What Did the Elites Do in the Lead Up to Independence?

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In the lead up to independence, Samuel and John Adams made common cause with non-radicals from Massachusetts and Virginia who wanted to overturn the government of Pennsylvania. The people we just talked about remain pretty unknown; they are not known pain is a bit of a separate case. So common cause was made between these kind of street and rural radicals, because they knew if they could get independence, maybe they could get control of government.

Astra Taylor interviews William Hogeland on his book Founding Finance: How Debt, Speculation, Foreclosures, Protests, and Crackdowns Made Us a Nation. Hogeland recovers a fascinating crop of mostly-forgotten rebels, the movements they led, and their radical demands that put the landlords and lenders of their day on edge. He also recounts the complex and sometimes deadly machinations that went into suppressing them in order to create a nation that was safe for the owning and investing classes. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig