Rise to Rebellion: Tells the story of the People Who Fought in the American Revolutionary War like: John Adams, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin
The book "Rise to Rebellion: A Novel of the American Revolution" by Jeff Shaara is the story. It tells the story of the American Revolutionary War through the eyes of many real people who fought and worked for American freedom, like John Adams, George Washington, and Benjamin Franklin. It covers the time period from 1770 to when the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. It uses real events from history but it is written like a novel, which makes it much more interesting to read.The author's thesis in writing this book was not to rewrite history, but to make it more understandable to a new generation of readers. Everybody knows we won the American Revolution, so he had to find another angle of the story to make it new and unique. The big new idea that he writes about is that American Margaret Gage, wife of English Lieutenant-General Thomas Gage, was sympathetic to the American Revolution cause and gave English military information to the Americans until she left the country and went to England. Is this the truth? Shaara thinks it is, and that is one of the major themes of this book, and the reason why he wrote yet another book on the Revolutionary War. It gives a different view of history and a different thesis,
and so, it is almost like reading a newer history of the War. It is also important to the history and to the book that the author made both English and Americans main characters. It shows the difference between the cultures, and what the Americans were fighting for much quicker than trying to describe the differences. For example, Thomas Gage is an Englishman, and how he approaches the war and battles is different from how the Americans, such as General Washington, approach the battles. The English are more cultured and more regimented, while the Americans are more free and more adaptable. When the War is beginning, the English do not have enough troops to make a statement, and the Americans take advantage of that and build bulwarks on Breed's Hill in Boston. While they are building, the English are debating how to attack. Gage says, "'Let us now consider the specific deployment of the troops. I want the initial wave to be the finest men we have, the grenadiers, the royal marines. If this is to be a show, then let it be a glorious show!'" (Shaara 354). The British are concerned with how they look and how the appear to the Americans. In fact, when new generals come to America, the first thing they worry about is buying a new carriage that is "worthy" of their status. In contrast, the Americans just want to win. They do not care about fancy uniforms. General Washington wears an old uniform to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia, and he things to himself, "He had worn the old uniform because he had thought it was a necessary symbol, a sign that Virginia was prepared to meet any challenge" (Shaara 3
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1102
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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