Nina Sankovitch's American Rebels explores, for the first time, the intertwined lives of the Hancock, Quincy, and Adams families, and the role each person played in sparking the American Revolution.Before they were central figures in American history, John Hancock, John Adams, Josiah Quincy Junior, Abigail Smith Adams, and Dorothy Quincy Hancock had forged intimate connections during their childhood in Braintree, Massachusetts. Raised as loyal British subjects who quickly saw the need to rebel, their collaborations against the Crown and Parliament were formed years before the revolution and became stronger during the period of rising taxes and increasing British troop presence in Boston. Together, the families witnessed the horrors of the Boston Massacre, the Battles of Lexington and Concord, and Bunker Hill; the trials and tribulations of the Siege of Boston; meetings of the Continental Congress; transatlantic missions for peace and their abysmal failures; and the final steps that led to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.American Rebels explores how the desire for independence cut across class lines, binding people together as well as dividing them-rebels versus loyalists-as they pursued commonly-held goals of opportunity, liberty, and stability. Nina Sankovitch's new book is a fresh history of our revolution that makes readers look more closely at Massachusetts and the small town of Braintree when they think about the story of America's early years.

Table of ContentsPart One: Tinder (1744 - 1764)Prologue: A Funeral in BraintreeChapter 1: Founding a VillageChapter 2: The Education of BoysChapter 3: Worldly Goods, Heavenly DebatesChapter 4: The Education of GirlsChapter 5: Changing FortunesChapter 6: Colonial EnthusiasmsPart Two: Spark (1765 - 1773)Chapter 7: The Mobs of BostonChapter 8: Warmest Lovers of LibertyChapter 9: A Watchful SpiritChapter 10: The Arrival of TroopsChapter 11: Portents of a CometChapter 12: Pressing ForwardChapter 13: Mayhem and MassacreChapter 14: On TrialChapter 15: Retreat to BraintreeChapter 16: Patriots AssembleChapter 17: Branching OutChapter 18: Anxiety and ApprehensionsChapter 19: Tea, that Baneful WeedPart Three: Flame (1774 - 1776)Chapter 20: Rocks and Quick Sands on Every SideChapter 21: Punishment and IndignationChapter 22: Grand Object of Their ViewChapter 23: In the Cause of LibertyChapter 24: On this Island, this EnglandChapter 25: Sharpening Quills and SwordsChapter 26: Ship in a StormChapter 27: Lexington and ConcordChapter 28: Clouds Over BostonChapter 29: The Unhappy ContestChapter 30: Complications of Evil and MisfortuneChapter 31: Surrender of BostonChapter 32: Debating SeparationChapter 33: The Signature of IndependenceEpilogue: Friends to Mankind