Three Families that Sparked a Revolution
Before they were central figures in American history, John Hancock, John Adams, Josiah Quincy Junior, Abigail Smith Adams, and Dorothy Quincy Hancock were childhood friends in the village of Braintree, Massachusetts.
Sons and daughters of gentry, preachers, and simple farmers, they were all raised to be loyal British subjects — and yet from an early age this band of friends questioned the relationship between colony and mother country, and began to advocate for greater independence from British control.
In the years leading up to the American Revolution, they led the way in opposing the Crown and Parliament’s policies of rising taxes, curbing of colonial rights, and increasing military presence in Boston.
The Quincys, Adams, and Hancocks stood as vital advocates for their fellow colonists throughout the horrors of the Boston Massacre, the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and Bunker Hill, and the trials and tribulations endured during the Siege of Boston.
Their influence went far beyond their own colony of Massachusetts when they became leaders of the Continental Congress; set out on transatlantic missions for peace; and instigated the final steps that led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
My new book, American Rebels: How the Hancock, Adams, and Quincy Families Fanned the Flames of Revolution, explores how the desire for independence cut across class lines, binding people together (while leaving loyalists behind) as the rebels pursued commonly-held goals of opportunity, liberty, and stability.
Providing an intimate and fresh history of the American Revolution, told through the histories of the three families that fanned its flames, American Rebels is now available. For more information, visit my website.
In its starred review of American Rebels, the Library Journal wrote: “Sankovitch has woven a compelling, potent chronicle of members of three principal American families that will be valued by readers of American history at all levels.”
“Best-selling author Nina Sankovitch has given us a magnificent, solid work on the life, times and people who helped guide the American colonies to freedom from English rule….
Sankovitch has combined detailed research and reporting and a critically straightforward conversational writing style that puts her readers in the hearts and minds of participants and, more important, offers us fresh perspective of the events leading to revolution here.” — The Martha’s Vineyard Times
“American Rebels reminds us that as momentous events unfolded, the stuff of daily life carried on — courtships, marriages, family gatherings; houses were constructed, careers furthered, gout and consumption endured by some.” — Wall Street Journal
Publishers Weekly also praised American Rebels: “Historian Sankovitch (The Lowells of Massachusetts) explores the family connections and revolutionary politics shared by John Hancock, John and Abigail Adams, and Josiah Quincy Jr., in this richly detailed and fluidly written account…Sankovitch leavens her deeply researched account with wit, and presents a persuasive and entertaining portrait of life in colonial Boston. Revolutionary War buffs will savor this thoughtful addition to popular histories of the period.”
Goodreads named American Rebels one of “the most highly anticipated new and upcoming nonfiction… books readers can’t wait to crack open…” And James Comey, former FBI director and author of A Higher Loyalty wrote, “American Rebels is a fascinating and richly detailed story of three New England families who emerged from their small world to change ours forever.”
American Rebels “is certainly an eye-opener. And in this time of isolation, her work exploring another small New England town in an equally fraught time can help us better appreciate both place and time. Sankovitch traces the route by which loyal British subjects grew to oppose the king, fight for freedom and lead a fledgling country into existence. You may not know those patriots beyond names from history. But they were living, breathing men and women, with passion, pride, contradictions, foibles, strength, talent, worries and fears. The author brings them to life, explaining their relationships with each other and with the town that helped make them who they are.” — Dan Woog, Westport News
James Comey, former FBI director and author of A Higher Loyalty, recommends American Rebels, writing: “American Rebels is a fascinating and richly detailed story of three New England families who emerged from their small world to change ours forever.”
