{"product_id":"patriots-before-revolution-the-rise-of-party-politics-in-the-british-atlantic-1714-1763-9780300263213","title":"Patriots Before Revolution: The Rise of Party Politics in the British Atlantic, 1714-1763","description":"\u003cb\u003eA new history of the Patriot movement before the American Revolution, tracing its origins to reform movements in British politics\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The American revolutionaries--George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John and Abigail Adams--called themselves Patriots. But what exactly did it mean to be a Patriot? Historian Amy Watson locates the origins of Patriotism in British politics of the early eighteenth century, showing that the label \"Patriot\" was first adopted by a network of British politicians with radical ideas about the principles and purpose of the British Empire. The early Patriots' ideological mission was not American independence but, rather, imperial reform: Patriots sought to create a British Empire that was militant, expansionist, confederal, and free. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Over the course of the next half century, these British reformers used print media and grassroots mobilization efforts to build an empire-wide political party with adherents in London, Edinburgh, New York City, and the new colony of Georgia. While building this party, the Patriots' advocacy drew Britons into a series of violent political conflicts over taxes and civil liberty, as well as three expansive global wars, the War of Jenkins' Ear (1739-48), the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48), and the Seven Years' War (1756-63). Patriot ideas and organizations came to divide Britons on increasingly sharp political lines, laying the groundwork for the revolutionary decades to come.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAmy Watson\u003c\/b\u003e is assistant professor of history at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She lives in Birmingham, AL.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51500843598098,"sku":"9780300263213","price":71.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_87b4281b-75da-46ae-9954-a6b39239cebe.jpg?v=1753203224","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/patriots-before-revolution-the-rise-of-party-politics-in-the-british-atlantic-1714-1763-9780300263213","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}