Middleton Place Foundation invites you to join author Woody Holton for a discussion of his book
LIBERTY IS SWEET. The Hidden History of the American Revolution
Thursday, May 19, 2022 | 6:00pm
The Pavilion at Middleton Place
A book signing reception will follow and LIBERTY IS SWEET will be available for purchase.
This is a free, in-person event, advance registration is required and seating is limited.
About the Book
LIBERTY IS SWEET is a sweeping reassessment of the American Revolution that emphasizes the contributions of women, Native Americans, African Americans, and religious dissenters to the founding of the early American republic. Holton, a National Book Award finalist and winner of the Bancroft Prize, digs into more than a thousand eyewitness accounts to explore how marginalized and overlooked Americans were integral to the revolutionary efforts and to the establishment of a new nation. Women provided material support for the troops, sewing clothes for soldiers and in some cases taking part in the fighting. Thousands of enslaved Americans exploited the chaos of war to obtain their own freedom.
LIBERTY IS SWEET gives us our most complete account of the American Revolution, from its ideological origins on the frontiers and in the Atlantic ports, to critical revolutionary battles, to overlooked factors such as weather and North America’s unique geography, to the creation of the Constitution. Offering surprises at every turn—for example, Holton makes a convincing case that Britain never had a chance of winning the war—this majestic history revivifies a story we thought we already knew.
About the Author
Woody Holton is the Peter and Bonnie McCausland Professor of History at the University of South Carolina, where he teaches and researches Early American history, especially the American Revolution, with a focus on economic history and on African Americans, Native Americans, and women. He is the author of several previous books, including Abigail Adams, which was awarded the Bancroft Prize; his second book, Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution, was a finalist for the National Book Award.