In the beginning the author explains how was it that the idea of fighting against the English, was mostly encouraged by the people of high power, the rich and the people who owned great part of the land at that time. "George Washington was the richest man in America, John Hancock was a prosperous Boston merchant. Benjamin Franklin was a wealthy printer. And so on." The idea of a revolution really didn't matter to the poor, as well as slaves and women, who didn't have nearly the same rights and power of the above mentioned. .
That's why the poor white population, was tricked into fighting by offering them to start becoming owners of the land instead of being just tenants. However, with the fighting going on, inflation grew, and the poor were just being paid about "6.60 a month, while a colonel received $75 a month"(p. 85). Colonels, which were in that case, people who already owned land, and other powerful and influential people. Another difference that was really noticed was that people with power would only serve a little amount of time, while the poor had to keep fighting for as long as the militia organization lasted The first battles were won by the British, but the later ones were won by the colonials, finally receiving help from the French.
Because of all of this reasons, people started becoming as the book says, "a threatening force in the midst of the war". The promises made by the anti-Federalists, which were the opponents of the constitution, weren't being honored, until they saw that they grew weary of the tenants, and loyalists land was confiscated and given to the tenants to make them freeholders. However, there was a catch, because after the constitution began being supported, the new owners discovered that "instead of being tenants and paying rent, they were now mortgage, paying back loans from banks instead of rent to landlords."(p. 86).
Later, the French, who had helped the revolution by blocking supplies and reinforcements from the English, later gave land to the British in the west of the Appalachians.
