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.

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.

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.

George Washington’s Hair

Read an excerpt from Keith Beutler's book, George Washington’s Hair: How Early Americans Remembered the Founders.

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 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.

This image shows the book cover for George Washington's Hair featuring a black background with white text and an outline of Washington's hair.

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

Revolutionary Characters

Posted: November 05, 2013

Read an excerpt from Gordon Wood where he explains the origins of Thomas Paine's radical thinking through Paine's pamphlet Common Sense.

Fiction

The Midwife's Revolt

Posted: October 22, 2013

Read an excerpt from Jodi Daynard's historical fiction novel about a woman confronting life and widowhood during the American Revolution.

History

The American Revolution

Posted: October 08, 2013

Read this excerpt of a letter by Benedict Arnold 'to the Inhabitants of America' that reveals the ideological shift he experienced over the course of war.

Image 10152020 Readtherevolutionbookcover The Other Side

History

The Men Who Lost America

Posted: September 24, 2013

Read an excerpt from Andrew O'Shaughnessy about the failings of ten British leaders whose actions shaped the outcome of the American Revolution.

Children & Young Adults

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.

History

American Scripture

Posted: August 27, 2013

Read an excerpt of Pauline Maier where she provides a glimpse into the creation of a radical rethinking that led to America's experiment in democracy.

History

Liberty's Daughters

Posted: August 13, 2013

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

Biography & Memoir

Memoir of a Revolutionary Soldier

Posted: July 16, 2013

Read an excerpt from Joseph Plumb Martins memoir describing leaving the safety of home for his first deployment for the American Revolution in 1776.

History

Revolutionary Summer

Posted: July 13, 2013

This excerpt from Joseph Ellis explains how the success of the Battle of Long Island came from the combined result of lucky breaks for the Americans.

Our Lives, Our Fortunes, Our Sacred Honor Book Cover

History

Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor

Posted: July 02, 2013

Read this excerpt where Richard Beeman reminds us the original Independence Day was not viewed so much as a new beginning but as a prelude to full-scale war.

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