Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com) is the leading online source for original research on the Revolutionary and Founding Eras.
Twitter is the enormously popular social networking tool that enables one user to send “tweets” to many followers, or subscribers. The text message-like tweets are limited to 140 characters. Hence, the question: How would you describe the American Revolution in 140 characters or less? The American Revolution was a complex eight year semi-civil war that was […]
What is your favorite quote by a Revolutionary? “I see one head turning into thirteen.” Washington said this several times in the closing years of the war. After independence, it was THE crucial issue. –Thomas Fleming “But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? If men were angels, […]
What’s the one unanswered question about the American Revolution you’d most like answered? Put another way, what’s one remaining mystery of the Revolution that you’d most like solved? Did General Washington order New York City burned in 1776? There is evidence that he discussed it. But no definite proof that he gave the order. […]
This past weekend, scores of professional and amateur historians converged in Williamsburg, Virginia, for the 3rd Annual Conference on the American Revolution, a three-day event hosted by America’s History, LLC. Journal of the American Revolution (JAR) Editors Todd Andrlik and Don Hagist were among the conference speakers, which included: Edward G. Lengel: “Philadelphia is the […]
A belated happy Valentine’s Day to all our loyal readers! We hope you enjoyed our action-packed month of articles, which included gripping features about battles, retreats, espionage, mobs, drugs, ambushes, massacres and, oh yeah, our first celebrity interview (Hal Stalmaster, the actor who played Johnny Tremain in the Disney film). Below our the 10 most […]
Welcome to 2014 and a fresh face for Journal of the American Revolution. The new year came in like a lion with several fantastic articles, many new contributors, a shiny new design of allthingsliberty.com, and, oh yeah, those polar vortexes! Or is it vortices? We anticipate an even more exciting year ahead and hope you’ll […]
If you could time travel and visit any American city/colony/state for one year between 1763 and 1783, which city/colony/state and year would you choose? Why? Blessed by 30 years of genealogical research performed by my mother, I actually lay claim to personal connections in all sorts of places in the colonies. However, the one […]
What aspects of or questions regarding the American Revolution need to be further explored by historians? All of them. I think a return to primary sources and close comparison to modern secondary sources yields some extremely interesting results in the evolution of modern history. Should much of what is now considered history be consigned […]
What books do you consider essential to any American Revolution buff’s library? Why? About 12 years ago I ran across John Buchanan’s The Road to Guilford Courthouse and fell in love with the Southern Campaigns of the American Revolution. Been stuck there ever since. To this day, many of the opinions or views I […]
Do you think there was a greater strategy behind most of the pre-war violence, or was it primarily raw emotion and vengeance? There was a greater strategy but, unfortunately, that strategy routinely used raw emotion and vengeance against its opponents. As early as the Stamp Act Crisis, the Sons of Liberty learned to target […]
In your opinion, what was George Washington’s biggest blunder of the war? Its impact, if any? Washington’s whole approach to the defense of New York was one of history’s great debacles: lack of imagination about the British landing, failure to supervise subordinates in preparing the Brooklyn defenses, boxing himself into Brooklyn Heights with no […]
We had a lot to be thankful for in November. Aside from several great articles and new contributors, we celebrated the launch of our collector’s hardcover edition. If you’ve enjoyed the the full year of free content we’ve been providing, please pick up a couple copies as gifts for those special RevWar buffs in your […]
With the 2013 holiday season upon us, it’s important that we take special care of those Revolutionary War history geeks in our lives. All too often they get nothing more than gift cards or Civil War books. This year, give the 18th century lover on your list a gift that says “I know the American […]
On June 14, 1775, the Second Continental Congress officially announced the creation of the Continental Army, a military force representing all of the colonies resisting British authority in North America. The following day the Congress named the army’s commander. George Washington, a planter and Congressional delegate from Virginia, would become the commander-in-chief, taking command of […]
As a young woman in Somerset in 1773 you married that handsome weaver from a neighboring parish, but now it’s two years later and a war has begun across the ocean and your husband has just come home from the nearby market town and announced that he’s enlisted in the army. You’re impressed with the […]
New History Book Loaded with Fascinating Discoveries, Expert Analysis on American Revolution; The Revolutionary War is Remarkably Presented in this Compilation of 60 Essays by 20 Historians We are treating today as our official launch day with books immediately available via the publisher’s website and via the publisher’s Amazon marketplace. Those who buy direct from […]
Mark your calendars! The RevWar Schmoozer (Boston) event is confirmed for Friday, November 8, upstairs at The Point (147 Hanover St.) from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The space is reserved exclusively for this event. Join fellow history professionals and amateurs for a fun evening of sipping, schmoozing and storytelling. Historians, authors, museum execs, publishers, literary […]
October was a month of many amazing milestones for us. We surpassed 250,000 readers, 1000 comments and 200 articles. We also sent our first collector’s hardcover edition to the printer (read the official press announcement). If you’ve enjoyed the 100% free daily content we’ve been providing since January, please show your support by buying a […]
“Congress Does Not Trust Me. I Cannot Continue Thus.” These are two of the most important sentences George Washington ever spoke. Almost instantly they destroyed a plot aimed at ruining his reputation and forcing him into humiliated retirement. At least as important, the words marked the big Virginian’s emergence as a political leader with talents […]
The famous painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 is permanently etched in many minds. It graces the covers of countless books and magazines often with great attention paid to the subsequent Battle of Trenton. But just how did Washington’s army cross the river? The collector’s print edition of Journal […]
Groundbreaking New Book About American Revolution Debunks Myths, Addresses Unanswered Questions in Remarkable Style New “Edutaining” History Book Loaded with Fascinating Discoveries and Expert Analysis of American Revolution. The Revolutionary War is Exceptionally Presented in this Compilation of 60 Essays by 20 Historians. Okay, best ever might be a stretch, but we are thrilled to […]
At what point during the American Revolution is it most acceptable to classify colonists as either Patriots or Loyalists? 1776. Before this, many people who were indisputably Patriots (John Dickinson, James Wilson) were also loyal; in fact, most still professed loyalty. They were being forced to make choices in 1773, 1774, 1775—but after July […]
Could the new nation have thrived economically if slavery had been abolished when the colonies won independence? Probably would have thrived even more. Tobacco economy was bust by the 1770s, Virginia and Maryland had too many slaves, freeing them would have pushed Virginians into other economic fields, led more into the Ohio territory (where […]
John Paul Jones. A good ship captain and tenacious fighter but an abysmally bad squadron commander and a tireless self-promoter and schemer, who was deservedly disliked by subordinates and peers and who certainly does not warrant the title “Father of the United States Navy.” –Dennis M. Conrad Tough question—most of the characters are forgotten, […]
While Nathanael Greene is getting greater recognition, I believe his contributions are still undervalued because the American cause in the South was on “life support” when he assumed command in 1780 and in less than a year and with virtually no outside material or manpower support, he redeemed it. –Dennis M. Conrad All are […]
Yes and no. I do not believe British efforts to create a true empire could have worked. The colonies had for many years been moving toward autonomy and were unwilling to accept the sort of imperial structure and dependency the British government tried to establish at the end of the Seven Years War, especially as […]
Normally, we share our monthly top 10 list on the last day of the month or first day of the following one. This time, we are publishing it a bit earlier to make room for something very special for our readers — an American Revolution group interview series. Each day next week, Journal of the […]
It has been a wild month for Journal of the American Revolution. Don N. Hagist, author of British Soldiers, American War, officially joined our team as an editor. And thanks to our recent article about the ages of Founding Fathers going viral, we had 90,000 readers in August! TIME, Slate, Washington Post, Bloomberg, UPI, MSNBC, […]
The history community was struck Monday morning with the sad news of Pauline Maier’s passing. She was a preeminent scholar of the American Revolution. Memories and condolences were instantly circulated by thousands on Twitter, followed by numerous blogs that reflected on Maier’s impact and legacy. The discussion network H-NET published an obituary, authored by close […]
Journal of the American Revolution (#allthingsliberty) continues its exciting momentum. In addition to the outstanding contributions published at allthingsliberty.com the past 30 days, we have aggressively moved forward with our hard-cover collector’s edition. To make room for several outstanding exclusive articles in the commemorative print volume, we have upped the page count 25 percent! The […]
Journal of the American Revolution (#allthingsliberty) continues to publish a flurry of exciting articles and, in June, we welcomed six new contributors — Robert M. Dunkerly, Daniel Tortora, Elizabeth M. Covart, Cathryn J. Prince, Michael Barbieri and Jeff Dacus. In June, we also shared the exciting news that a commemorative **print** edition of Journal of […]
Get your holiday shopping lists ready. A very special limited PRINT edition of Journal of the American Revolution will be available to our readers this November! The folks behind allthingsliberty.com have joined forces with Ertel Publishing, the former publisher of American Revolution magazine, to produce a special commemorative volume. The details of the print edition […]
Journal of the American Revolution (#allthingsliberty) reached its 100-article milestone in May, unofficially coming of age in the world of online publishing. Almost every weekday for 20 straight weeks, we have published entertaining and educational content about the most important event in American history. If you’re one of our loyal readers, spending an average of […]
To celebrate Memorial Day weekend and the 100-article anniversary of Journal of the American Revolution, we are giving away three signed copies of Reporting the Revolutionary War: Before It Was History, It Was News (Sourcebooks, 2012) by Todd Andrlik. Plus, each winner will also receive a faux leather writing journal. To enter, simply leave a […]
Today is our 83-article anniversary! Almost every weekday for 16 straight weeks, Journal of the American Revolution (#allthingsliberty) has published exclusive and exciting content about the most important event in American history. Below are the most popular articles published during the month of April as well as the top three ever (since our launch in […]
We have another exciting book giveaway for our loyal readers — this time an autographed copy of Bunker Hill: A City, A Siege, A Revolution (Viking, April 30, 2013) by Nathaniel Philbrick. To enter, simply leave a comment below before noon EST on Monday, April 15. Philbrick, the New York Times bestselling author of Mayflower […]
Our spring break road trip concludes the same way as the major fighting of the Revolutionary War did — in the south. The first stop is New Bern, North Carolina, to stroll the garden paths and grounds of Tryon Palace, “the place where governors ruled, legislators debated, patriots gathered and George Washington danced.” Ninety minutes […]
After an early morning drive-by of multiple Maryland monuments and historical sites, we focused our attention on Virginia. Whoever said doing Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg in one day was impossible never drove a Porsche Cayenne. George Washington’s estate opens at 8 am, Colonial Williamsburg closes at 5 pm, and they are separated by a […]
Today we start our spring break road trip in Newark, Delaware, with a quick stop at the historic Hale-Byrnes House, site of a council of war on September 6, 1777, five days before the Battle of Brandywine. Considering the homes relation to Brandywine, our next stop will be the Brandywine Battlefield State Park in Chadds […]
