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The Marketplace of Revolution Book Review
The Marketplace of Revolution – How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence, written by T.H. Breen (2004), is a historical novel about social and cultural history, as well as race and gender. It is an interpretation of the American Revolution, and how it all began.
T.H. Breen’s inspiration to write The Marketplace of Revolution : How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence sparked when he visited the Wallace Gallery, a museum that is part of Colonial Williamsburg. He wanted to share the character of daily life in the colonial times from an entirely different point of view than what we have heard before, as well as transform the current beliefs on the start of the American Revolution.
The Marketplace of Revolution : How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence is an interpretation of how men and women of different religious and ethnic backgrounds overcame their personal differences and came together to create a common cause. They wanted freedom from Great Britain, and they would do whatever it took. T.H. Breen shows how strangers managed to come together and share a sense of trust and reliance that united the men and women long before a nation was even established. (Question #1)
The thoroughness of The Marketplace of Revolution : How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence is something many people have yet to see in any other book and it is quite amazing. There is so much detail, and explanation, and it is written from such an eye opening point of view that no one has heard before. The research done to prove each and every thought Breen made is insane. For example, on page 218, Breen connected the Stamp Act to the destruction of the World Trade Center and the Assassination of President John Kennedy. He referred to modern day men and women thinking of these historical moments as a break in the flow of time. Breen finds quotes, modern day moments, and other finds to make his thoughts come to life in the minds of his readers, as well as maintain accurate information. He finds any connection he possibly can to connect our thoughts with his.
Along with a Ph.D from Yale in 1968, Breen is the William Smith Mason Professor of American History at Northwestern University and a James Marsh Professor at the University of Vermont. Breen has also taught at Cambridge University, Oxford University, University of Chicago, Yale University, and California Institute of Technology. He was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for Humanities, United States and Canada, along with several awards for his stellar teaching. Breen has published multiple books, among them, award winners such as Great Tidewater Planters on the Eve of Revolution (recipient of the T. Saloutos Prize,) and Imagining the Past: East Hampton Histories (winner of the Historical Preservation Book Prize.) Breen was more than qualified to write The Marketplace of Revolution, and his work speaks for him. He is a highly intelligent man and he does his research.
Breen supplies his readers with an intricate list of notes, sources, and details backing up his statements throughout his book. Every name, quote, book, movie, document, and date is listed and cited in the back of his book. He makes sure his information is accurate and he provides any additional information needed to prove that. The index alone is eight pages of names, dates, and objects and where each can be found in his book. Breen puts so much effort into his work, and it truly pays off.
The final chapter of The Marketplace of Revolution is set in May of 1773, when the Parliament passed the Tea Act. The colonists utilized 300,000 pounds of tea every year, which means that they had no problem paying a tax on tea. The East India Tea Company had decided to then sell their tea in America for more profit, but when the tea arrived, they received different information. They were told that they must turn back, or their tea would be confiscated, but the stubbornness of the salesmen, and the refusal to unload the ships led to a harbor full of useless tea. Sitting untouched until December 16, when colonist poured the tea into the ocean. Tea was confiscated and burn in towns, and in the spring of 1774, the Boston Port Act was passed, and the Boston Harbor was closed until the East India Tea Company was reimbursed.
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Works Cited
Breen, Timothy Hall. The Marketplace of Revolution How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.
"The Marketplace of Revolution(A Summary and Review)." This Book and I Could Be Friends. Accessed August 12, 2018. http://tselfoninternets.blogspot.com/2009/01/marketplace-of-revolution-summary-and.html.
"DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY." Abram J. Lewis: Department of History – Northwestern University. Accessed August 12, 2018. https://www.history.northwestern.edu/people/faculty/emeriti/timothy-harris-breen.html.
"The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence." EHnet. Accessed August 12, 2018. http://eh.net/book_reviews/the-marketplace-of-revolution-how-consumer-politics-shaped-american-independence/.
We Read Books. Accessed August 14, 2018. http://wereadbooks.blogspot.com/2006/12/marketplace-of-revolution-chapter-8.html.