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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 41–50 of 273 items
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.

Brothers in Liberty

Posted: February 28, 2024
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.
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This image shows the book cover of Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick. It shows a picture of a cannon going off during a nighttime battle. There are Revolutionary soldiers behind the cannon and the fire and sparks fill the dark.

Bunker Hill

Posted: June 17, 2014
This excerpt from Nathaniel Philbrick describes the uncertain, dramatic start to the legendary Battle of Bunker Hill during the American Revolution.
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Cabal! The Plot Against General Washington book cover

Cabal! The Plot Against General Washington

Posted: April 08, 2020
Read an excerpt from Mark Edward Lender's Cabal! The Plot Against General Washington on the challenge to Washington’s command known as the "Conway Cabal."
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Book cover for Captives of Liberty features a painting that depicts a Hessian soldier and a British redcoat leading a Continental soldier away as a prisoner.

Captives of Liberty

Posted: August 09, 2023
Read an excerpt from T. Cole Jones's book, Captives of Liberty: Prisoners of War and the Politics of Vengeance in the American Revolution.
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Chains

Posted: September 10, 2013
Read an excerpt from Laurie Halse Anderson's young adult novel that tells the story of a young slave girl during the start of the Revolutionary War.
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Charity and Sylvia Book Cover

Charity and Sylvia

Posted: June 08, 2022
Read an excerpt from Rachel Hope Cleves' book, Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America.
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Citizen Sailors Book Cover

Citizen Sailors

Posted: January 25, 2017
This excerpt from Nathan Perl-Rosenthal that examines evolving concepts of identity, nationality, and citizenship in the decades leading to the War of 1812.
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The image depicts Colonists Citizens Constitutions book cover by James Hrdlicka. It is a blue cover with a photo of the first few lines of the constitution. “We, the people of the United States,” is a visible.

Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions

Posted: June 09, 2021
Read an excerpt from James Hrdlicka's exhibition book Colonists, Citizens, Constitutions: Creating the American Republic.
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Image Rtr Common Sense

Common Sense

Posted: January 06, 2015
This excerpt comes from the section "Thoughts on the Present State of American Affairs" from Common Sense, the influential pamphlet by Thomas Paine.
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This image depicts the book cover of Congress's Own: A Canadian Regiment, the Continental Army, and American Union by Holly A. Mayer. The top of the image is a map of Canada. The title of the book is written in red in a box, mostly covering the map. The bottom half is a white background with a painting of a soldier marching and playing a drum.

Congress's Own

Posted: September 22, 2021
Read an excerpt from Holly Mayer's new book, Congress's Own: A Canadian Regiment, the Continental Army, and American Union.
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