The long conflict that culminated in the American Revolution and the founding of the U.S. Republic upended the lives of men and women throughout the colonies. In a time of upheaval and uncertainty, they reinvented their lives, their communities, and their vision of the world. Drawing from the pathbreaking scholarship published by the Omohundro Institute over the past fifty years, these essays reflect on the experiences and legacies of the struggle for American independence, from the first inklings of the imperial crisis through the war’s global aftershocks. Contributors include David Armitage, Christopher Leslie Brown, Katherine Carté, Eliga H. Gould, Woody Holton, Rhys Isaac, Michael J. Jarvis, Maya Jasanoff, Linda K. Kerber, Cynthia Kierner, Michael A. McDonnell, Johann N. Neem, Mary Beth Norton, Robert G. Parkinson, Benjamin Quarles, John A. Ruddiman, Manisha Sinha, and Alfred F. Young. “The Omohundro Institute is justly renowned for its superb scholarly productions. This volume, published on the occasion of our country’s 250th anniversary, continues that tradition of excellence. The essays brim with insights about the meaning and legacies of the American colonies' break with Great Britain. The American Revolution is destined to become indispensable to the study of the creation of the United States.”—Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family “This vibrant set of essays illuminates our revolutionary origins in both classic and innovative ways. In the broad range of approaches and topics, readers will find an ideal introduction to the diverse cast that transformed this continent.”—Alan Taylor, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Revolutions: A Continental History, 1750–1804 “All the drama and dynamism of the American Revolution is here for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in this exceptional and essential collection. In essays written for every reader, leading scholars of the last half century show us that the era of the Revolution was as complex as anything we confront today.”—Karin Wulf, author of Lineage: Genealogy and the Politics of Connection in Early America “Drawing on a generation of transformative scholarship, this fascinating collection centers human beings with countless backgrounds, perspectives, motivations, and opinions to show the American Revolution in all its complexity and, indeed, magnificence.”—Kathleen DuVal, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Native Nations: A Millennium in North America “This superb collection explores lesser-known aspects of the American Revolution, including the participation of ordinary men and women, Native Americans, citizen soldiers, and enslaved people. Accessible to students, scholars, and general readers alike, the essays deepen our knowledge of the founding moment in our nation’s history.”—Rosemarie Zagarri, author of Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic Fifty years of award-winning scholarship on the American Revolution Nicholas Popper is professor of history at William & Mary and former interim editor of books at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, the oldest organization in the United States exclusively dedicated to the study of early America. Since 1947, the OI’s editorial team has partnered with the University of North Carolina Press to produce field-defining books, which have won over two hundred prestigious prizes. The OI is also the publisher of the William and Mary Quarterly , the leading journal of early American history and culture.