Read the Revolution

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

Featured Books

Captives of Liberty

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

Black Founders

Read an excerpt from the Museum of the American Revolution's exhibit book, Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia.

The Cutting-Off Way

Read an excerpt from Wayne E. Lee's new book, The Cutting-Off Way: Indigenous Warfare in Eastern North America, 1500–1800.

The Words That Made Us

Read an excerpt from Akhil Reed Amar's book, The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840.

Until Justice Be Done

Read an excerpt from Kate Masur's book, Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction.

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.

Black Founders Exhibit Catalog Cover featuring a portrait of James Forten.

Book cover for Wayne Lee's The Cutting-Off Way.

Book cover for Akhil Reed Amar's The Words That Made Us with black font on parchment colored background.

Until Justice Be Done by Kate Masur teal book cover with white text.

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

Finding Charity's Folk

Posted: January 27, 2021

Read two excerpts from Jessica Millward's book, Finding Charity's Folk: Enslaved and Free Black Women in Maryland.

Image 010721 Rtr186 1774 Long Year Revolution Norton Cover

History

1774: The Long Year of Revolution

Posted: January 13, 2021

Read an excerpt from Mary Beth Norton's book, 1774: The Long Year of Revolution.

History

Occupied America

Posted: December 23, 2020

Read an excerpt from Donald F. Johnson's book, Occupied America: British Military Rule and the Experience of Revolution.

History

A Sweet Taste of History

Posted: November 25, 2020

Read an excerpt from Chef Walter Staib's cookbook, A Sweet Taste of History: More than 100 Elegant Dessert Recipes from America's Earliest Days.

Image 110920 Rtr182 Contest Liberty Sculley Cover

History

Contest for Liberty

Posted: November 11, 2020

Read an excerpt from Seanegan P. Sculley's book, Contest for Liberty: Military Leadership in the Continental Army, 1775-1783.

Image 102620 Rtr181 Right To Vote Keyssar

History

The Right to Vote

Posted: October 28, 2020

Read an excerpt from Alexander Keyssar's book, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States.

Image 091820 Rtr179 Hemingses Monticello Annette Gordon Reed Screen Shot 2020 09 18 At 1131 56 Am

History

The Hemingses of Monticello

Posted: September 23, 2020

Read an excerpt from Annette Gordon-Reed's Pulitzer Prize-winning The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family.

Image 090920 Rtr178 Ideological Origins American Revolution Bailyn

History

The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution

Posted: September 09, 2020

Read an excerpt from Bernard Bailyn's The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution.

History

Revolutionary Backlash

Posted: August 26, 2020

Read an excerpt from Rosemarie Zagarri's Revolutionary Backlash: Women and Politics in the Early American Republic.

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.

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