Excerpt from The Reluctant Republic: Vermont, 1724-1791 This book unearths few hitherto unknown facts, proclaims no impor tant historical discoveries. It reassembles matters long established, and it is candidly parasitic in that its material has been drawn from a multitude of earlier annals and from the minds Of more erudite men. The narrative has seemed worth retelling in the hundred and fiftieth year of Vermont's statehood, not only for its innate drama, but also for its possible significance in an era of despairing minorities. It has been the book's intention to lighten a shadowed chapter in American general history and to emphasize the implausible attainments Of a remarkable and independent people. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Fourteen individual state essays elucidate the complexitites of local and regional interests that shaped the debate over individual rights and the eventual adoption of the Bill of Rights.

For many Americans, Vermont still seems what the United States at least in myth once was--a bucolic landscape of wooded hills, neat farms, and handsome villages--before modern forces transformed our agrarian nation into an urban-industrial giant. Vermonters have long been respected as sturdy Americans who prize hard work, honest dealing, town-meeting government, and dry humor. Their way of life, along with the beauty of their Green Mountains and quiet valleys, remains immensely attractive to natives and newcomers who seek beauty and the satisfaction of self-sufficiency in a natural environment where rocky soil and a varied climate have always compelled respect.