Rebels rising : cities and the American Revolution
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 278-317) and index.

"The cities of eighteenth-century America packed together tens of thousands of colonists, who met to debate the issues of the day in back rooms and taverns, on the wharves on in the streets. In this fascinating work, Carp shows how these various urban meeting places provided the tinder and spark for the American Revolution, focusing on colonial America's five most populous cities -- particularly Boston's waterfront community, New York taverngoers, Newport congregations, Charleston's elite patriarchy, and the common people who gathered outside Philadelphia's State House. He describes how the cities became the flashpoints for legislative protests, committee meetings, massive outdoor gatherings, newspaper harangues, boycotts, customs evasion, violence, and riots -- all of which laid the groundwork for war"--P. [4] of cover.