The Cause

The American Revolution and Its Discontents, 1773-1783

By: Joseph J. Ellis

Narrated by: Graham Winton

A culminating work on the American Founding by one of its leading historians, The Cause rethinks the American Revolution as we have known it.

George Washington claimed that anyone who attempted to provide an accurate account of the war for independence would be accused of writing fiction. At the time, no one called it the “American Revolution”: Former colonists still regarded themselves as Virginians or Pennsylvanians, not Americans, while John Adams insisted that the British were the real revolutionaries, for attempting to impose radical change without their colonists’ consent.

With The Cause, Ellis takes a fresh look at the events between 1773 and 1783, recovering a war more brutal than any in American history save the Civil War and discovering a strange breed of “prudent” revolutionaries, whose prudence proved wise yet tragic when it came to slavery, the original sin that still haunts our land. Written with flair and drama, The Cause brings together a cast of familiar and forgotten characters who, taken together, challenge the story we have long told ourselves about our origins as a people and a nation.

©2021 Joseph J. Ellis (P)2021 Recorded Books

Interesting information

I really learned a lot about “the cause” - things I didn’t realize I was ignorant about. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in this time period of US history

Great story behind the story of the Am. Revolution!

The author did a great job of sharing behind the scenes happenings that impacted significantly on better known events in the American Revolution.
The oration was also first rate!

The Real Revilution

This tells the story of the American Revolution and the very important people, often behind the scenes, who held it together

One favorite of mine

The author is able to treat several sides of the story/Cause and puts the reader in that place and time.
A good resource book and one that I expect to read in hard copy. 5+ stars/highly recommended..

I loved this book!

I’m a Joseph Ellis fan but this is the first audible book of his I’ve listened to. I’m so glad I did! Well written and read!