Read the Revolution

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

Featured Books

Black Jacks

Read an excerpt from W. Jeffrey Bolster's book, Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail.

Liberty's Daughters

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

Summer Reading List: 2023 Young Readers Edition

See our summer reading list of Revolutionary books that will encourage young readers to explore the past and the people who shaped it.

A Gentleman of Color

Read an excerpt from Julie Winch's groundbreaking book, A Gentleman of Color: The Life of James Forten.

The Grimkes

Read an excerpt from Kerri K. Greenidge's book, The Grimkes: The Legacy of Slavery in an American Family.

Cover of W. Jeffrey Bolster's book Black Jacks.

Image 091520 1776x2652 Libertysdaughters

A collection of books featured in the Museum's 2023 summer reading list for young readers.

The Grimkes by Kerri Greenidge Book book cover.

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.

Subscribe Now

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

Filter By:

Showing 61–70 of 240 items

Sort by:

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 101220 Rtr Wwltv Young Readers List

Children & Young Adults

When Women Lost the Vote: Young Readers Edition

Posted: October 14, 2020

View a reading list of books for young readers inspired by our special exhibition, When Women Lost the Vote: A Revolutionary Story, 1776-1807.

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.