The Eve of the Revolution

On 29 January 1757, the Assembly of Pennsylvania commissioned Ben Franklin to act as its agent and head to London to support their petition again the Proprietors of the Province. This act began what would become the Revolutionary War and the Independence of the United States. 

The Eve of the Revolution, by Carl L. Becker, covers events from this date up to 1776, outlining the events that led to the American Revolution. The book provides a succinct overview of the colonies, their acts, and their lives prior to the war and the events that led to the war itself. He probes the struggles the colonies faced while working toward self-government and natural rights and examines the battles the colonies faced to determine what a new government should look like. 

In his own words, Becker states, "In this brief sketch I have chiefly endeavored to convey to the reader, not a record of what men did, but a sense of how they thought and felt about what they did." As he outlines the events leading up to America's independence, he brings to life the harsh realities the colonies faced in their day-to-day lives.