West of the Revolution ─ An Uncommon History of 1776

In 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, the Continental Congress declared independence, and Washington crossed the Delaware. We are familiar with these famous moments in American history but know little about the extraordinary events occurring that same year beyond the Revolution. In this distinctive history, Claudio Saunt tells a fascinating, largely untold story of an immense and restless continent connected in surprising ways. In the pivotal year of 1776, the Spanish landed in San Francisco, Creek emissaries sailed to Cuba, and the Sioux discovered the Black Hills. In rich, narrative prose, Saunt tells how decisions made across the Atlantic affected Indian trade routes on the Mississippi, set off an environmental revolution in Canada’s boreal forests, and reconfigured the political balance in the Southwest. These formative events shaped America in lasting ways. Richly illustrated, with maps that reenvision a familiar landscape, West of the Revolution explores a turbulent continent in a year of many revolutions.