Book Review: The Minutemen and Their World
...ble enough to look out for the common good, but over time, this assumption turned into concern as the colony’s leadership faltered at the hands of change. The public's more immediate interests were most often focused on matters related to the daily aspects of their social and economic life such as land, roads, bridges, schools, and the poor. A growth in population and the subsequent shortage of land heightened tensions between the people who lived closest to town and the "outlivers" on the outskirts of Concord who, in many cases, had to travel 5 or more miles to conduct important business in the town. In fact Gross notes that the rancorous infighting and sectional rivalry eventually enveloped into a "failure of community." In addition to creating an economic crisis, the shortage of land also fostered severe social crises as well. Most important was the threat to traditional family life. With less land to offer and fewer economic resources, the farmer’s sons (a crucial resource for labor) fled West in search of land as their father could no longer promise a substantial inheritance. In addition, the daughters rebelled in large enough numbers to the point where one-third of all firstborns were conceived out of wedlock. On top of the inability to sustain a strong social and economic framework, the colonists and Concordians lost control of their political lives with a series of British trade embargoes, the “Coercive Acts” and “Intolerable Acts,” passed in 1774. The "Intolerable Acts" were the last straw for the people of Concord, and the yearning for the days of the past when the town slept peacefully and undistracted by events of the world ultimately unified the community and the other colonies in preparation for war. While the author sets the stage for war “in the context of the townspeople’s ordinary lives,” the audience is able to better investigate his use of both quantitative and qualitative evidence and the “human meaning of the revolution.” Throughout the story, Gross explains how quantitative elements like the shortage of land, increases in property taxes, and other varying social and economic statistics are directly linked to qualitative factors like the overall quality of life in Concord. The degradation of these elements undoubtedly led to the poorer quality of life which ultimately triggered the revolution. Furthermore, Gross’ employment of first-hand experiences and dialogue from people who were actually there at the time is extremely beneficial in helping the reader decipher ...