1776 is such an iconic year in American history that it ends up overshadowing a year that may have been even more significant — 1775, says historian and bestselling author Kevin Phillips.

His book “1775″ upends the conventional reading of the American Revolution and punctures the myth that 1776 was the watershed year of the revolution.

Phillips carefully catalogs the events of 1775 that he says achieved a sweeping Patriot control of territory and local government that Britain was never able to overcome.

By 1776, Phillips writes, it was too late for the British to regain control.

And his publisher says “1775″ will revolutionize our understanding of America’s origins.

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