Tea Party to Independence: The Third Phase of the American Revolution, 1773-1776

by Peter D. G. Thomas

Overview

This book is a study of the formulation of British policy towards the American colonies during the crucial period between the Boston Tea Party of December 1773 and the American Declaration of Independence in July 1776. It is set against the background both of British public opinion and of the developing resistance movement in America. Thomas examines the constraints on British policy-making, and analyses the failure of the colonists either to respond to British overtures or to produce positive proposals of their own. He shows how the crisis escalated as the Americans moved from constitutional demands to a military response, and finally took the decision to separate from Britain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198201427
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	08/22/1991
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 5.50(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

University College of Wales, Aberystwyth

Editorial Reviews

"This well-researched book chronicling the British side of American independence belongs in every academic library collection."—CHOICE

"Although it is not his main purpose to enter into historiographical debates on the causes of the American Revolution, Thomas's well-crafted narrative both supplements and modifies in significant ways the existing literature on the subject."—Journal of American History

"Following the high standard Peter D. G. Thomas set in his earlier volumes, in this study he adds much detail to the broad outlines in British policy set down by previous scholars."—American Historical Review

"[This book] gives historians valuable insights into the workings of the British government that produced the policies toward its wayward colonies...An important addition to the historiography of the American Revolution."—The Historian

"[An] excellent book."—Albion

From the Publisher