Read the Revolution

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

Featured Books

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.

Female Genius

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

King Hancock

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

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.

Death or Liberty

Read an excerpt from Douglas Egerton's book, Death or Liberty: African Americans in the Revolutionary War.

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.

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.

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.

The book cover of Death or Liberty by Douglas Egerton featuring John Singleton Copley's painting depicting Black Loyalist Boston King.

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

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History

Occupied America

Posted: December 23, 2020

Read an excerpt from Donald F. Johnson's book, Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution.

History

A Sweet Taste of History

Posted: November 25, 2020

Read an excerpt from Chef Walter Staib's cookbook, A Sweet Taste of History: More than 100 Elegant Dessert Recipes from America's Earliest Days.

Image 110920 Rtr182 Contest Liberty Sculley Cover

History

Contest for Liberty

Posted: November 11, 2020

Read an excerpt from Seanegan P. Sculley's book, Contest for Liberty: Military Leadership in the Continental Army, 1775-1783.

Image 102620 Rtr181 Right To Vote Keyssar

History

The Right to Vote

Posted: October 28, 2020

Read an excerpt from Alexander Keyssar's book, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States.

Image 091820 Rtr179 Hemingses Monticello Annette Gordon Reed Screen Shot 2020 09 18 At 1131 56 Am

History

The Hemingses of Monticello

Posted: September 23, 2020

Read an excerpt from Annette Gordon-Reed's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.

Image 090920 Rtr178 Ideological Origins American Revolution Bailyn

History

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

Posted: September 09, 2020

Read an excerpt from Bernard Bailyn's The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution.

History

Revolutionary Backlash

Posted: August 26, 2020

Read an excerpt from Rosemarie Zagarri's Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic.

History

Remarkable Women of New England

Posted: August 18, 2020

This excerpt from Carole Owens explores women’s various roles and responsibilities between 1754 and 1787, including those of laborers and business owners.

History

They Were Good Soldiers

Posted: July 22, 2020

In these excerpts from John Rees, Black veterans share details of their service, emancipation, and freedom in the midst of revolutionary ferment.

History

Our Sister Republics

Posted: June 24, 2020

Caitlin Fitz investigates South Americans who visited the United States to inspire support and gather supplies for their revolutions back home.

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