The Martyr and the Traitor: Choosing Sides in the American Revolution

FAIN: FA-54998-10

Virginia D. Anderson
Regents of the University of Colorado, Boulder (Boulder, CO 80303-1058)

My book explores the question: How did colonists choose which side to support in the American Revolution? Focusing on a largely unexplored link between subjective experience and contingent political events, I argue that the kinds of social networks to which individuals belonged not only shaped personal identity but also influenced political sympathies. The book focuses on two Connecticut men--one Whig (Nathan Hale) and one Tory (Moses Dunbar)--to demonstrate that the argument applies equally well to both sides in the conflict. For both Hale and Dunbar, the train of events that culminated in their choice of opposite sides commenced with their ties to social networks that initially had nothing to do with politics or war. No one could have predicted how the Revolution would politicize familiar social relationships, propelling lives that seemed to be following a similar trajectory in different directions.

Media Coverage

Why We Remember Nathan Hale (and Nobody's Heard of Moses Dunbar) (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Virginia DeJohn Anderson
Publication: History News Network
Date: 7/2/2017
Abstract: Blog post
URL: http://http://historynewsnetwork.org/article/166103

Author's Corner Interview (Media Coverage)
Author(s): John Fea (interviewer)
Publication: The Way of Improvement Leads Home
Date: 6/22/2017
Abstract: Email interview about book
URL: http://https://thewayofimprovement.com/category/authors-corner-series/

The Martyr and the Traitor: Choosing Sides in the Revolutionary War (Media Coverage)
Publication: Bowery Boys
Date: 7/18/2017
Abstract: Summary of book
URL: http://http://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2017/07/martyr-traitor-choosing-sides-revolutionary-war.html

Nathan Hale & Moses Dunbar: Two Very Different Victims of the Revolutionary War (Media Coverage)
Publication: militaryhistorynow.com
Date: 7/21/2017
Abstract: Re-posting of History News Network essay
URL: http://http://militaryhistorynow.com/2017/07/21/nathan-hale-moses-dunbar-two-tragic-figures-from-the-american-revolution-with-vastly-different-legacies/

Lives Lost for Their Countries (Review)
Author(s): Caitlin Fitz
Publication: Wall Street Journal
Date: 7/11/2017
Abstract: Book review
URL: http://https://www.wsj.com/articles/lives-lost-for-their-countries-1499812053

The Martyr and the Traitor: Nathan Hale, Moses Dunbar, and the American Revolution (Review)
Publication: Publishers Weekly
Date: 5/1/2017
URL: http://https://www.wsj.com/articles/lives-lost-for-their-countries-1499812053

Tell Me Everything with John Fugelsang (Media Coverage)
Publication: Sirius XM radio interview
Date: 7/24/2017
Abstract: Half hour radio interview

Associated Products

The Martyr and the Traitor: Nathan Hale, Moses Dunbar, and the American Revolution (Book)
Title: The Martyr and the Traitor: Nathan Hale, Moses Dunbar, and the American Revolution
Author: Virginia DeJohn Anderson
Abstract: Nathan Hale, the celebrated hero, and Moses Dunbar, an unknown loyalist executed for treason, both died during the American Revolution for causes they regarded as honorable. The Martyr and the Traitor argues that both men's stories are worth remembering for what they reveal about the Revolution's impact on ordinary lives.
Year: 2017
Primary URL: http://http://www.worldcat.org/title/martyr-and-the-traitor-nathan-hale-moses-dunbar-and-the-american-revolution/oclc/960030294&referer=brief_results
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 978-0199916863
Copy sent to NEH?: No

The Martyr and the Traitor (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: The Martyr and the Traitor
Abstract: Presentation on the book
Author: Virginia DeJohn Anderson
Date: 7/19/2018
Location: Fraunces Tavern Museum, New York
Primary URL: http://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-martyr-and-the-traitor-9780199916863?cc=us&lang=en&

Prizes

Book of the Year for 2017
Date: 2/8/2018
Organization: Journal of the American Revolution

Best Book award for non-fiction
Date: 10/14/2018
Organization: Connecticut Center for the Book

The Martyr and the Traitor (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: The Martyr and the Traitor
Abstract: Reading the Revolution book talk
Author: Virginia DeJohn Anderson
Date: 5/15/2019
Location: Museum of the American Revolution, Philadelphia
Primary URL: http://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-martyr-and-the-traitor-9780199916863?cc=us&lang=en&

---