A new history of the Patriot movement before the American Revolution, tracing its origins to reform movements in British politics ? The American revolutionaries-George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John and Abigail Adams-called themselves Patriots. But what exactly did it mean to be a Patriot? Historian Amy Watson locates the origins of Patriotism in British politics of the early eighteenth century, showing that the label "Patriot" was first adopted by a network of British politicians with radical ideas about the principles and purpose of the British Empire. The early Patriots' ideological mission was not American independence but, rather, imperial reform: Patriots sought to create a British Empire that was militant, expansionist, confederal, and free. ? Over the course of the next half century, these British reformers used print media and grassroots mobilization efforts to build an empire-wide political party with adherents in London, Edinburgh, New York City, and the new colony of Georgia. While building this party, the Patriots' advocacy drew Britons into a series of violent political conflicts over taxes and civil liberty, as well as three expansive global wars, the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739-48), the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), and the Seven Years' War (1756-63). Patriot ideas and organizations came to divide Britons on increasingly sharp political lines, laying the groundwork for the revolutionary decades to come.
Binding: Hardback