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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 21–30 of 48 items
This image depicts the book cover of James Monroe: A Life by Tim McGrath. James Monroe is written in red, while A Life and Tim’s name is written in white. The cover is a portrait of James Monroe in a black jacket. His body is turned off to his left looking in the same direction.

James Monroe

Posted: April 28, 2021
Read an excerpt from Tim McGrath's book, James Monroe: A Life.
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Negotiating Peace Book Cover

John Adams

Posted: November 04, 2014
Read an excerpt from David McCullough about the Founding Fathers negotiating with the British as they begin talks to officially end the war.
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John Barry book cover

John Barry

Posted: May 20, 2014
Read an excerpt from Tim McGrath about Continental Navy Officer John Barry's actions that turned a seeming disaster into a stunning victory.
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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.

King Hancock

Posted: April 10, 2024
Read an excerpt from Brooke Barbier's book, King Hancock: The Radical Influence of a Moderate Founding Father.
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This image shows the book cover for Making the Presidency by Lindsay Chervinsky featuring a portrait of John Adams.

Making the Presidency

Posted: October 09, 2024
Read an excerpt from Lindsay M. Chervinsky's book, Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents That Forged the Republic.
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This image depicts the book cover of Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier by Alfred F. Young. The background is a pale yellow. There are images of eight continental soldiers. The middle soldier is the largest and is colored pink. The other soldiers surround this one in varies positions and are colored blue.

Masquerade

Posted: April 06, 2021
Read an excerpt from late historian Alfred F. Young's book, Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier.
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Memoir Of A Revolutionary Soldier book cover

Memoir of a Revolutionary Soldier

Posted: July 16, 2013
Read an excerpt from Joseph Plumb Martins memoir describing leaving the safety of home for his first deployment for the American Revolution in 1776.
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This image shows the book cover for One Minute A Free Woman with the title in large navy blue serif font over script writing on beige paper.

One Minute A Free Woman

Posted: August 21, 2024
Read an excerpt from Emilie Piper and David Levinson's book, One Minute A Free Woman: Elizabeth Freeman and the Struggle for Freedom.
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Rush book cover

Rush

Posted: July 10, 2019
Read an excerpt from Stephen Fried's biography of Dr. Benjamin Rush, signer of the Declaration of Independence and surgeon-general in the Continental Army.
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Image 10012020 Sally Wisters Journal

Sally Wister's Journal

Posted: September 12, 2018
This excerpt from Sally Wister's journal begins as the British marched towards Philadelphia and she fretted over the uncertainty of her place in the war
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