Includes bibliographical references (p. [365]-371) and index.

"In the very midst of a revolution" : the proposal to declare independence -- "A spirit of riot and rebellion" : Lord North, Benjamin Franklin, and the American crisis -- "Defenders of American liberty" : Samuel Adams, Joseph Galloway, and the First Continental Congress -- "It is a bill of war. It draws the sword" : Lord Dartmouth, George Washington, hostilities -- "A rescript written in blood" : John Dickinson and the appeal of reconciliation -- "Progress must be slow" : John Adams and the politics of a divided Congress -- "The king will produce the grandest revolution" : George III and the American rebellion -- "The folly and madness of the ministry" : Charles James Fox, Thomas Paine, and the war -- "We might get ourselves upon dangerous ground" : James Wilson, Robert Morris, Lord Howe, and the search for peace -- "The fatal stab" : Abigail Adams and the realities of the struggle for independence -- "Not choice, but necessity that calls for independence" : the dilemma and strategy of Robert Livingston -- "The character of a fine writer" : Thomas Jefferson and the drafting of the Declaration of Independence -- "May Heaven prosper the new born republic" : Setting America free -- "This will cement the Union" : America is set free.