unt is his dereliction to include traditional forces, which played an intricate part of the revolution. Wood neglects to mention the series of acts and events such as the Boston Tea Party as a driving force for the revolutionary movement. As Smith points out only twenty of the 369 pages is dedicated to the actual revolutionary struggle (Smith 3). Once again Wood is trying to range his text to include forces that span before and after the revolution. Wood, rather than rely on the importance of fighting the revolution, cites changes both socially and economically to get at the deeper importance of the American Revolution. Wood furthers his neglect on traditional forces by depersonalizing the heroism that personifies the struggle of the American Revolution. Take for instance the painting done by John Trumbull, which depicts the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Yorktown. Trumbull depicts the American soldiers as proud, and paints the American flag as bright and waving. A painting such as this one reminds us of the struggle to gain independence as well as the triumphant victory against British forces. When reading Wood’s book it is hard to get a feeling of what the people were like during the Revolution. Wood takes his book and moves the revolution into the hands of a mass movement, instead focusing on individual accomplishments. While this may give Wood’s book some claim of legitimacy, I feel it is equally important to note individual Smith pg.5 accomplishments during the Revolution. For instance in Wood’s history of the Revolution, there is no evidence of Paul Revere’s existence. As David Fischer points out in his book Paul Revere’s Ride, Revere played a significant role in the saving of lives and has since become an American hero. Fischer makes the claim that it might have been the single-handed effort of Paul Revere that turned the tide in favor of America during the Revolut...
