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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 141–150 of 252 items
Rebels Rising Book Cover

Rebels Rising

Posted: February 24, 2015
This excerpt from Benjamin Carp explains the role of colonial meeting spaces as opinions of everyday people gained increasing political influence.
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Two ships on the cover of a took titled Rebels at Sea

Rebels at Sea

Posted: June 22, 2022
Read an excerpt from Eric Jay Dolin's book, Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution.
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Remarkable Women New England Book Cover

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.
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Renegade Revolutionary Book Cover

Renegade Revolutionary

Posted: June 03, 2014
This excerpt from Phillip Papas shows the tension building between George Washington and General Charles Lee and their very different military ideologies.
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This image depicts the book cover of Reporting The Revolutionary War by Todd Andrlik. The background is a newspaper article text, black text written on a white background. On the left side of the cover, there is the painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River. On the right side of the book cover, there is a red box with white text written in it that says, “Before it was History, it was news.”

Reporting the Revolutionary War

Posted: September 15, 2015
This excerpt tells how a British decision to confiscate gunpowder from Williamsburg's magazine provoked outrage and action by the city's patriots.
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This image depicts the book cover of Revolution Against Empire by Justin Du Rivage.

Revolution Against Empire

Posted: November 08, 2017
Read this excerpt from Justin du Rivage that introduces the competing ideological groups who shaped and reshaped the debates during the American Revolution
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 Rtr Revolution Song

Revolution Song

Posted: March 28, 2018
This excerpt from Russell Shorto weaves together the life stories of six historical figures against the backdrop of the American Revolution.
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 Rtr Revolutionary

Revolutionary

Posted: February 28, 2018
Read an excerpt from Alex Myers's historical fiction novel on Deborah Sampson, a woman who joined the Continental Army at the age of 21 disguised as a man.
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Image Rtr177 Revolutionary Backlash

Revolutionary Backlash

Posted: August 26, 2020
Read an excerpt from Rosemarie Zagarri's Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic.
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Image 10152020 Readtherevolutionbookcover Revolutionarycharacters 0

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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