Arms, Country, and Class: The Philadelphia Militia and the 'Lower Sort' during the American Revolution [Paperback]

Steven J. Rosswurm (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1989

"Extremely well organized and extensively researched. . . . This excellent, thought-provoking work stressing the determinative role of class conflict in Pennsylvania's internal revolution undoubtedly will cause scholarly debate. . . . An admirable achievement in offering fresh and welcome approaches to a noteworthy aspect of America's revolutionary era."--Pennsylvania History "Writing from an avowedly Marxist perspective, Rosswurm has produced and exceedingly sympathetic study of the contribution of Philadelphia's lower classes to both the political and military aspects of the American Revolution in Pennsylvania. . . . An important contribution to the renewed interest in the role of conflict in the American Revolution, it is strongly recommended."--Choice "[This] is the best kind of history from the bottom up in that it seeks to understand the less powerful on their own terms while understanding as well the influence of the larger society in which those people lived. . . . will become a 'must cite' item in the historical literature that covers the late colonial and revolutionary period."--John Alexander, University of Cincinnati Steven Rosswurm examines the role of Philadelphia's "lower sort"--primarily artisans and wage earners--in the making of the American Revolution. He demonstrates that they were central to the Pennsylvania Revolution, the most radical of all state revolutions. Through an exhaustive review of a wide range of sources, Rosswurm explores the "lower sorts'" ascent to power in the militia and the Committee of Privates during 1775 and 1776, showing how they played an important part in establishing the radically democratic Constitution of 1776. While carefully tracking the Philadelphia militia to the battlefield, and looking at who fought and how they fought, Rosswurm shows that the militia continually found themselves forced to weigh patriotism against their vision of equality. Rosswurm's study is a multilayered analysis of a society in revolution, a look at those below within the context of the power of their "betters." We hear the voices of the popular movement as well as the abstract debates about republicanism and the Revolution's meaning. Broad, vivid, and powerful, this book is for those interested in the interaction of class and politics and the interplay between sociology and ideology. Steven Rosswurm is Associate Professor of History at Lake Forest College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (December 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081351472X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813514727
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Detailed Study of Class and Power in Philadelphia, August 3, 2000

By 

William J. Shepherd (Crofton, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arms, Country, and Class: The Philadelphia Militia and the 'Lower Sort' during the American Revolution (Paperback)

Professor Rosswurm has produced a well researched though somewhat Marxist account of the events and significance of the American Revolution in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. His focus is the radicalized lower class, 'The Lower Sort' as he calls them, consisting largely of artisans and wage earners. They were forced to balance their concerns for democratic reforms and affordable food with the demands and sacrifices of patriotism and military service. Their service in the Associators, Militia, and Committee of Privates was the path to power, especially since the Conservative elite, such as John Dickinson, and including many Quakers, were rather lukewarm and lacking in leadership in oppostion to King George III and the British Parliament. Rosswurm argues effectively that the Revolution in Pennsylvania, especially as manifested in the Constitution of 1776, was the most radical and democratic of any of the thirteen American colonies though eventually a conservative backlash would dismantle many of these radical and democratic elements. Rosswurm is also particularly skilled in demonstrating who served in the Associators and Militia and who did not, their effectiveness, and where and when they served. The Pennsylvania and other colonial militia were not generally valued and were much criticized yet the Philadelphia Associators and Militia were often quite impressive, in battles such as Princeton and Germantown, and even won an accolade of being "a fine body of men" from General George Washington, no great supporter of militia and certainly not the Pennsylvania militia. Some of this performance can perhaps be explained by revolutionary zeal though the tragic clash of poorer militiamen, a mob of sorts, and the City Light Horse and Continental Dragoons who rode them down at 'Fort Wilson' in 1779 would do much to rein in such zeal. Rosswurm supports his findings with many statistical tables and very detailed endnotes and is to be commended for a work which clearly is an academic tome with monographic qualities yet has a narrative thread which can retain the interest of the more general reader. This book is a special treat for this reader whose ancestor, Caspar Dull, was an officer in the City Light Horse. Being able to place Caspar's service in a larger historical context was enlightening though Caspar would have been on the wrong side of Professor Rosswurm's class war in the streets of Philadelphia! Also, this book is a fine contrast and nice bookend with the more recent BEYOND PHILADELPHIA: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION IN THE PENNSYLVANIA HINTERLAND by John B. Frantz and William Pencak.