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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 1–10 of 248 items
Book cover for Wayne Lee's The Cutting-Off Way.

The Cutting-Off Way

Posted: September 27, 2023
Read an excerpt from Wayne E. Lee's new book, The Cutting-Off Way: Indigenous Warfare in Eastern North America, 1500–1800.
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Book cover for Akhil Reed Amar's The Words That Made Us with black font on parchment colored background.

The Words That Made Us

Posted: September 13, 2023
Read an excerpt from Akhil Reed Amar's book, The Words That Made Us: America's Constitutional Conversation, 1760-1840.
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Black Founders Exhibit Catalog Cover featuring a portrait of James Forten.

Black Founders

Posted: August 23, 2023
Read an excerpt from the Museum of the American Revolution's exhibit book, Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia.
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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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Until Justice Be Done by Kate Masur teal book cover with white text.

Until Justice Be Done

Posted: July 26, 2023
Read an excerpt from Kate Masur's book, Until Justice Be Done: America's First Civil Rights Movement, from the Revolution to Reconstruction.
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The Road To Yorktown edited by Norman Desmarais book cover

The Road to Yorktown

Posted: July 12, 2023
Read an excerpt from Norman Desmarais's edited edition of The Road to Yorktown: The French Campaigns in the American Revolution, 1780-1783.
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These Truths by Jill Lepore book cover

These Truths

Posted: June 28, 2023
Read an excerpt from Jill Lepore's book, These Truths: A History of the United States.
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Book cover for A Fragile Freedom by Erica Armstrong Dunbar

A Fragile Freedom

Posted: June 14, 2023
Read an excerpt from Erica Armstrong Dunbar's book, A Fragile Freedom: African American Women and Emancipation in the Antebellum City.
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A collection of books featured in the Museum's 2023 summer reading list for young readers.

Summer Reading List: 2023 Young Readers Edition

Posted: May 24, 2023
See our summer reading list of Revolutionary books that will encourage young readers to explore the past and the people who shaped it.
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Image 091520 1776x2652 Libertysdaughters

Liberty's Daughters

Posted: May 10, 2023
Read an excerpt from Mary Beth Norton's groundbreaking book, Liberty's Daughters: The Revolutionary Experience of American Women, 1750-1800.
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