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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.

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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.

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The Bill of Obligations

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

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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.

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An American Triumph

Read an excerpt from Tom Hand's book, An American Triumph: America’s Founding Era Through the Lives of Ben Franklin, George Washington, and John Adams.

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    This image shows the book cover for The Marquis: Lafayette Reconsidered with a large side profile portrait of Lafayette looking to the left with a blue to red gradient tint.
    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 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.
    The book cover for Tom Hand's An American Triumph features an image of the iconic painting of Georg Washington crossing the Delaware River.

    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 204 items
    This image depicts the cover of Power and Liberty: Constitutionalism in the American Revolution by Gordon S. Wood. The top of the cover is an image of the Founding Fathers, most of them standing and pointing at one another, in the midst of conversation. The bottom half of the cover is the title of the book, which is written in blue and red colors.
    History

    Power and Liberty

    Posted: October 20, 2021
    Read an excerpt from Gordon S. Wood's new book, Power and Liberty: Constitutionalism in the American Revolution.
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    This image depicts the book cover of the Museum of the American Revolution’s Liberty: Don Troiani’s Paintings of the Revolutionary War exhibit catalog. The cover is a painting by Don Troiani titled “Battle of Bunker Hill.” The painting shows solders behind a dirt mound, with their rifles pointing toward the right of the image. There are cannonballs lodged into the ground in front of them and smoke fills the sky.
    History

    Liberty

    Posted: October 13, 2021
    Read an excerpt from Don Troiani and the Museum's book Liberty: Don Troiani's Paintings of the Revolutionary War, which accompanies the exhibit of the same name.
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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.
    History

    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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    This image depicts the cover of Plain Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution by Richard Beeman. The title of the book is written in the middle with a red background. The top of the book covers shows a black illustrated eagle with a white background. The bottom image is of the Founding Fathers and is in color.
    History

    Plain, Honest Men

    Posted: July 28, 2021
    Read an excerpt from Richard Beeman's book, Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution.
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    This image depicts A Crisis of Peace by David Head book cover. It is a colored portrait of General Washington.
    History

    A Crisis of Peace

    Posted: July 14, 2021
    Read an excerpt from David Head's book, A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution.
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    This image depicts the Standing in Their Own Light book cover by Judith Van Buskirk. The image is a painting of a person of African Descent in military clothing. He his wearing a blue jacket and carrying a rifle pointed upward in his right hand. His right leg is bent, giving the illusion that he is walking on a field.
    History

    Standing in Their Own Light

    Posted: June 23, 2021
    Read an excerpt from Judith L. Van Buskirk's book, Standing in Their Own Light: African American Patriots in the American Revolution.
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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.
    History

    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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    This image depicts the Winning Independence: The Decisive Years of the Revolutionary War, 1778-1781 book cover by John Ferling. Hi name is written on the bottom of the cover. The title of the book is written in black with an off yellow background. And the top of the cover shows a portrait of George Washington on horseback with soldiers surrounding him and smoke filling the air behind them. There are three red coated solders standing to the right of Washington.
    History

    Winning Independence

    Posted: May 26, 2021
    Read an excerpt of John Ferling's new book, Winning Independence: The Decisive Years of the Revolutionary War, 1778-1781.
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    This image depicts the book cover of The Gun, The Ship, and The Pen by Linda Colley. The text of the title is written in large blue letters. There is an illustration, pictures vertically on the left side of the book cover. It shows a sailor, with his back to the viewer, looking out at a ship on fire in the sea.
    History

    The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen

    Posted: May 12, 2021
    Read an excerpt from historian Linda Colley's new book, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World.
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    This image depicts the book cover of Household Gods: The Religious Lives of the Adams Family by Sara Georgini. The cover is a colored photograph inside a church facing the front with wooden pews to the left and right. At the top of the cover are six individual black and white portraits of the Adams family, starting with President John Adams on the left-hand side.
    History

    Household Gods

    Posted: March 24, 2021
    Read an excerpt from Sara Georgini's book, Household Gods: The Religious Lives of the Adams Family.
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