The Common Cause

“Brilliant, timely, and indispensable. . . . Parkinson writes with authority on military, political, social, and cultural history, reconstructing the story of this critical period as it actually unfolded, with everything happening at once.”—Annette Gordon-Reed, New York Review of Books

“Wonderfully written and deeply researched. . . . Reveals a very different and much darker picture of the revolution. . . . Full of illuminating insights about familiar events.”—William and Mary Quarterly

“Parkinson has captured something of the panicked and often explicitly racially demonizing culture of the revolutionary period with this new and valuable take on familiar sources relevant to the field of early American studies.”—American Quarterly

“Convincingly demonstrates that race and racism were not afterthoughts to the rhetoric of equality of rights but were deeply integrated into the founding years of the United States.”—Journal of American History

“Clear prose and logical structure make it a joy to read. . . . Parkinson’s impressive analysis . . . will force future scholars to engage with his uncomfortable argument that American independence rested on racism and ethnocentrism.”—Common-Place

“Engrossing. . . . A must-read for anyone interested in the American Revolution and issues of race.”—Library Journal, starred review

“Persuasively explains the intensely racialized nature of citizenship in the newly independent U.S. and the long-standing problems posed by the exclusion of Americans of indigenous or African heritage from the 'common cause” of the Revolution."—Publishers Weekly

“Parkinson’s scholarship shines with his attention to very specific details.”—Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History

“Parkinson’s balance between patriotism and prejudice injects The Common Cause with a certain timeliness in an age in which questions of journalistic accuracy, rhetoric, and representation are heavy on the minds of American readers.”—H-Net Reviews

“One of the most significant studies in of the Revolution in years. It sweeps the entire war; connects cultural, military, and political concerns; contains the best survey of American newspapers during this period; and argues persuasively that fear of blacks and Indians formed the psychic center of the new nation. Highly recommended.”—CHOICE