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Rating: 
Summary: A scholarly look at the American Revolution
Review: I'm glad to see this was reprinted, as I found it to be a quite interesting look at reasons why American elites supported a war that most likely would have cost them everything they owned. The answer: they didn't own anything by the end of the 18th century. The reason why is that they had bought everything on credit against their tobacco crop. When the economy nosedived, the British merchants who held the debts wanted their due. The ensuing resentment by the planters led to support for the American revolutionary movement.Breen used exhaustive research in putting this book together, and even threw in some neat information on the Founding Fathers. Did you know Washington failed as a tobacco farmer? That he continually loaned money to a deadbeat that never repaid him? It's in this book. Another aspect of this book I found interesting was the step by step process of growing tobacco in the 18th century. It's hard to believe that anyone made a successful go of it. A neat book with a neat argument.
Rating:
Summary: A scholarly look at the American Revolution
Review: This work explores the relationship between tobacco, debt, and revolution in the pre-revolutionary Chesapeake. T.H. Breen's path to revolution flows from (1) trouble in the tobacco economy to (2) increasing planter debt to (3) a fear over lost autonomy to (4) a collective frustration to (5) a commitment to cultural renewal. The collective frustration and commitment to renewal both coincided with the resistance to Britain over constitutional issues. While not advocating any monocausal explanation, Breen does argue that the planter's fear over lost autonomy was necessary for the revolution. My main criticism is that he assumes that the elites set the pattern for behavior in the Chesapeake and therefore does not adequately explain why the Chesapeake's non-elites supported the revolution. This question regarding Virginia's non-elites seems particular important given Virginia's relative internal unity during the revolutionary period. Overall, Breen's exploration of the cultural world of the Chesapeake elite does enhance our understanding of the path to revolution. I recommend this work to any student of revolutionary America.
Rating: 
Summary: Good cultural study of pre-revolutionary Chesapeake elite.
Review: This work explores the relationship between tobacco, debt, and revolution in the pre-revolutionary Chesapeake. T.H. Breen's path to revolution flows from (1) trouble in the tobacco economy to (2) increasing planter debt to (3) a fear over lost autonomy to (4) a collective frustration to (5) a commitment to cultural renewal. The collective frustration and commitment to renewal both coincided with the resistance to Britain over constitutional issues. While not advocating any monocausal explanation, Breen does argue that the planter's fear over lost autonomy was necessary for the revolution. My main criticism is that he assumes that the elites set the pattern for behavior in the Chesapeake and therefore does not adequately explain why the Chesapeake's non-elites supported the revolution. This question regarding Virginia's non-elites seems particular important given Virginia's relative internal unity during the revolutionary period. Overall, Breen's exploration of the cultural world of the Chesapeake elite does enhance our understanding of the path to revolution. I recommend this work to any student of revolutionary America.
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