The Counter-Revolution of 1776

Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America

By: Gerald Horne

Narrated by: Larry Herron

The successful 1776 revolt against British rule in North America has been hailed almost universally as a great step forward for humanity. But the Africans then living in the colonies overwhelmingly sided with the British. In this trailblazing book, Gerald Horne shows that in the prelude to 1776, the abolition of slavery seemed all but inevitable in London, delighting Africans as much as it outraged slaveholders, and sparking the colonial revolt.

Prior to 1776, anti-slavery sentiments were deepening throughout Britain and in the Caribbean, rebellious Africans were in revolt. For European colonists in America, the major threat to their security was a foreign invasion combined with an insurrection of the enslaved. It was a real and threatening possibility that London would impose abolition throughout the colonies - a possibility the founding fathers feared would bring slave rebellions to their shores. To forestall it, they went to war.

The so-called Revolutionary War, Horne writes, was in part a counter-revolution, a conservative movement that the founding fathers fought in order to preserve their right to enslave others. The Counter-Revolution of 1776 brings us to a radical new understanding of the traditional heroic creation myth of the United States.

©2014 New York University (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Great book!!!!

There is a new perspective to the narrative of American history, like the pieces of a puzzle this book explains some of the untold stories of a enslave people fighting for freedom and there right to exist as human beings and the European hegemony over African peoples and culture...Great book

Excellent History of a little-known section of settler history

Horne proves that he is one of the greatest historians of our time, following up previous successes with a book that shines a melting light on the relationship between empire and enslavement of Africans. Listeners will hear details often overlooked or intentionally hidden in popular histories of the period and will have a more accurate view of the past because of it.

an eye opener

an eye-opener and I think everyone should read it especially if they don't buy what they've been taught in schools. if you ever wondered about the origin of white supremacy and why it's continuing to be a problem around the world this book is a opener and a different perspective on the American Revolution which unlike most accounts this seems to be plausible.

I just love Gerald Horne!

Really good analysis on the events surrounding the war and leading up to it. I would love if many more Americans read this work. One thing that slightly irritated me was the narrators pronunciation of Cartagena phonetically instead of Carta-heh-nah. Small and insignificant but noticeable. I loved this read.

this book is a must-read.

mr. Horn Place a lot of information in this book that I wasn't taught in school and I do believe a lot of people need to read this book for themselves and check the facts to see if he's correct. I do believe the book is factual I do believe that he is correct and I do believe that a lot of people need to read this book.