Virginia's Road to the American RevolutionWoody Holton. Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves, and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1999. In his book Forced Founders – Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia Woody Holton attempts to provide a “…study of some (not all) of the causes (not the effects) of the Virginia Revolution." He argues that Virginia's elite were important as leaders of the independence movement, but were also heavily influenced by other forces such as British merchants, Indians, farmers, and slaves. Woody Holton argues that Virginia's gentry were influenced by these four groups and were sometimes even forced by the groups to react in certain ways. His most powerful argument is that elites feared social disorder and the loss of their position within them. This book is an interesting take on Virginia's gentry and its arguments are easy to follow. He provides the reader with a wealth of examples that make it very easy to connect the larger historical discussion to singular events. Holton also seeks to provide a profile of Virginia's diverse society in the years preceding the Revolution. Since the average Virginian was unable to write diaries or letters, Holton had to use the manuscripts of the elite; but he "...did not find the use of noble sources to study non-gentlemen as difficult as [I] had feared." He managed to form a solid picture of the noble and non-noble Americans of this time and their political positions. The first chapter of Forced Founders focuses on the Ohio Valley Indians, other Southern tribes, and land speculators. S... half of the document... Mr. Woody Holton suggests that all the pressure from below has left Virginia's ruling class with only one choice: independence. But as he himself points out, he mostly uses upper-class material. His sources are extensive, but focused on elite thoughts. He could have used other sources which would have justified his use of only noble sources. The structure of his book is clear, but has a certain weakness. Chapters two, three, and four contain a key argument: debt has been a driving factor for many Americans, and it is debt that has led to failure to import and export and contempt of the courts. The reader is sometimes overwhelmed by the many arguments Holton makes, but he still offers a narrow but important view of the American Revolution, as Virginia is the largest, richest, and therefore one of the most important colonies..