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Ray Raphael

Ray Raphael

Ray Raphael’s latest book, coauthored with Marie Raphael and published by New Press, is The Spirit of ’74: How the American Revolution Began. His eighteen previous books include Founding Myths: Stories that Hide Our Patriotic Past (New Press, 2004 and 2014), Constitutional Myths: What We Get Wrong and What We Get Right (New Press, 2013), Mr. President: How and Why the Founders Created a Chief Executive (Knopf, 2012), Founders: The People Who Brought You a Nation (New Press, 2009), and A People’s History of the American Revolution (New Press, 2001, and Harper Perennial, 2002). A complete list of his books and articles, as well as some key historical documents not published elsewhere, can be found at rayraphael.com.

3
Critical Thinking, Education, Reenactments March 12, 2020 March 11, 2020

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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4
Constitutional Debate, Postwar Politics (>1783), Primary Sources November 19, 2019 November 25, 2019

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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8
Critical Thinking, Politics During the War (1775-1783) October 10, 2017 October 7, 2017

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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4
Prewar Conflict (<1775) March 16, 2017 March 12, 2017

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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1
The War Years (1775-1783) July 21, 2016 August 28, 2016

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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5
Postwar Politics (>1783) April 21, 2016 August 28, 2016

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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8
People September 16, 2015 August 28, 2016

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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7
Critical Thinking August 25, 2015 August 25, 2015

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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22
Critical Thinking July 13, 2015 August 20, 2015

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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6
Critical Thinking February 16, 2015 August 28, 2016

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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16
Critical Thinking July 1, 2014 August 28, 2016

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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9
Critical Thinking May 7, 2014 April 13, 2014

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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4
Critical Thinking April 18, 2014 April 17, 2014

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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9
Critical Thinking February 14, 2014 June 28, 2014

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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2
Critical Thinking January 23, 2014 February 9, 2014

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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5
Critical Thinking January 13, 2014 September 10, 2014

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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3
Critical Thinking July 2, 2013 July 1, 2013

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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6
Critical Thinking June 17, 2013 August 3, 2013

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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2
Critical Thinking May 29, 2013 May 27, 2013

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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8
Critical Thinking May 15, 2013 August 27, 2013

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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7
Critical Thinking May 8, 2013 August 27, 2013

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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6
Critical Thinking April 24, 2013 April 22, 2013

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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1
Critical Thinking April 10, 2013 April 7, 2013

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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3
Critical Thinking March 20, 2013 March 19, 2013

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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3
Critical Thinking March 6, 2013 March 6, 2013

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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4
Critical Thinking February 20, 2013 August 3, 2013

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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6
Critical Thinking February 12, 2013 August 3, 2013

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…

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