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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 31–40 of 272 items
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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Cover of W. Jeffrey Bolster's book Black Jacks.

Black Jacks

Posted: April 19, 2023
Read an excerpt from W. Jeffrey Bolster's book, Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail.
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A Gentleman of Color book cover

A Gentleman of Color

Posted: April 05, 2023
Read an excerpt from Julie Winch's groundbreaking book, A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten.
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The Grimkes by Kerri Greenidge Book book cover.

The Grimkes

Posted: March 22, 2023
Read an excerpt from Kerri K. Greenidge's book, The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family.
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Cover of The Journal of Charlotte L. Forten featuring a photograph of an older Charlotte.

The Journal of Charlotte L. Forten

Posted: March 08, 2023
Read an excerpt from The Journal of Charlotte L. Forten, edited by Ray Allen Billington.
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Book covers for First Martyr of Liberty and The Remarkable Cause.

Double Feature: First Martyr of Liberty and The Remarkable Cause

Posted: February 22, 2023
Read excerpts from Mitch Kachun's First Martyr of Liberty: Crispus Attucks in American Memory and Jean O'Connor's The Remarkable Cause: A Novel of James Lovell and the Crucible of the Revolution.
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African Founders book cover by David Hackett Fischer

African Founders

Posted: February 08, 2023
Read an excerpt from Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Hackett Fischer's book, African Founders: How Enslaved People Expanded American Ideals.
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