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Teaching the American Revolution with Simulations
What most Americans know about the Revolutionary War they learned when they were in elementary or middle school. The curricular timing is fortunate in…
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Impeachment: The Framers Debate and Discuss
Author’s Note: Selections from all resolutions and working drafts are italicized. Most of what we know about the framers’ discussions comes from James Madison’s…
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Was the Declaration of Independence Signed on July 4? How Memory Plays Tricks with History
Early in 1814, thirteen years into his retirement, John Adams received a bizarre letter from Thomas McKean, a former colleague in the First and…
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Country Crowds in Revolutionary Massachusetts: Mobs and Militia
Peter Oliver, the Crown-appointed Chief Justice of provincial Massachusetts, knew how to discredit popular protest. Mindless and incapable of acting on their own, crowds…
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March to Quebec and the Fog of War
On June 13, 1775, writing from Crown Point on Lake Champlain, Benedict Arnold reported to the Continental Congress that Britain had only 550 “effective…
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10 Things Pauline Maier Taught Us About Ratification and the Bill of Rights
In writing Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788, Pauline Maier hoped to create, in her words, a “Constitutional thriller.” She invited readers to…
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When Rabble-Rousing Samuel Adams Slowed Down the Revolution
If Samuel Adams was Boston’s “leading agitator” and “engineer of rebellion,” as textbooks and popularizations commonly proclaim, we might assume he engineered the rebellion that…
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George Washington or John Hanson: Who Was the First President?
Perhaps you’ve seen this mythbuster: “WHO WAS THE FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA? I suspect George Washington was your best guess….
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Patrick Henry’s “Liberty or Death”—Granddaddy of Revolution Mythologies
I first encountered Patrick Henry in fifth grade. He was the patriot of “Give me liberty, or give me death!” fame—not to be confused…
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Why Did George Washington Become a Revolutionary?
In 1758, just before returning home from the French and Indian War, George Washington ran for a seat in Virginia’s House of Burgesses. Given…
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10 Myths for the Fourth of July
1. On July 4, 1776, the United States declared itself an independent nation. This is almost true, but the timing is a tad off….
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Marblehead Woman
In education circles, document-based learning is all the rage. The idea is to present a historical document, ask students to examine it closely, then…
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Paul Revere’s Other Rides
Myth: “The fate of a nation was riding that night,” Longfellow wrote. Fortunately, a heroic rider from Boston woke up the sleepy-eyed farmers just…
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Take Notice: The Not-so-1776
Recruiting Poster
This article was originally published in Journal of the American Revolution, Vol. 1 (Ertel Publishing, 2013). By Ray Raphael and Benjamin H. Irvin If…
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The Signal of Sam Adams
Myth: Toward evening on December 16, 1773, Francis Rotch, beleaguered owner of one of the tea-laden ships in the Boston Harbor, announced to thousands…
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Paul Revere’s Other Riders
Myth: “Alerted by signal lanterns, express riders Paul Revere and William Dawes eluded British patrols and spurred their horses toward Lexington along separate routes…
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Samuel Chase’s Wild Ride
Myth: “In 1776, when Maryland instructed its delegates to the Continental Congress to vote against independence, Chase launched a successful campaign to persuade the…
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The Whites of their Eyes
Myth: During the so-called Battle of Bunker Hill, Israel Putnam (some say William Prescott) issued a command: “Do not fire till you see the…
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The Federalist #10 and #51
Myth: The Federalist Nos. 10 and 51, written by James Madison, provided the closing case in the ratification debates. Opponents of the proposed federal…
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Mary Hays McCauley’s Claim to Fame
MYTH: “American women also won fame for their bravery during the war. Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley earned the name Molly Pitcher by carrying fresh…
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Molly Pitcher and Captain Molly
Myth: “While Captain Molly was serving some water for the refreshment of the men, her husband received a shot in the head, and fell…
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The Federalist (Papers): Then and Now
Myth: During the ratification debates The Federalist Papers, with their reasoned arguments, convinced people to vote in favor of the Constitution. Busted: Numbers suggest…
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Tax Day and the Founders
Myth: The framers were anti-tax, and it is no accident they failed to provide for income taxes in the Constitution. Busted: “No taxation without…
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Thomas Paine’s Inflated Numbers
Myth: Within months of its publication, 120,000 copies (or 100,000 or 150,000 or 500,000) of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense were sold in the rebellious…
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Jefferson and the Declaration
Myth: Thomas Jefferson found the ideas for the Declaration of Independence “from deep within himself.” (Joseph Ellis, American Sphinx.) Busted: Not according to Jefferson….
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America’s First Declaration of Independence
Myth: Americans did not formally resolve for independence until 1776. Busted: On October 4, 1774, the town meeting of Worcester, Massachusetts, declared that British…
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The True Start of the American Revolution
Myth: The American Revolution started at Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. Busted: All of contiguous Massachusetts – except Boston! – cast off…