This book tells of the craftsmen in the years before the American Revolution. By 1776 such artisans as Paul Revere, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, William Savery, John Lamb, and Charles Willson Peale had demonstrated the growing maturity of American arts and crafts which often equaled, or surpassed, the work done in the Mother Country.[back cover].

The craftsman of the rural South -- The village craftsman of the rural North -- The urban craftsman (1) -- The urban craftsman (2) -- The craftsman at work -- The craftsman as a citizen.