The eleven original essays presented here serve to enlarge the canvas upon which American history is to be portrayed so that it will allow—or more deliberately, give more prominence to—those groups at the bottom of colonial society to gain more equitable visibility. The effect is a striking view of the Revolution that provides not only a much-needed perspective on the role of minority groups in an era of social upheaval but also presents a panorama of such complexity and vitality that American history itself becomes more meaningful and more exciting than anything we have heretofore imagined.