Barbara J. Mitnick has edited a remarkably comprehensive anthology, shedding new light on the rich and turbulent late eighteenth-century period in New Jersey. Originally conceived as a legacy of the state’s 225th Anniversary of the Revolution Celebration Commission and sponsored by the Washington Association of New Jersey, the volume brings together contributions by twelve outstanding, recognized experts on New Jersey history.
Chapters explore topics including New Jersey as the "Crossroads of the Revolution," important military campaigns, the 1776 Constitution, and the significant contribution of blacks, Native Americans, and women to the fighting and to the homefront. Reflecting the contemporary view that the war’s impact extended beyond military engagements, original essays also discuss the fine and decorative arts, literature, architecture, and social and economic conditions. The reader is presented with a picture of life in New Jersey both separate from as well as connected to the struggle for American independence and the establishment of the nation.
Fresh and significant observations, including the fact that soldiers fought 238 battles on New Jersey soil (more than any other state) and that the social and political changes resulting from the war were more revolutionary than evolutionary make this accessibly written, beautifully illustrated volume appeal to the lay reader as well as to scholars of New Jersey and Revolutionary War history.
Contributors: Ian C. G. Burrow, Delight W. Dodyk, Thomas Fleming, David J. Fowler, Harriette C. Hawkins, Richard W. Hunter, Mark Edward Lender, Maxine N. Lurie, Barbara J. Mitnick, Merrill Maguire Skaggs, Lorraine E. Williams, and Giles R. Wright.
