The Response to Revolution

Tiedemann, Joseph S. Response To Revolution: Queens County. New York: Xerox University

Microfilms, 1976.

In the book, Response To Revolution: Queens County, by author Joseph S. Tiedemann, he describes the political change in society during the Revolutionary War. Britain had colonized the “New World”, which is today the United States of America, and was seeking to add more British power into the colonies. The setting of the book takes place during the 1770s when the colonists in New York, Queens specifically, began to rebel against the British armies. The movie, The Gangs of New York, has a huge similarity with this book as it shows the bitter feud between colonists and officers of British Parliament rule. After the 13 Colonies had beat the British Empire and became known as an independent nation it then began to set up many different city states all over the country. Queens was divided into different religious groups from Quakers to Jews to Protestants. Many lives were lost during the Revolutionary War because although the colonists had the advantage of knowing the land they fought they were still weaker in the sense that they had fewer weapons than the British had. Farms were destroyed and many widows and their children were left to live by themselves as their fathers and husbands were fighting in the war. Many families began to migrate into Queens County as it was found to be rich in fertilization of crops since it was near the waters and few rivers and streams ran through.