When Profit Met Protest in Colonial New York

When is an oppressive regime too much to accept? What risks are worth taking to rebel against it? Those were questions that citizens of the American colonies had to answer in the decade leading up to the revolution against Britain. As historian Michael D. Hattem writes, for many in New York, the answers changed in accordance with shifts in how British rule affected their material interests. In particular, he looks at the attitudes and actions of freemen, common citizens with political rights but without wealth and power.