It is often said that the American Revolution was a conservative
revolution, but in many parts of the British colonies the Revolution
was anything but conservative. This book follows the Revolution
in Pennsylvania's backcountry through the experiences of eighteen
men and women who lived in Northampton County during these years
of turmoil.
"[This] pathbreaking book . . . [is a reminder of] the moral complexities
that extraordinary times brought to the lives of ordinary people.
. . . Fox's book [is] the product of extraordinarily thorough research
in local Pennsylvania records."—Mark Noll, Books & Culture
"Fox writes an engaging and highly personalized account of the
American Revolution in the Pennsylvania interior. And as his work
makes clear, the Revolution was first and foremost a war—not about
ideas—but about people, their personalities and ambitions, as well
as their fears, resentments, and even hatreds."—Judith Ridner,
Pennsylvania History
"[Fox] helps us . . . understand the extraordinarily factionalized
nature of Pennsylvania's Revolution outside of Philadelphia and
allows us to see that those conflicts were as often about petty
grudges and self-interest as about the Revolution's formally stated
aims; Sweet Land of Liberty recalls that all too human dimension
with compassion."—Liam Riordan, Pennsylvania Magazine of History
and Biography
"For their beliefs, Moravians and Mennonites forfeited the right
to vote, suffered harassment and beatings from neighbors and militiamen,
faced draconian fines for their religious objections, and finally
watched as the judicial system confiscated their property and sold
it at auction. In relating these moments, Fox artfully captures
the pain and hypocrisy that existed on the darker side of liberty's
war."—Terry Bouton, William and Mary Quarterly
"A one-of-a-kind book, a miracle to be grateful for and to treasure.
Fox gives us a new and altogether more disturbing Revolution than
we have ever reckoned with before. Sweet Land of Liberty
may forever change the way we think of our national origins."—Michael
Zuckerman, University of Pennsylvania
