Review by Choice Review
Taylor's book represents a valuable and interesting perspective on frontier studies and the influence of backcountry populations on US social development. This study examines the settlers of the Maine backcountry in the decades after the American Revolution. Taylor (Boston University) describes the resistance of the Liberty Men who settled the region against the efforts of the Great Proprietors, who attempted to enforce sovereignty over the land. In this sense, Taylor treats an episode that fits into the larger context of backcountry opposition to eastern political power and land speculation from the 1750s through the 1820s. More pointedly, Taylor relates a struggle vital in answering the questions of the "nature of property, the local diffusion or central consolidation of power, and the legitimacy of extralegal crowd violence in the new Republic." In resisting the proprietors' demands with the same spirit in which the patriots resisted Parliament, the Liberty Men saw themselves as defenders of the Revolution and its legacies for American society. Taylor effectively explains the sources of contention, the personalities and motives involved, the clashes and accommodations, and, most important, the significance of such struggles in shaping and defining US political and economic society. A good piece of regional history, well documented and very readable, that contributes to the study of issues relevant on a national level. College, university, and public libraries. -M. J. Puglisi, Emory and Henry College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
