Lord Dunmore

How a dispute with a Scottish lord over westward expansion, gunpowder, and the future of enslaved labor made the southern colonies’ embrace the radical cause.

Circumstances in which people are feeling extreme disorientation are potent breeding grounds for people who are willing to exploit it in moments of crisis.

Harry Washington fought for his enslaver's enemy during the American Revolution. Later, he migrated to Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone.

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.

When African Americans allied themselves with the British, the Patriots were enraged, and they acted.

The New York Times’ 1619 Project launched with the best of intentions, but has been undermined by some of its claims.

The revolutionary roots of a corrosive national pastime.

Many founders expressed their hope that slavery would be abolished, while simultaneously exerting themselves to defend it.

The 1619 Project claimed to reveal the unknown history of slavery. It ended up helping to distort the real history of slavery and the struggle against it.

Historian Gerald Horne has developed a grand theory of U.S. history as a series of devastating backlashes to progress—right down to the present day.

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. 

Nikole Hannah-Jones' new book sidesteps scholarly critics while quietly deleting previous factual errors.

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

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

Actions are more persuasive than words, and manipulating morale often dictates how commanders deploy their troops. Witness the American War of Independence.

A conversation about whether or not the legacy of liberty can break away from racial exclusion and domination.

The dangerous myth that blacks in bondage chose not to be free in revolutionary America.

The paper’s series on slavery made avoidable mistakes. But the attacks from its critics are much more dangerous.

Six historians weigh in on the biggest misconceptions about black history, including the Tuskegee experiment and enslaved people’s finances.

Our first President understood that armed citizens are essential to American freedom.