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Cover of essays by John Dickinson.

Principled Resistance and the Trouble with Tea

For what did these Americans endure such painful hardship and sacrifice? For what were they taking such a significant stand? Surely, it wasn’t just about tea!
Destruction of tea in the harbor and text protesting the Tea Act.

The Many Myths of the Boston Tea Party

Contrary to popular belief, the 1773 protest opposed a tax break, not a tax hike. And it didn't immediately unify the colonies against the British.
Join, or Die , a 1754 political cartoon by Benjamin Franklin.

A Shotgun Wedding

Barely-disguised hostilities sometimes belied the rebels’ declared identity as the United States of America.
Swale Land, painting by Edward Mitchell Bannister, 1898, depicting nature.

Vacant Unsettled Lands

American thinkers consider what the already occupied West could fund.
The cover of "Religion and the American Revolution: An Imperial History."

An “Imperial Bridge” Between Britain and the North American Colonies

How British protestantism connected colonies and empire until the rupture of the American Revolution.
Artwork of Congress on July 4, 1776

Eighteenth Century Track Changes: Uncovering Revisions in Founding Fathers’ Documents

Let’s consider the significance and responsibility of outlining, drafting, and shaping our nation as the Founding Fathers put pen to paper.
Marine, eighteenth century. Smithsonian American Art Museum, bequest of Mabel Johnson Langhorne.

Quality Insurance Purposes

Insuring against the cost of insurance itself in Revolutionary-era America.
Black and white lithograph depicting the Founders signing the Declaration of Independence.

Have Americans Got George III All Wrong?

George III was a model monarch, whose reputation finally deserves rehabilitation a quarter of a millennium later.
President Madison ending the Embargo Act cartoon

James Madison and the Debilitating American Tendency to Make Everything About the Constitution

The U.S. Constitution was the reason for Madison and Hamilton's breakup.

Remembered for the Wrong Reason?

Which personality of the American Revolution or the founding era is remembered for the wrong reasons, and why?
Map of Nova Scotia

Imagining Nova Scotia: The Limits of an Eighteenth-Century Imperial Fantasy

Colonial planners saw Nova Scotia as a blank space ripe for transformation.
Abstract painting titled 'Constellation' by Helen Gerardia

A New Planet in the System

Early Americans conscripted the universe into their nation-building project.
Newspaper with "Join or Die" slogan

Join, Or Die: Why Did It Have To Be Snakes?

Revolutionary Americans adopted native snakes as symbols for their cause. Why?
Drawing ofGeorge Washington addressing the Continental Congress.

‘George Washington’ Review: Our Founding Politician

Washington was a savvy packager of his own personal virtues. He knew that if you don’t engage in a bit of self-aggrandizement, you lose.

Minority Rule Cannot Last in America

It never has.

The Flawed Genius of the Constitution

The document counted my great-great-grandfather as 3/5 of a free person. But the Framers don’t own the version we live by today. We do.

Five Myths About the U.S. Postal Service

It’s not obsolete, and it’s not a business.
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The Revolutions

Ed Ayers visits public historians in Boston and Philadelphia and explores what “freedom” meant to those outside the halls of power in the Revolutionary era.
Portrait of George Washington in his military uniform.

The Gun Guy and Illegal Militia Founder Who Became President: George Washington

Our first President understood that armed citizens are essential to American freedom.
Bill Barr.
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What Attorney General Barr Gets Wrong About the American Revolution

The revolutionaries were fighting against arbitrary power and for checks and balances.

Medical Mystery: James Madison's Sudden Collapse

The Father of the U.S. Constitution fought a life-long physical battle, too.

America’s Painful, Historic Contempt for Black Soldiers

Donald Trump writes the latest chapter in a long history.

Where Did the Term 'Gerrymander' Come From?

Elbridge Gerry was a powerful voice in the founding of the nation, but today he's best known for the political practice with an amphibious origin.

3 Ways to Think About the American Revolution

The complex combination of grievances that fueled the war had to do with taxes, class, and nationalism.

From Boston's Resistance to an American Revolution

How a Boston rebellion became an American Revolution is a story too seldom told because it is one we take for granted.
Painting of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin while writing the Declaration of Independence.

How the Complete Meaning of July Fourth Is Slipping Away

John Adams would not be happy to see what Independence Day has become.
Drawings of George Washington

His Highness

George Washington scales new heights.
Illustration depicting Betsy Ross presenting the flag to George Washington.

How Betsy Ross Became Famous

Oral tradition, nationalism, and the invention of history.

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