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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 11–20 of 247 items
A Gentleman of Color book cover

A Gentleman of Color

Posted: April 05, 2023
Read an excerpt from Julie Winch's groundbreaking book, A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten.
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The Grimkes by Kerri Greenidge Book book cover.

The Grimkes

Posted: March 22, 2023
Read an excerpt from Kerri K. Greenidge's book, The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family.
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Cover of The Journal of Charlotte L. Forten featuring a photograph of an older Charlotte.

The Journal of Charlotte L. Forten

Posted: March 08, 2023
Read an excerpt from The Journal of Charlotte L. Forten, edited by Ray Allen Billington.
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Book covers for First Martyr of Liberty and The Remarkable Cause.

Double Feature: First Martyr of Liberty and The Remarkable Cause

Posted: February 22, 2023
Read excerpts from Mitch Kachun's First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory and Jean O'Connor's The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution.
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African Founders book cover by David Hackett Fischer

African Founders

Posted: February 08, 2023
Read an excerpt from Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Hackett Fischer's book, African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals.
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Flora Macdonald Pretty Young Rebel book cover by Flora Fraser

Flora MacDonald: "Pretty Young Rebel"

Posted: January 25, 2023
Read an excerpt from Flora Fraser's new book, Flora MacDonald: “Pretty Young Rebel”: Her Life and Story.
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Book cover for Feeding Washington's Army by Ricardo A. Herrera featuring an image of Harrington Fitzgerald's painting Valley Forge Winter.

Feeding Washington's Army

Posted: January 11, 2023
Read an excerpt from Ricardo A. Herrera's book, Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778.
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Cover for Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word by Sarah Jane Marsh.

Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word

Posted: December 28, 2022
Read an excerpt from Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word, written by Sarah Jane Marsh and illustrated by Edwin Fotheringham.
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A Bard of Wolfe's Army Book Cover

A Bard of Wolfe's Army

Posted: November 23, 2022
Read an excerpt from the book, A Bard of Wolfe’s Army: James Thompson, Gentleman Volunteer, 1733-1830, edited by Earl John Chapman and Ian Macpherson McCulloch.
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Indigenous Continent Cover Pekka

Indigenous Continent

Posted: November 02, 2022
Read an excerpt from Pekka Hämäläinen's book, Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America.
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