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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 101–110 of 183 items
Scars of Independence Book Cover

Scars of Independence

Posted: July 26, 2017
This excerpt from author Holger Hoock examines the moral dilemmas posed by the all-pervasive violence of the American Revolutionary War.
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Fatal Sunday Book Cover

Fatal Sunday

Posted: June 28, 2017
Read this excerpt that offers a glimpse into the aftermath of Battle of Monmouth, detailing the gruesome task left to victors of burying the dead.
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American Revolutions Book Cover

American Revolutions

Posted: June 14, 2017
This excerpt from Alan Taylor strips away the rosy veneer associated with the American Revolution to reveal a violent civil war and a fragile new nation.
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Betsy Ross Book Cover

Betsy Ross

Posted: May 24, 2017
Read an excerpt from Marla Miller who breaks through the myths and weaves Betsy Ross's life story with that of the nation's.
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American Crisis Book Cover

American Crisis

Posted: May 10, 2017
Read an excerpt from William Fowler Jr.'s book, American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years after Yorktown, 1781-1783.
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Sealed with Blood Book Cover

Sealed with Blood

Posted: April 26, 2017
This excerpt from Sarah Purcell argues shared experiences of the Revolutionary War offered Americans an opportunity to create a sense of national identity
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The Day the American Revolution Began Book Cover

The Day the American Revolution Began

Posted: April 12, 2017
In this excerpt from military historian William H. Hallahan he recounts April 19, 1775, the Day the American Revolution Began.
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Belonging to the Army Book Cover

Belonging to the Army

Posted: March 22, 2017
This excerpt by Holly Mayer introduces different types of camp followers and the services they provided to the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War
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This image depicts the book cover of Revolutionary Conceptions: Women, Fertility, and Family Limitation in America, 1760-1820 by Susan E. Klepp. The image is a light blue color with a  circular image of a black haired woman holding a blonde haired baby. She is looking at the viewer and the baby is looking to the side.

Revolutionary Conceptions

Posted: March 08, 2017
In this excerpt, Susan Klepp discusses how the terms "virtue" and "prudence" came to be associated with women during the American Revolution.
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Citizen Sailors Book Cover

Citizen Sailors

Posted: January 25, 2017
This excerpt from Nathan Perl-Rosenthal that examines evolving concepts of identity, nationality, and citizenship in the decades leading to the War of 1812.
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