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Read the Revolution

A curated collection of thought-provoking books about the American Revolution.

Featured Books

Female Genius

Read an excerpt from Mary Sarah Bilder's book, Female Genius: Eliza Harriot and George Washington at the Dawn of the Constitution.

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King Hancock

Read an excerpt from Brooke Barbier's book, King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father.

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Witness to Revolution Exhibit Reading List

See five books recommended by the Museum that explore key people connected to George Washington’s tent and were critical to researching and constructing the exhibition.

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The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley

Read an excerpt from David Waldstreicher's book, The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journeys Through American Slavery and Independence.

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Brothers in Liberty

Read an excerpt from Phillip Thomas Tucker's book, Brothers in Liberty: The Forgotten Story of the Free Black Haitians Who Fought for American Independence.

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    Book cover for Female Genius written in a wavy font across the bottom third features Columbia holding the American flag.
    Book cover for King Hancock book featuring a large portrait of John Hancock's face with the title King Hancock in gold and Hancock written in his famous signature.
    Introductory wall panel in the Witness to Revolution special exhibit with white text on a red background.
    Cover for David Waldstreicher's book The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley with the book title and author name in bold black font against an orange background with a colorized version of Phillis Wheatley's portrait in the center.
    Book cover for Brothers in Liberty features the book title in yellow on a red background in the middle of the cover with the subtitle right below in white.

    About

    Curated by Museum staff since 2013, Read the Revolution features excerpts from thought-provoking books about the American Revolution. Read the Revolution was created with thanks to a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom. Subscribe to get the biweekly Read the Revolution featured excerpts emailed right to your inbox for free.

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    Speaker Series

    Inspired by the Read the Revolution featured excerpts, the Read the Revolution Speaker Series brings celebrated authors and historians to the Museum for lively, facilitated discussions of their work. Each Read the Revolution Speaker Series program, hosted by Museum President & CEO Dr. R. Scott Stephenson, includes a special talk and audience Q&A.

    About the Series

    All Books

    Showing 191–199 of 199 items
    This image shows the book cover of The Last Muster: Images of the Revolutionary War Generation by Maureen Taylor. The background is a deep, brown and the title of the book is written in white at the top. On the bottom is Maureen’s name, also written in white. In the center are four framed photographs of older people from the Revolutionary generation.
    History

    The Last Muster

    Posted: December 02, 2013
    Read this excerpt from Maureen Taylor’s The Last Muster to learn more about three veterans of the American Revolution—Nathaniel Ames, Agrippa Hull, and Ezra Green.
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    Image 10152020 Readrevolutionbookcover Economy Building
    History

    Financial Founding Fathers

    Posted: November 19, 2013
    This excerpt by authors Robert Wright and David Cowen reveals how Robert Morris brought order to the early American economy and created the first national bank.
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    Image 10152020 Readtherevolutionbookcover Revolutionarycharacters 0
    History

    Revolutionary Characters

    Posted: November 05, 2013
    Read an excerpt from Gordon Wood where he explains the origins of Thomas Paine's radical thinking through Paine's pamphlet Common Sense.
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    The American Revolution Writings From The War book cover
    History

    The American Revolution

    Posted: October 08, 2013
    Read this excerpt of a letter by Benedict Arnold 'to the Inhabitants of America' that reveals the ideological shift he experienced over the course of war.
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    Image 10152020 Readtherevolutionbookcover The Other Side
    History

    The Men Who Lost America

    Posted: September 24, 2013
    Read an excerpt from Andrew O'Shaughnessy about the failings of ten British leaders whose actions shaped the outcome of the American Revolution.
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    Image 10152020 Readtherevolutionbookcover American Scripture
    History

    American Scripture

    Posted: August 27, 2013
    Read an excerpt of Pauline Maier where she provides a glimpse into the creation of a radical rethinking that led to America's experiment in democracy.
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    Women's Work Book Cover
    History

    Liberty's Daughters

    Posted: August 13, 2013
    Read an excerpt from Mary Beth Norton's book, Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800.
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    Revolutionary Summer book cover
    History

    Revolutionary Summer

    Posted: July 13, 2013
    This excerpt from Joseph Ellis explains how the success of the Battle of Long Island came from the combined result of lucky breaks for the Americans.
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    Our Lives, Our Fortunes, Our Sacred Honor Book Cover
    History

    Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor

    Posted: July 02, 2013
    Read this excerpt where Richard Beeman reminds us the original Independence Day was not viewed so much as a new beginning but as a prelude to full-scale war.
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