Author: Editors

Journal of the American Revolution (allthingsliberty.com) is a free online magazine with simple goals: Make serious history more palatable to a general audience and provide readers with fun, educational and interesting content. A business casual approach, if you will. Since our launch in January 2013, we have published hundreds of articles by dozen historians and experts.

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The Latest in the JAR Book Series is Now Available

“The sad story of colonial oppression commenced in the year 1764. Great Britain then adopted new regulations respecting her colonies, which, after disturbing the ancient harmony of the two countries for about twelve years, terminated in a dismemberment of the empire.”—David Ramsay, 1789 JAR contributor Ken Shumate’s new book, 1764: The First Year of the […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Philip D. Weaver on Joseph McCracken, New York’s First Revolutionary Captain

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews researcher, author, and living history presenter Philip D. Weaver on New York’s Joseph McCracken, one of the many little-known personalities of the American Revolution who contributed to the American war effort. Weaver was able to piece together McCracken’s service record through pension applications of soldiers who served under […]

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Constitutional Debate Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Eric Sterner on South Carolina’s John Rutledge

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews consultant, author, and JAR contributor Eric Sterner on the life of John Rutledge, governor, president, and congressional delegate of South Carolina, a career he explored over a series of three articles. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, […]

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This Week on Dispatches: William V. Wenger on Foreign Assistance to the American Revolution

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews retired US Army officer Willam V. Wenger on his research into the contributions of France, Spain, and other countries to the American war effort, from munitions and soldiers to diplomatic assistance and loans. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States […]

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Arts & Literature Posted on

The 2021 Annual Volume

The seventh Journal of the American Revolution Annual Volume is now available. Each annual volume highlights articles selected by our editorial board from the previous year as best representative of the journal’s mission and for their original contributions to scholarship of the era. The 2021 annual contains thirty-five articles, covering topics from the Lenape people […]

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Economics Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: James P. Sieradzki on the New Jersey Shop License Law of 1780

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews attorney and local historian James P. Sieradzki about New Jersey’s attempt to stop illicit trade between local shopkeepers and the British by issuing licenses that not only forbade the practice, but issued fines if violated. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern […]

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Battles Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Gary Ecelbarger on Clement Biddle and the “Battle of the Clouds”

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer and JAR contributor Gary Ecelbarger on what a letter from Clement Biddle can tell us about the “Battle of the Clouds,” one of the most enigmatic engagements in the American Revolution. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Geoff Smock on the Teenage Thomas Jefferson

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews educator and JAR contributor Geoff Smock on his research into the teenage years of Thomas Jefferson, including his education at William & Mary college. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. […]

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Contributor Close-Up: Robert Davis

What inspired you to start researching and writing about the Revolution? In 1974, Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia began a state internship program. I was the state’s first history intern. Because I was at that time a cadet at North Georgia College, I chose the battle of Kettle Creek, a military topic of which I knew […]

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Diplomacy Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Richard J. Werther on King Gustav III of Sweden Recognizing the United States

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews researcher and JAR contributor Richard J. Werther on King Gustav III of Sweden’s recognition of an independent United States and its implications. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can […]

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This Week on Dispatches: John Rees on Remembrances of Black Revolutionary War Veterans

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer, researcher, historian, and JAR contributor John Rees on his series of articles about nineteenth-century remembrances of Black Revolutionary War veterans, including Hannah Till, Thomas Carney, Edward Hector, Jacob Francis, and Oliver Cromwell. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Todd Braisted on Benjamin Thompson’s Black Dragoons

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews researcher, writer, and JAR contributor Todd Braisted on loyalist Benjamin Thompson—later Count Mumford—and the provincial mounted regiment that included free Blacks and men freed from slavery he organized. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the Impeachment of Senator William Blount, the First in American History

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Andrew Zellers-Frederick on the impeachment of Senator William Blount of Tennessee, the first conducted in American history, and a crucial episode in establishing the legal strength of the United States government over elected officials. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Brooke Barbier on Paul Revere’s Boston

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer and podcast host Brooke Barbier about historic sites in Boston that were familiar to Paul Revere. Join Brady and Brooke for a fascinating tour of what remains of colonial Boston. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, […]

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Espionage and Cryptography Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: William W. Reynolds on the British Naval Signals Missions of 1781

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews retired engineer and JAR contributor William W. Reynolds on how the Americans were able to obtain the British Naval Signals and pass them to French admiral de Grasse during the Yorktown campaign in 1781. Knowing an enemy’s signals could change the outcome of a battle. New episodes of […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Louis Arthur Norton on the Plight of the Seamen

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and JAR contributor Louis Arthur Norton on what happened to captured Continental Navy, states’ navies, and privateer sailors and officers when captured by the British. Most were interred onboard prison hulks where many perished, but others attempted to escape. New episodes of Dispatches are available for […]

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Critical Thinking Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Serena Zabin on The Boston Massacre: A Family History

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian, author, and JAR Book-of-the-Year Award winner, Serena Zabin on her book, The Boston Massacre: A Family History. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now be easily accessed […]

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Arts & Literature Posted on

The 2020 JAR Book-of-the-Year

The Journal of the American Revolution is pleased to announce The Boston Massacre: A Family History by Serena Zabin (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) as winner of the 2020 Journal of the American Revolution Book-of-the-Year Award. Honorable Mention is awarded to A Crisis of Peace: George Washington, the Newburgh Conspiracy, and the Fate of the American Revolution by David […]

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Critical Thinking Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Brian Gerring on “La Petite Guerre” and Native American Irregular Warfare

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews retired Special Forces soldier and educator Brian Gerring on his comparison of European La Petite Guerre, “small war,” and military tactics favored by Native Americans in the eighteenth century. Did the Continental army or militia incorporate tactics used by Native Americans? New episodes of Dispatches are available for […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Greg Aaron on Lord Dartmouth’s War of Words

Dispatches returns for another season, and on this week’s episode host Brady Crytzer interviews cybersecurity expert and JAR contributor Greg Aaron on Lord Dartmouth, Secretary of the State for the Colonies, and his fateful order to Gen. Thomas Gage, “to arrest and imprison the principal actors & abettors in the Provincial Congress” in Massachusetts, a group that […]

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Best of Dispatches: Colin G. Calloway and The Indian World of George Washington

In this week’s program from the Dispatches archives, recorded in February 2019, host Brady Crytzer interviews distinguished historian Colin G. Calloway about his book, The Indian World of George Washington, winner of the 2018 Journal of the American Revolution Book of the Year. Later this month, the 2020 Journal of the American Revolution Book Award will be […]

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Best of Dispatches: Michael W. Twitty on the Legacy of African American Cuisine

Over the next several weeks, we’ll be looking back in the Dispatches archives to replay a selection of notable interviews. In this episode, first aired in March 2019, host Brady Crytzer interviews writer, culinary historian, and educator Michael W. Twitty, about the legacy and influence of enslaved Africans on American and world culture and cuisine. He is […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Don N. Hagist on His Latest Book, Noble Volunteers

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews historian and Journal of the American Revolution editor-in-chief, Don N. Hagist on his latest book, Noble Volunteers: The British Soldiers Who Fought the American Revolution. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. […]

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Contributor Question: What is Your Favorite Beverage of the Revolutionary Era?

This month, we asked our contributors: With many different holidays and celebrations approaching, what is your favorite beverage known to have been consumed during the era of the American Revolution (for holidays or otherwise)? Tom Shachtman Corn-based whiskey distilled in Western Pennsylvania, the booze at the center of the understudied Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. As […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Kevin A. Conn on the Remarkable Career of Loyalist Soldier and Spy James Moody

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews AP History teacher and JAR contributor Kevin A. Conn on the remarkable career of New Jersey Loyalist soldier and spy, James Moody, who carried out daring raids, was captured by Patriots and escaped, and ended up in England after the war. New episodes of Dispatches are available for […]

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Espionage and Cryptography Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Ken Daigler on Nathanael Greene and His Spy Network

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews espionage expert, former CIA operations officer, and JAR contributor Ken Daigler on General Nathanael Greene and his use of spies to provide intelligence on British intentions in the South. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Joseph E. Wroblewski on John Paul Jones and Thaddeus Kosciuszko in Warsaw, 1789

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Joseph E. Wroblewski about the chance encounter of two legendary figures of American independence, John Paul Jones and Thaddeus Kosciuskzo, in postwar Warsaw. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, and the JAR Dispatches web site. […]

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This Week on Dispatches: Eric Wiser on the Outlaw Cornelius Hatfield

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor Eric Wiser tells the fascinating story of notorious Loyalist partisan and British spy, Cornelius Hatfield, who operated in northern New Jersey and New York, escaped from capture and eventually settled in London following the war. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening […]

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Constitutional Debate Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Thomas E. Ricks on First Principles

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews Pulitzer-prize winning historian Thomas E. Ricks on his new book, First Principles: What America’s Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country, recently reviewed in JAR. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, […]

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Battles Posted on

This Week on Dispatches: Travis Copeland on the Battle of Shallow Ford

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews postgraduate historian student and JAR contributor Travis Copeland on his recent article about the Battle of Shallow Ford, North Carolina, which pitched Patriot militia against Loyalist militia. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published by the Journal of the American Revolution. Dispatches is a free podcast […]

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This Week on Dispatches: John E. Happ on the Role of Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais in American Independence

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor John E. Happ on the enigmatic Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais. Best known today for his plays, The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro, he became a key player in French support of the American cause, primarily with organizing clandestine arms shipments to the fledgling Continental army. […]

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