All-Volunteer Leadership

In honor of the just-passed American July 4th holiday, here are excerpts from the first chapter of the book, By the People: A History of Americans as Volunteers, by Susan J. Ellis and Katherine H. Campbell. It’s easy to forget the critical role volunteers played in the fight for independence, so what better time to remember? (For our friends to the north – you can read about the history of volunteering in Canada in this free PDF.)

There were a number of ways that the average citizen could play an active part in the growing rebellion. Economic pressure on England was an important weapon. The Boston Tea Party was but one of many citizen efforts. Though the colonists had grown dependent upon the goods of the mother country, boycotts of British products were attempted, usually successfully, all over the colonies…

After the Stamp Act, colonists resolved to abstain from buying and using such diverse items as loaf sugar, coaches and carriages of all types, imported hats, gold and silver lace