Breaking Loose Together

“This is social history of the highest order. . . . Kars’s explanation of the uprising should cause a reevaluation of the origins of the American Revolution. This important book should command the attention of all students of the origins of the Revolution.” — Historian

“[Kars] shows how ordinary people struggled to establish dignity within complex class structures not of their own making. In a crisp, narrative style, Kars captures the local voices of resistance without losing sight of the larger social and economic forces that transformed personal frustration into organized violence. . . . A welcome contribution not only to the history of agrarian protest but also to the currently burgeoning field of Atlantic history.” — Journal of American History

“The most thorough analysis of the Regulators in North Carolina, particularly in the evolving Piedmont society preceding their rebellion.” — North Carolina Historical Review

“A masterful work, truly required reading for a proper understanding of early North Carolina history. . . . A well-organized, delightfully written volume grounded in extensive research that unearths new material as well as judiciously reinterprets hitherto available information.” — William and Mary Quarterly

“Kars has put the North Carolina Regulation at the forefront of American frontier history and underlined the crucial importance of the backcountry in understanding the role of ordinary people in the American past.” — Journal of Interdisciplinary History

“This first complete narrative treatment of the Regulator rebellion . . . makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the Great Awakening and the nature of backcountry settlement in the Upper South.” — Georgia Historical Quarterly

“Marjoleine Kars offers an engaging and richly detailed exploration of the North Carolina Regulators, illuminating the power of their folk Christianity. With insight and empathy, she recovers the Regulators' importance in the era of the American Revolution and to the creation of American populism.” — Alan Taylor, University of California, Davis