicked British ministry", and the Revolutionary War is inevitable. Pilcher considered Middlekauff's approach "far from traditional, emphasizing as it does, the best of the 'new' military and political history".

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still "will both appeal to nonspecialists and repay the close attention of scholars". Acknowledging the book "is more concerned with such traditional topics as government, politics, and war" than with topics of social history, reviewer George William Pilcher assessed

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military commanders, sympathetically captures the human experience of the conflict, and thickly details the life of "the common soldier: his recruitment, training, life in camp, medical attention, wives and mistresses, and abiding loneliness". According to

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Greene suspected that Middlekauff intentionally disobeyed the series instruction to write a comprehensive synthesis to instead write a "personal reading of the Revolutionary experience", a choice that Greene called a "wise decision" because of the

430:

was presented as the second volume in a projected eleven-volume series, with an unreleased but planned volume expected to address the American continent's history before 1763. Later, the series planned to produce two volumes on history before 1763

1030:, librarian Robert Flatley considered the revised edition "narrative history at its best, written in a conversational and engaging style" and recommended it for libraries seeking a "single-volume, up-to-date history of the Revolutionary period". 457:

since the 1960s had neglected nonspecialist readers as an audience and insisted the field had "the duty and privilege, unlike scholars of other disciplines", to write "in readable, unspecialized prose that can understand and enjoy".

566: 344: 3456: 1068:

were American colonists who supported the British Crown and country throughout the revolutionary period, from 1765 onward. There were Loyalists in all thirteen of the British North American colonies; they were most concentrated in

883:

mentions but deemphasizes socioeconomic clashes among American colonists, carrying on a "patriotic tradition" of history that makes "Loyalists seem innately to have been aliens in their own land". Higginbotham argued that in

238:. There were others who averred that the book ably synthesized the scholarship on the American Revolution and praised it as an overall history of the period. Reviews described the book as a traditionalist reassertion of the 3423: 879:, depicting the American Revolution as a movement "from the top down rather than the bottom up", contrary to scholarship that identified the "dynamic uncertainty of the prewar and war years". According to James, 3412: 859: 145: 524:

does not address the war's western front. Its depiction of the war emphasizes its brutality, highlighting atrocities committed by both sides in the conflict, including those directed against non-combatants.

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as an audience. In an introduction, Woodward attested that the series would synthesize the scholarship of "the latest generation of historians". By 1982, general syntheses had been out of fashion for years.

652:, who had agreed in 1982 to write the chronologically next volume in the series (covering United States history from 1789 to 1815), wrote what historian James C. Cobb called a "sharply critical" review of 318:

series together, though Hofstadter died before the series published any books. Woodward grew concerned that twentieth-century historical scholarship was overemphasizing analysis and losing touch with

3374: 265:. The new edition contains more social history, including coverage of American Indians, Black people, Loyalists, and women, though it remains focused on politics, war, and constitutionalism. The 875:

as being a "standard political-constitutional-military account of the Revolution that could have appeared a decade ago nearly in its present form", because it overemphasizes colonial elites and

520:

summed up the book's "main theme s that of George Washington and his associates winning the war and the peace". The chapters covering the war emphasize an American perspective on the conflict.

808:"a fine general account which will justly rank as a standard work". Robinson praised Middlekauff for "appropriate use of much of the latest historical research in this field" and considered 1660:, p. 1060), who describes the book's breakdown as 40% covering the pre-war years, 50% covering the war years, and 10% on the Confederation period and emergence of the Constitution. 3304: 222:'s style and readability, deeming it accessible to lay audiences and exciting to read. There were other assessments that were divided. Multiple reviewers criticized the absence of 215:

had embarked on the series in 1961, multiple other candidates to write the volume on the American Revolution fell through before Middlekauff was assigned to the task in the 1970s.

1006:. It is approximately 800 pages long and on release sold for $ 40 (USD, equivalent to $ 62 in 2023). Kathleen M. Lynch designed the front cover, which bears American painter 3635: 689: 3367: 767:

for leaving out "the many thousands more who flocked to the British standard between 1778 and 1781". According to historians Robinson, Wallace Brown, and Kristofer Ray,

704:, stating that the remaining events "tumble down in a rush" and that of such topics, "the Confederation period gets the poorest treatment". Greene concurred that 663:

which called into question whether traditional narrative history was a valid method. Oxford University Press editor Sheldon Meyer suspected that Wood's review of

322:, resultantly becoming fragmented as a discipline and disconnected from the interests of laypeople; he wanted the Oxford series to reassert the importance of 3360: 306:

called "Oxford histories"; for the most part, these series are crafted to provide general syntheses rather than novel interpretations. In 1961, historians

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considered the detailed coverage of "ob scenes, battle tactics, Washington's leadership qualities" the book's "superb moments". According to historian

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on multiple occasions presents events and figures without reminding readers of what or who they are, and occasionally without introducing them at all.

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refers to an interpretive approach that takes history as nearly always a narrative of progress that inevitably creates the conditions of the present.

3434: 3490: 1652:, p. 636) gives these page counts. For the third section being coverage of the Confederation period and the adoption of the Constitution, see 591:

praised the book's readability, summing up that the "style is lively, the narrative flow rapid, and the scholarly analysis unobtrusive". In her

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as "a first rate work of historical synthesis" and argued that it "has not ignored the interweaving of social and political events". Historian

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called it "the best one-volume history of the American Revolution, and among the best narrative American histories of the past half century".

3179: 2677: 2606: 1141:

Under the Articles of Confederation, each state had a single vote in a unicameral national legislature which had the authority to levy taxes.

772: 532: 380: 231: 204: 587:"richly detailed, readable, and rewarding" and praised its "lively, if colloquial, style that will please most American readers". Historian 2525:

Burnard, Trevor (August 2011). "America the Good, America the Brave, America the Free: Reviewing the Oxford History of the United States".

760: 994:. The revised edition includes additional content about the experience and participation of women, American Indians, enslaved people, and 339: 188:. Middlekauff writes with overt sympathy for the revolutionary cause. His detailed coverage of the war emphasizes its physical brutality. 998:

during the American Revolution, more coverage of riots against British measures prior to 1776, an updated bibliographic essay, and a new

485:. Middlekauff explicitly notes that his title is not meant "as irony", and he writes as "an American patriot", in the words of historian 3625: 3620: 3383: 315: 200: 62: 3201: 688:

was "to be regretted", and he criticized the unsympathetic coverage of British imperial policy, arguing that the book tended to depict

3467: 3148: 3034: 2976: 2953: 508:. In a review, Bridenbaugh argued that Middlekauff's approach made military history "the central theme" of the era. The leadership of 492:

The book divides into roughly three parts; somewhat less than half of the book treats the estrangement of the American colonies from

375:, and he formally agreed in 1964 to write the book, but stepped down from the task in 1967, saying he was becoming too old to do it. 2625: 2440: 482: 169: 120: 426:, equivalent to $ 67 in 2023). It was the first volume to be published as part of its series. At the time of its publication, 3445: 948: 3630: 3615: 3610: 3538: 1111: 1065: 447: 227: 607:

noted the book's affordability for everyday consumers, averring that its price "will not dent the family budget horridly".

1107: 708:'s coverage of the Articles of Confederation did not adequately synthesize the scholarship then current. Gibbs considered 816:

a "traditional comprehensive work" that "incorporate the newer insights" of the field of American revolutionary history.

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defending the practice of narrative history. Titled "A Short History of American History", Woodward's essay averred that

435:

will be the third volume chronologically). As of 2011, the chronologically second volume of the series was planned to be

3579: 3520: 1012: 978: 740: 657: 2986:

McElya, Micki (August 2011). "A Response to Trevor Burnard: 'America the Good, America the Brave, America the Free'".

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Christians commonly believed in providence, the idea that world events are influenced or even directed by the creator

923:-era historiography shaped "by neo-Whig insistence" on the "inevitability of American independence". Burnard called 2968: 2945: 2911:

James, Sydney V. (November 1983). "The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789. By Robert Middlekauff".

940: 531:

characterizes the American revolutionaries as having been widely influenced by fervent Protestantism, portrays the

497: 251: 177: 22: 2688:

D. Brown, Richard (Winter 1984). "The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789. By Robert Middlekauff".

1002:. Most of the new material is social history, though the book's overall focus remains on political, military, and 3544: 2504:

Brown, Wallace (December 1984). "The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789, by Robert Middlekauff".

1128: 1043: 501: 2882:

Higginbotham, Don (July 1983). "The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763–1789. by Robert Middlekauff".

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To mark the release of the Oxford History of the United States' first volume, series editor Woodward wrote an

863:(published in 2009), depicts the Founding Fathers as having been "noticeably irreligious" rather than pious. 3591: 299: 289: 258: 80: 715: 539:, and avers that their ancestors were religiously motivated to leave England to establish a new society in 3263:

Selby, John E. (Summer 1994). "Revolutionary America: The Historiography". Life in Revolutionary America.

1003: 748: 744: 556:(all but one of which are portraits), maps of battles, a five-and-a-half-page bibliographic essay, and an 379:, who had initially agreed in 1962 to write what was then planned to be the series' first volume (on the 2772: 685: 478: 360: 3446:

The Republic for Which It Stands: The United States During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, 1865–1896

549:] break with Great Britain almost as a religious event couched in philosophical/political terms". 2809:

Freehling, William (June 6, 1982). "'Flawed but Auspicious' Start to New U. S. History". Books.

604: 419: 2717:

Dann, John C. (July 4, 1982). "Era of Glory: Historian Captures Our Revolution". Books and Authors.

1159: 1151: 1090: 841: 543:. In the words of reviewer Morgan Dederer, Middlekauff "perceives the American colonist's [ 474: 372: 364: 285: 161: 692:

as inflexible "to the point of political insanity". Richard D. Brown and Wallace Brown criticized

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Reviewer W. Stitt Robinson praised Middlekauff for "skillfully weav an exciting story". Historian

168:. Covering the history of the American Revolution from around 1760 through to the adoption of the 3567: 3532: 3526: 3514: 3338: 3268: 3230: 3127: 3094: 3061: 3013: 2928: 2899: 2870: 2837: 2749: 2719: 2705: 2585: 2552: 2492: 957: 557: 387: 311: 212: 165: 51: 812:

a "commendable blend of the work of other scholars with his own research". John E. Selby called

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a "seriously disappointing work" because of making numerous "faults of commission and omission".

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Selleck, Joe (October 4, 2005). "Facts Get Fascinating in American History Books". The Shelf.

3251: 3175: 3144: 3030: 2972: 2949: 2797: 2673: 2621: 2602: 2436: 1032: 908: 904: 701: 616: 509: 470: 323: 185: 115: 3171: 2669: 3573: 3325: 3189: 3167: 3119: 3086: 3053: 3003: 2995: 2920: 2891: 2862: 2829: 2741: 2697: 2665: 2644: 2577: 2542: 2534: 2513: 2484: 2459: 2428: 1070: 912: 700:. Reviewer Sydney V. James criticized the cursory treatment of the postwar period after the 630: 620: 596: 517: 513: 505: 486: 307: 243: 208: 181: 2940:

Kelly, Alfred H. (2003). "Constitution of the United States". In Kutler, Stanley I. (ed.).

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by Patriot colonists and joined the British between 1775 and 1776, with Norton criticizing

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The United States' second constitution, the U. S. Constitution was created by a 1787

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Kromkowski, Charles A. (2003). "Articles of Confederation". In Kutler, Stanley I. (ed.).

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addresses women's history less than twenty-five times. There are only three pages about

3550: 3292: 2833: 1074: 821: 801: 788: 732: 649: 634: 588: 516:, is emphasized "above all", according to reviewer E. B. Van Heyningen. Historian 423: 403: 376: 356: 223: 3352: 852:'s publication, Gibbs and Robinson praised the novelty of Middlekauff's argument that 3604: 2811: 1155: 1007: 983: 561: 540: 493: 349: 3044:

Noll, Mark (Winter 1993). "The American Revolution and Protestant Evangelicalism".

3029:. Oxford History of the United States (Revised ed.). Oxford University Press. 1094: 1038: 896: 836: 553: 273: 239: 235: 955:

readers and called it "one of the best accounts" of the Revolutionary War. A 2021

21:"The Glorious Cause" redirects here. For the historical novel by Jeff Shaara, see 2776: 2450:

Bloch, Ruth (September 2021). "In Memoriam: Robert L. Middlekauff (1929–2021)".

965:, "considered one of the best one-volume histories of the American Revolution". 876: 668: 592: 303: 3329: 2999: 2763: 2538: 961:

obituary for Middlekauff reported that he was "best known" for having written

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considered the revised edition an "ambitious book" of "fascinating history".

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Richard D. Brown also criticized Middlekauff for giving minimal attention to

1685:, p. 299). For Washington being commander of the Continental Army, see 454: 411: 319: 192: 2648: 840:

Middlekauff argued that religious motives played a significant role in the

671:, who had agreed as early as 1970 to write the volume on the colonial era. 504:

and the adoption of the Constitution. About a third of the book focuses on

500:

follow, and the final 80 pages treat the challenges of governance with the

915:, and centered the Revolutionary War. Historian Kristofer Ray argued that 393:

Ancients and Axioms: Secondary Education in Eighteenth-Century New England

2517: 2463: 999: 995: 920: 853: 780: 776: 697: 567:

The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775

489:, whose sympathies lie with those American colonists who were in revolt. 345:

The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775

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Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929–1945

3098: 3008: 2932: 2903: 2874: 2753: 2547: 3131: 3065: 2709: 2589: 2496: 2764:"Robert Middlekauff, Historian of Washington and His War, Dies at 91" 368: 327: 3090: 2924: 2895: 2866: 2745: 2635:

Condon, Ann Gorman (September 1984). "War, Revolution, and People".

3123: 3057: 2701: 2488: 972: 835: 714: 629: 443: 397:

The Mathers: Three Generations of Puritan Intellectuals, 1596–1728

338: 284: 2616:

Coleman, Aaron N. (2006). "Loyalists". In Finkelman, Paul (ed.).

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Randall, David (2004). "Providence". In Dewald, Jonathan (ed.).

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In 2005, Oxford University Press published a revised edition of

242:

or as a novel contribution to new developments in political and

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What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848

3356: 828:

focuses on war too much, distorting the history of the period.

603:

is written to be "accessible to the general public". Historian

1430:, p. 695). For the price in British pounds sterling, see 545: 292:, publisher of the Oxford History of the United States and of 3491:

From Colony to Superpower: U. S. Foreign Relations Since 1776

3413:

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815

888:

Middlekauff is "aware of divisions within American society".

860:

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815

481:

in 1760, and it ends with the making and establishing of the

146:

Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789–1815

3141:

Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World

2784:

Flatley, Robert (February 15, 2005). "Middlekauff, Robert.

2658:"A Military History of the American Revolution, 1754–1783" 2620:. Vol. 2. Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 310–314. 2728:

Dederer, John Morgan (April 1984). "Middlekauff, Robert.

3143:. Vol. 5. Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 88–89. 911:

that emphasized disastrous British policy, deemphasized

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series (though a chronologically prior volume about the

667:

partly motivated the 1985 departure from the series of

31: