The History of the American Revolution: In Two Volumes

David Ramsay's premier work of American historiography is now available for the first time in a well-edited reprint. Lester Cohen's foreword is an invaluable guide.

—Arthur H. Shaffer, University of Missouri

David Ramsay's History of the American Revolution appeared in 1789 during an enthusiastic celebration of nationhood. It is the first American national history written by an American revolutionary and printed in America. Ramsay, a well-known Federalist, was an active participant in many of the events of the period and a member of the Continental Congress from South Carolina.

Ramsay discusses the events and ideas of the American Revolution (from the outbreak of turbulence in the 1760s to the onset of Washington's administration) and makes an ardent Federalist defense of the Constitution of 1787.

Based on the original and authorized 1789 version, this is the first new modern edition of the work.

Lester H. Cohen taught history and American Studies at Purdue University.