Stamp Act (1765) — Bunk History

Left: cover of "The New Yorkers," a book by Sam Roberts, featuring a collage of black and white photographs of different people. Right: 1884 illustration of British soldiers in long coats fighting with New York men

Isaac Sears and the Roots of America in New York

Like so many other reluctant revolutionaries in New York, he seemed the antithesis of the rabble in arms that the British identified with the mobocracy.

by Sam Roberts via HNN on October 23, 2022

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!

by Robert Guy via Journal of the American Revolution on February 27, 2024

Colonists in front of the Old State House in Boston.

‘King Hancock’ Review: The Biggest Name in Boston

More than an artful calligrapher, John Hancock forswore the austerity of his fellow Bostonians, and their extremism.

by William Anthony Hay via The Wall Street Journal on October 6, 2023

Illustration of Samuel Adams writing a document, with images of the American revolution behind him.

How Samuel Adams Helped Ferment a Revolution

A virtuoso of the eighteenth-century version of viral memes and fake news, he had a sense of political theatre that helped create a radical new reality.

by Adam Gopnik via The New Yorker on October 24, 2022

Signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Against the Consensus Approach to History

How not to learn about the American past.

by William Hogeland via The New Republic on January 25, 2021

Purchasing Patriotism: Politicization of Shoes, 1760s-1770s

Materials themselves, like shoes reflected and shaped political cultures around the revolutionary Atlantic and World.

by Kimberly S. Alexander via Age of Revolutions on March 4, 2019

From Liberty Tree to Taking a Knee

How America's founding era sheds light on the NFL controversy.

by Stephen Solomon via First Amendment Watch on October 12, 2017

Furniture and carpet store in the 1789 Boston directory.

Revolutionary Spirit

On the widespread boycotts of British-made goods in the American Colonies.

via BackStory on December 15, 2016

Illustration of British soldiers fighting colonial soldiers.

Road to Revolution: 1763-1776

A primary source set and teaching guide created by educators.

by James Walsh via Digital Public Library of America on October 14, 2015

The Phrygian cap derives its name from the ancient region of Phrygia, in what is now Turkey. Also known as a liberty cap, it inspired revolutionaries in both the Colonies and France.

The Paris Games' Mascot, the Olympic Phryge, Boasts a Little-Known Revolutionary Past

The Phrygian cap, also known as the liberty cap, emerged as a potent symbol in 18th-century America and France.

by Greg Daugherty via Smithsonian on June 18, 2024

Continental Congress voting for independence.

Mother’s Milk of the Revolution

Right from the beginning, a commercial spirit and the wealth it generated were essential to creating and constituting America.

by John O. McGinnis via Law & Liberty on March 7, 2024

Martin Howard, left, and Stephen Hopkins came to opposing conclusions about their colonial British identities.

Two Colonists Had Similar Identities, But Only One Felt Compelled to Remain Loyal

What might appear to be common values about shared identities can serve not as a bridge but a wedge.

by Abby Chandler via The Conversation on January 4, 2024

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.

by Meilan Solly via Smithsonian on December 15, 2023

Colonists boarding the ships and dumping the tea chests.

How the Boston Tea Party's 'Destruction of the Tea' Changed American History

Attacks on private property enraged Colonial leaders and the British public, hardening positions and ruling out compromise.

by Eliga Gould via The Conversation on December 13, 2023

Political Cartoon with various animals (representing different American groups) talking to a Lion (England).

The Curious Affair of the Horsewhipped Senator: A Diplomatic Crisis That Didn’t Happen

The senators, like the grand jurors, knew their man, and probably conceded that Temple had given him the hiding he had been asking for.

by Neil R. Stout via Commonplace on November 8, 2022

Portrait of Samuel Adams with sunglasses photoshopped onto his face.

How Samuel Adams Fought for Independence—Anonymously

Pseudonyms allowed Adams to audition ideas and venture out on limbs without fear of reprisal.

by Stacy Schiff via Literary Hub on November 3, 2022

Painting of George Washington in New York, 1783, surrounded by a crowd.

The Many American Revolutions

Woody Holton’s "Liberty is Sweet" charts not only the contest with Great Britain over “home rule” but also the internal struggle over who should rule at home.

by Eric Foner via The Nation on April 4, 2022

American Revolutionary Geographies Online

Discover the stories, spaces, and people of the American Revolutionary War era through maps, interpretive essays, and interactives.

via Argomaps.org on February 8, 2022

‘Flight of Lord Dunmore’; postcard, 1907.

The Paradox of the American Revolution

Recent books by Woody Holton and Alan Taylor offer fresh perspectives on early US history but overstate the importance of white supremacy as its driving force.

by Sean Wilentz via New York Review of Books on December 24, 2021

Image of George Washington in front a map of the United States.

The Storm Over the American Revolution

Why has a relatively conventional history of the War of Independence drawn such an outraged response?

by Eric Herschthal via The New Republic on November 18, 2021

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.

by Andrew Roberts via The Spectator on November 18, 2021

A cracked picture of Washington crossing the Delaware River.

The Incoherence of American History

We ascribe too much meaning to the early years of the republic.

by Osita Nwanevu via The New Republic on August 11, 2021

1747 map of Nova Scotia

Phraseology and the "Fourteenth Colony"

There have been at least eight provinces in British North America labeled the "fourteenth colony." They cannot all claim the same title.

by George Kotlik via Journal of the American Revolution on August 4, 2021

Title page of a collection of the letters that debated Great Britain, inscribed to President John Adams.

Massachusettensis and Novanglus: The Last Great Debate Prior to the American Revolution

James M. Smith explains the last debates between Loyalists and Patriots prior to the official outbreak of the American Revolution.

by James M. Smith via Journal of the American Revolution on May 25, 2021

"JOIN, or DIE" political cartoon with illustration of a severed snake

The Memes That Made Us

The origin story of “one nation, indivisible.”

by Akhil Reed Amar via Lapham’s Quarterly on May 24, 2021

An illustration of two men in 1770s clothing fighting in a river.

Has the World Gone Mad? An Interview with Sarah Swedberg

Swedberg's new book shows how prevalent concerns about mental illness were to the people of the early American republic.

by Sarah Swedberg, Rebecca Brannon via Nursing Clio on March 25, 2021

A cartoon of Boston colonists in a cage.

How Did the Colonies Unite?

The drive for American independence coalesced in only a few years of rapidly accelerating political change.

by T. H. Breen via New York Review of Books on March 1, 2021

A painting of George Washington during the Whiskey Rebellion.

The Revolutionary Language and Behavior of the Whiskey Rebels

On the continued revolutionary rhetoric and ideology that persisted in America even after the American Revolution.

by Kyler Burd via Journal of the American Revolution on December 10, 2020

Phillis Wheatley

How Phillis Wheatley Was Recovered Through History

For decades, a white woman’s memoir shaped our understanding of America’s first Black poet. Does a new book change the story?

by Elizabeth Winkler via The New Yorker on July 30, 2020

French military marching in practice for the Bastille Day Parade.

The American Founders Celebrated the Storming of the Bastille

They understood that revolution means dismantling old power structures, violently if necessary.

by Zara Anishanslin via Made by History on July 14, 2020

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