Read the Revolution

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

Featured Books

The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered

Read an excerpt from Laura Auricchio's book The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered.

One Minute A Free Woman

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

Memory Wars

Read an excerpt from A. Lynn Smith's book, Memory Wars: Settlers and Natives Remember Washington’s Sullivan Expedition of 1779.

The Bill of Obligations

Read an excerpt from Richard Haass's book, The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens.

The Contagion of Liberty

Read an excerpt from Andrew M. Wehrman's book, The Contagion of Liberty: The Politics of Smallpox in the American Revolution.

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.

This image shows the book cover for the book Memory Wars with a red background textured with Native American symbols and the book title and author name in white font to the left side.

This image shows the book cover for The Bill of Obligations with black text on a cream background and an American flag sown back together with a needle and thread in the center.

This image shows the book cover for The Contagion of Liberty featuring the book title large in blue and white font over a brown beige background on the top half with an engraving of a crowd of people getting vaccinated against smallpox.

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

Rebels at Sea

Posted: June 22, 2022

Read an excerpt from Eric Jay Dolin's book, Rebels at Sea: Privateering in the American Revolution.

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

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.

History

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.

History

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

History

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.

Fiction

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.