Contested Revolutions provides an updated, incisive narrative of the time period from the 1760s to the 1790s. The text covers the background to the revolutionary crisis, the course of the Revolutionary War, and the development of the federal Constitution and new state governments. The book incorporates recent scholarship, particularly that relating to African-Americans, Native Americans, women, and Loyalists. It also addresses the varied meanings of the American Revolution - the diverse interpretations and expectations held by different groups with different goals.

Contested Revolutions gives students the opportunity to think about the war from new perspectives, consider the context of the revolution, and reflect on its aftermath, including its limits and implications for a new nation.

Clear and concise, Contested Revolutions gives readers the opportunity to think critically about a familiar topic in the light of fresh points of view.

Ryan P. Jordan received a Ph.D. in history from Princeton University in 2004, under the direction of James M. McPherson. His first book, Slavery and the Meetinghouse: The Quakers and the Abolitionist Dilemma, 1820-1865, was published with Indiana University Press in 2007. He is also the author of Church, State, and Race: A History of American Religious Liberty, 1750-1900. In addition to having been a lecturer at Princeton, he has taught at Lafayette College, the University of California, San Diego, the University of San Diego, Mesa College, and Palomar College.