From the earliest days of the British colonies in America, land was freely given to those willing to come and settle. Oftentimes, it was the only inducement that brought colonists to the New World. At first, colonists considered free land a privilege, but it soon came to be seen as a right. When that right was later withheld by Great Britain, the colonists rebelled. Although covered broadly in other histories, this is the first work entirely dedicated to exploring land ownership as a unique and direct cause of the American Revolution.

This book details the powerful influence of land rights in the early British settlement of America. Exploring how economic hierarchies led to vast inequality in England, it details the realization that America would provide opportunities for economic mobiity. As colonists learned how to manage the land in the New World, they also learned how to govern themselves. This book emphasizes how the control of free land in America laid the groundwork for revolution.