Why Did the Signers of the Declaration Engage in this Treasonous Act?
bySpeaking on Independence Day, 1821, John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the Unites States and the son of John Adams, a signer of the…
Benjamin Franklin
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Timothy Matlack, Scribe of the Declaration of Independence
byThe scribe of the Declaration of Independence—and perhaps the first man to read it in public—was born on March 28, 1736 in Haddonfield, New…
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Contributor Question: Remembered for the Wrong Reason?
byWe asked our contributors: Which personality of the American Revolution or the founding era (other than Benedict Arnold) is remembered for the wrong reasons,…
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This Week on Dispatches: Jack Cambell on Lafayette’s Plan to Invade Ireland
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor and historical interpreter Jack Campbell on the Marquis de Lafayette’s fascinating attempt to garner…
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“The Scheme of My Heart:” Lafayette’s Plan to Invade Ireland
byMarie Jean Paul Joseph Roche Yves Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, the famous Frenchman who became an American general, had a pet project…
Observations on Several Acts of Parliament
byThe Townshend Revenue Act of 1767 awoke Americans to the fact that import duties for the purpose of revenue were taxes just as much…
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French Adventurers, Patriots, and Pretentious Imposters in the Fight for American Independence
byFrance was defeated in the Seven Years War. The defeat resulted in France losing valuable colonies, and prestige and influence in Europe. Desperate to…
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A Howe Woman Celebrates the Glory of the First of June, 1794
byThe letters of Caroline Howe in the British Library have for the first time revealed the private life of her brother, Adm. Richard Lord…
This Week on Dispatches: Richard J. Werther on King Gustav III of Sweden Recognizing the United States
byOn 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…
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King Gustav III of Sweden: Friendly Foe of the United States
byNew York City, November 16, 1783. It was finally here, Evacuation Day. The British, who had occupied Manhattan for seven long years, were finally…
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If George Washington had not Run for President . . . ?
byThis month we asked our contributors: If George Washington had not run for President in 1789, who would you like to have had as…
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Starting from Scratch: Combating “the Itch”
byAlthough it may not have been fatal, scabies brought more patients to British Army hospitals during the Seven Years’ War than any other condition,…
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Volunteer Overload: Foreign Support of the American Cause Prior to the French Alliance
byAside from being outmanned by the best army in the world when the American Revolution started, it was clear that the American forces were…
Franklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership
byFranklin & Washington: The Founding Partnership by Edward J. Larson (New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers, 2020) George Washington and Early Republic scholar Edward J….
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Opposing the Franco-American Alliance: The Case of Anne-Robert Jacques Turgot
byThe participation of the French on the side of the newly declared independent American colonies is widely acknowledged as the factor that tipped the…
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Information Operations: The Provincial Congress Shapes the Narrative in Great Britain
byThe efforts of the American Provincial Congress at the beginning of the revolutionary war against Great Britain offer the perfect case study to understand…
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Tapping America’s Wealth to Fund the Revolution: Two Good Ideas that Went Awry
by“Unless some great and capital change suddenly takes place,” Gen. George Washington wrote from Valley Forge on December 23, 1777,[1] to Henry Laurens, the…
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Impeachment: The Framers Debate and Discuss
byAuthor’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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The Rise of Thomas Paine and the Case of the Officers of Excise
byThe Rise of Thomas Paine and the Case of the Officers of Excise by Paul Myles (Lewes: The Thomas Paine Society UK, 2018) When John…
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How Magna Carta Influenced the American Revolution
byIn 1984, Ross Perot purchased a copy of the 1297 reissuance of the Magna Carta from the Brudenell family who had held the document…
A French “King of America”?
byIn the chaos of war, there are, and have always been, schemers who will try to take advantage of disorder to enrich themselves, either…
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America’s Revolution Against Toleration: The Rise of True Religious Liberty
byIn 1793, a widely circulated American editorial observed, “A few years ago, to say of any man that he was ‘a friend to toleration,’…
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The Fight Behind the Declaration of Independence
byPut yourself, in your mind’s eye, back in June 1776, specifically, the period between June 7 and July 1. It is precisely at that…
This Week on Dispatches: J. L. Bell on Truths and Myths of the Declaration of Independence
byOn this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews author and historian J. L. Bell on the Declaration of Independence and which stories surrounding the document…
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Strange Bedfellows: Adams and Franklin as Diplomatic Duo
byClose the window. No, leave the window open. Cold night air can be toxic to one’s health. No, what’s truly toxic is stifled, fetid…
The Declaration of Independence: Did John Hancock Really Say That about his Signature?—and Other Signing Stories
byWhen we picture the Declaration of Independence, most of us immediately think of the document handwritten on parchment and signed at the bottom by…
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A Chink in Britain’s Armor: John Paul Jones’s 1778 Raid on Whitehaven
byJohn Paul Jones has earned enduring fame in American history for his sailing and fighting exploits during the American Revolution. His influence on the…
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If Only We Had a Primary Source: Stories of the American Revolution
byThere are many myths associated with the American Revolution, and at JAR we do our best to set the record straight on as many…
Josiah Quincy, Jr.
byJosiah Quincy, Jr.’s name is rarely mentioned in history books. This is because his name never appeared at the top of any leaderboard, that…
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George Washington Dealmaker-in-Chief
byGeorge Washington Dealmaker-In-Chief: The Story of How the Father of Our Country Unleashed the Entrepreneurial Spirit in America by Cyrus A. Ansary (Lambert Publications,…
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Reconciliation between the Colonies and Great Britain—A Close Call
byThere were many attempts, before and during the American Revolution, to avoid armed conflict via negotiation, or to stop the war after it began….
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How Robert Morris’s “Magick” Money Saved the American Revolution
byThe year 1780 ended badly, and the new year boded worse for America’s War of Independence. Maj. Gen. Benedict Arnold’s treason and defection to…
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Remembering the Lives and Sacrifices of General Richard and Janet Montgomery
byAlmost forty years ago, I led a team of nautical archaeologists in the study of the steamboat Phoenix, which had burned on Lake Champlain…
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Young Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity
byYoung Benjamin Franklin: The Birth of Ingenuity by Nick Bunker. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2018) This is a tome that, as Gordon S. Wood…
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Catharine Macaulay, England’s First Female Whig Historian, 1763–1772
byCatharine Sawbridge was born in Wye, Kent, England to John Sawbridge and Elizabeth Wanley on April 2, 1731. Her father was a landed proprietor;…
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The “Hynson Business”—The Story of a Double Agent
byWars have a way of creating strange alliances, and the American Revolution was no exception. I encountered one such unusual relationship while researching my…
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The Dark and Heroic Histories of Georgia’s Signers
byRevolutions are complex multi-sided economic, political, social, and technological events. They begin as conservative movements. As each side fears losing, all of these different…
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The Earl of Dartmouth: Secretary of State for the Colonies, Third Year: August 1774–November 1775
byWhile the Earl of Dartmouth, Secretary of State for the Colonies, was on holiday in the summer of 1774, his office continued to receive…
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Captain Lambert Wickes and “Gunboat Diplomacy, American Revolution Style”
byThe Continental Navy. Words that didn’t exactly strike fear into the heart of the mighty British Royal Navy. For most Americans, knowledge of the…