The eleven original essays presented here serve to enlarge the canvas upon which American history is to be portrayed so that it will allow-or more deliberately, give more prominence to-those groups at the bottom of colonial society to gain more equitable visibility. The effect is a striking view of the Revolution that provides not only a much-needed perspective on the role of minority groups in an era of social upheaval but also presents a panorama of such complexity and vitality that American history itself becomes more meaningful and more exciting than anything we have heretofore imagined.