Top 10 Articles of September 2016
byWhat a month! Fresh off one of our busiest months ever, Journal of the American Revolution welcomed nine new writers: Ian Saberton, Dennis Ness, Philip D. Weaver,…
How Britain Tried to Intimidate Colonial Taxpayers into Compliance
byThe Fourth Amendment The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall…
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Why was the Revolutionary War in the south lost by the British?
byA re-evaluation from a British perspective in the light of The Cornwallis Papers It was in 1975, when I was researching the American Revolution, that…
11
The Dollar in Revolutionary America
by“Pennies make dollars” is a phrase that has been around a long time and we all know what it means. But, how many pennies…
2
The McKay Family’s Personal War on the Savannah River
byBy the end of the war, James McKay had earned quite a reputation for severity against the Loyalists. So much so that, even in…
1
The 3rd New Jersey Regiment’s Mighty Dueling Frolic
byMr. Duncan McDougall, a merchant from German Flats area of New York’s Mohawk Valley, joined Capt. Joseph Bloomfield’s company of the 3rd New Jersey…
4
York County Pennsylvania Militia 1777
byPrior to the end of 1776, there was no militia or minuteman company established in Colonial Pennsylvania. The Provincial government was ruled by the…
4
The Southern Expedition of 1776: The Best Kept Secret of the American Revolution
byOne of the most enjoyable aspects of researching the history of the American Revolution is the process of looking beneath and/or beyond those events…
6
Samuel Blachley Webb: Wethersfield’s Ablest Officer
byYoung Samuel Webb was a legend in his time, a hero of the American Revolution.[1] Some said he was “raised with three silver spoons”…
3
Henry McCulloh: The Unknown Co-Architect of the Stamp Act
byThe Stamp Act of 1765 is closely associated with Lord George Grenville, First Lord of the Treasury and the Prime Minister of England. However,…
9
“Most Blessed of the Patriarchs:” Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of Imagination
byBook review: “Most Blessed of the Patriarchs:” Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of Imagination by Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter S. Onuf (Liveright Publishing Corporation,…
10
Revolutionary “Last Words”
byThe last, dying words of many of history’s renowned figures were often inconsistently recorded. Those identified below from people who were famous during the…
4
Fort Pownal, Colonial Maine, 1775
byIn early morning fog on April 15, 1775, just days before the momentous clash at Lexington and Concord, two innocent-looking vessels appeared off Cape Jellison…
3
Manipulation of the Minutes of a Privy Council Meeting
byOn May 10, 1769 Parliament had voted to repeal all of the Townshend Acts except one – the tax on Tea. It was another…
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Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle
byBook review: Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Campaign, and the Politics of Battle, by Mark Edward Lender and Garry Wheeler Stone (University of Oklahoma…
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The funniest thing?
byWhat’s the funniest thing you’ve come across in researching this period? In Paris, while negotiating the treaty with France, Ben Franklin stopped for…
10
How do you define “Founding Fathers”?
byHow do you define “Founding Fathers”? You can define it either broadly or narrowly. By consensus, most historians limit the narrow definition to six….
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Which side benefited the most from the Native Americans?
byWhich side do you think benefited the most from the Native American involvement in the war? Why? The British benefited the most, from one…
Hamilton: An American Musical
byReview of the Broadway musical Hamilton, now playing at the Richard Rodgers Theater on 46th Street in New York City. Let me confess at…
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George Mason: Author of Rights
byIn the spring of 1776, the Continental Congress recommended that each colony create a new government “under the authority of the people” [for] “the…
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9 Questions with Rick Atkinson
byLearning that one of the most acclaimed military writers of our time has turned his narrative expertise towards the American Revolution is exciting news…
4
Fever
byThroughout the American Revolution, opposing armies fought a common enemy. Primary documents on both sides are full of complaints, descriptions and responses to the…
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The American Vicars of Bray
byLoyalists, those Americans who openly supported the British Government during the American Revolution, have been largely assumed to have had unchanging allegiance during the…
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Captain John Peck Rathbun: As Audacious as John Paul Jones
byJohn Paul Jones tends to overshadow the study of the American Revolution at sea. While his accolades are well deserved, Jones earned many of…
Why the British Lost the Battle of Sullivan’s Island
by“What say you now, Sir Peter Parker!”[1] The high and mighty will sometimes do seemingly odd things in order to make a point. Like,…
2
The Rhetoric and Practice of Scalping
byScalping, the removal of the scalp from the head often for use as a trophy, is usually regarded as a uniquely sanguineous Indian practice…
Top 10 Articles of August 2016
bySeveral shiny new things were unveiled at the journal in August—new articles, new writers, new emails, new products, new videos, a new feature, a new advertiser…
6
How John Adams Won the Hancock Trial
byHistorian Oliver Morton Dickerson was studying American colonial newspapers when he noticed identical articles appearing in newspapers in New York, Pennsylvania, Boston, elsewhere in…
1
Sir John Johnson, The Hard Luck Baronet
byJohn Johnson was the only white son of the Anglo-Irish immigrant William Johnson, the superintendent of Northern Indians, who gained considerable fame, fortune and…
7
What Do Bond Prices Tell Us about the Early Republic?
byAmerica’s early finances were, in a word, messy. The states took on enormous debt to fund the Revolutionary War while the national government chartered…
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The 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center
byWebsite review: The 18th Century Material Culture Resource Center (also on Facebook) Debunking myths is one of our favorite things at Journal of the American…
Daniel McGirth, Banditti on the Southern Frontier
byThe story repeated itself time and again across the southern districts of Georgia. Alarms raised loudly across a broad area with tales of imminent…
2
Stern Measures: Thomas Jefferson Confronts the “Hair Buyer”
byFor a high ranking British official about to be captured by Rebel forces, it was an ominous portent of future treatment. Surrounded at the…
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Top 10 Banastre Tarleton Myths
byHe was arguably the greatest “anti-Hero” produced by either side during the Revolutionary War. From Washington Irving to Mel Gibson, so much has been…