Burlington 1776: The Forgotten Opportunity
byThe 1776 campaign season had ended badly for General George Washington and the Continental Army as the dejected Patriots struggled through foul weather over…
This Week on Dispatches: Stuart Lyall Manson on Securing Provisions for American Loyalists in the Upper Saint Lawrence
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews independent Canadian historian and JAR contributor Stuart Lyall Manson on his fascinating research into the political and…
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The Unimportance of John Brown’s Raid on Ticonderoga
byA lesser-known action during Gen. John Burgoyne’s 1777 campaign occurred at Ticonderoga and Mount Independence in the days surrounding the first battle at Saratoga…
His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer
byBOOK REVIEW: His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer by Fred Kaplan (New York City, NY: HarperCollins, 2022) Thomas Jefferson was many things….
Tragic Accident at Fort Anne: A Story Revealed in Two Primary Source Documents
byIn 1901, the American Monthly Magazine published Rev. David Avery’s journal of the 1776 “Northern Campaign.” Avery had served as chaplain for John Patterson’s Massachusetts…
Time for a Change!
byWe have exciting news for our readers! It’s been ten years. It’s time for a change. Soon, things will look different at JAR. Don’t…
This Week on Dispatches: Scott M. Smith on Luke Day, Forgotten Leader of Shays’s Rebellion
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Scott M. Smith on Luke Day who, along with Job Shattuck and Daniel Shays, led…
An Interview with Bob Thompson, author of Revolutionary Roads
byOn a special episode of Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author Bob Thompson on his latest book, Revolutionary Roads. New episodes of Dispatches are available for…
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The Purpose of the Electoral College: A Seemingly Endless Controversy
byIn recent years the operation of the Electoral College, as specified in Article II of the Constitution, has come under repeated attack by Congressional…
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The Great New York Fire of 1776
byBOOK REVIEW: The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution by Benjamin L. Carp. (New Haven: Yale University Press,…
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Thomas Jefferson and the Conditions of Good History: Writing About the American Revolution
byThomas Jefferson has a Thucydidean, or fact-based, approach to the praxis of history. Evidence of that approach appeared early in his life, in his…
This Week on Dispatches: Chris Yohn on the Big Runaway
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Chris Yohn, on his research about how settlers in the Pennsylvania’s Susquehanna valley were able…
Attended with Disagreeable Consequences: Cross-Border Shopping for Loyalist Provisions, 1783–1784
byIn the months following the end of the American Revolutionary War, British authorities in Canada desperately required supplies for refugee Loyalists slated to be…
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From the Battlefield to the Stage: The Many Lives of General John Burgoyne
byBOOK REVIEW: From the Battlefield to the Stage: the Many Lives of General John Burgoyne by Norman S. Poser (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023) It…
“Earned By Veteran Intrepidity”: Spencer’s Ordinary, June 26, 1781
byCaptain Johann Ewald had much to thank the Almighty for.[1] A heroic stand on the picket line before Norfolk, Virginia, parried an American thrust…
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Newspapers as a Rebel Source of Intelligence
byThe study of intelligence has always suffered from a bias towards the derring-do of spies, stealing of secrets, breaking of codes, and covert action….
The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley
byBOOK REVIEW: The Odyssey of Phillis Wheatley: A Poet’s Journey Through American Slavery and Independence by David Waldstreicher (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2023)…
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Perspectives on the Ten Crucial Days of the Revolution
byThe “Ten Crucial Days” winter campaign of 1776-1777 reversed the momentum of the War for Independence at a moment when what George Washington termed…
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The Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, Second Year: November 1773 – August 1774
byDuring the three months that the Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, was on holiday from August to November 1773, the…
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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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A Brief History of Benjamin Franklin’s Residences on Craven Street, London: 1757 – 1775
byIf one looked into Benjamin Franklin’s time on Craven Street, they might initially believe he lived at 36 Craven Street the entirety of his…
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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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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…
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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…
America's Most Important History!
This Week on Dispatches: Gene Procknow on Ethan Allen and Revolutionary-Era Newspapers
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Gene Procknow on the reputation of Ethan Allen as reported in newspapers of the day….
A Wartime Visit to the Enemy’s Capital
byImagine what it would be like to visit London during the waning days of the American Revolution, to hear about attitudes of British officers…
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George Washington’s Revenge
byBOOK REVIEW: George Washington’s Revenge: The 1777 New Jersey Campaign and How General Washington Turned Defeat into the Strategy that Won the Revolution by Arthur…
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The Big Runaway: Turning Point of the Susquehanna West Branch Settlers
byPennsylvania settlers of the Susquehanna West Branch Valley endured extreme hardship through the first years of the revolution. The men and supplies they provided…