Constitutional History of the American Revolution

"Reid persuasively argues that students of the Revolution have moved too quickly from constitutional arguments to economic interests, ideology, and social psychology. Reid's Constitutional History is essential reading for any serious student of the American Revolution."—Peter S. Onuf, Journal of American History

"The assumptions and themes of this book challenge much of the historical profession's thinking about the origins of the American Revolution. Professor Reid suggests that Americans sought to preserve the Empire, while the English tragically destroyed it with constitutional innovation. If this is correct, and Reid's argument is convincing, historians need to rethink issues and problems of economics, social stress, and political nationalism and place constitutionalism . . . back at the top of the list of causes of the Revolution."—Howard A. Ohline, Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

Designed for use in courses, this abridged edition of the four-volume Constitutional History of the American Revolution demonstrates how significant constitutional disputes were in instigating the American Revolution. John Phillip Reid addresses the central constitutional issues that divided the American colonists from their English legislators: the authority to tax, the authority to legislate, the security of rights, the nature of law, the foundation of constitutional government in custom and contractarian theory, and the search for a constitutional settlement. Reid's distinctive analysis discusses the irreconcilable nature of this conflict—irreconcilable not because leaders in politics on both sides did not desire a solution, but because the dynamics of constitutional law impeded a solution that permitted the colonies to remain part of the dominions of George III.