The Miracle of American Independence: Twenty Ways Things Could Have Turned Out Differently

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Although American independence was no miracle, the timing of the country’s independence and its huge scope, both political and territorial, do seem miraculous. In The Miracle of American Independence Jonathan R. Dull reconstructs significant events before, during, and after the Revolutionary War that had dramatic consequences for the future as the colonies sought independence from Great Britain. Without these surprising and unexpected results, Dull maintains, the country would have turned out quite differently.  The Miracle of American Independence reimagines how the British might have averted or overcome American independence, and how the fledgling country itself could have lost its independence. Drawing on his nearly fifty years of research and a lively imagination, Dull puts readers in a position to consider the American Revolution from the perspective of the European states and their monarchs. This alternative history provides a stimulating reintroduction to one of the most exciting periods in American and European history, proving that sometimes reality is even stranger and more miraculous than fiction. Cover Title Page Copyright Page Contents Preface PART 1. Seven Ways the British Might HaveAverted American Independence 1. Britain Could Have Continued to Accept America’s Partial Autonomy 2. There Might Have Been a Peaceful Resolution of theColonial Rivalry of 1748– 1755 3. The War of 1755 Could Have Ended in a Quick British Victory 4. The French Could Have Won the War 5. The British Army Could Have Withdrawn from the American Frontier 6. The British Government Might Have Learned a Lesson from the Stamp Act Fiasco 7. The British Might Have Avoided War with the American Colonies PART 2. Twelve Ways the British Could HaveOvercome American Independence 8. American Resistance Might Have Been Fatally Weakened during 1775 9. The Seven Years’ War Could Have Permanently Weakened the French Navy 10. The British Might Have Accepted France’s Pleas for Better Relations 11. King Louis XVI Could Have Refused to Arm the Americans 12. The British Might Have Crushed the Continental Army 13. Louis XVI Could Have Pulled Back from War 14. Spain Might Not Have Joined the War 15. Spain Might Have Made Peace with Britain 16. The British Might Have Captured West Point 17. A Financial Collapse Could Have Doomed the Revolution 18. The Allies Might Not Have Achieved the Cooperation Needed for Victory 19. The Peace Treaty Could Have Left the United States Too Weak to Survive PART 3. The Way the United States Could Have Lost Its Independence 20. The American Union Might Not Have Lasted Notes Index