Tag: Declaration of Independence

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That Audacious Paper: Jonathan Lind and Thomas Hutchinson Answer the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence is commonly revered in modern America as the aspirational apotheosis of political and social egalitarianism, although in 1776, among English Tories and American Loyalists, it held no such distinction. Indeed, in 1776, by both Tories and Loyalists, the Declaration was considered vacuous political propaganda and was typically treated with scorn, derision, […]

by David Otersen
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The Indelible Caesar Rodney

In 1923, the State of Delaware erected a statue to one its most famous sons in Wilmington, Delaware. The statue to Caesar Rodney showed him on his now famous ride to break the tie between the members of Delaware’s delegation to the Second Continental Congress. Rodney’s eighty-mile ride from Dover to Philadelphia to cast a […]

by T. H. Leighty
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Father and Son: Patriots Who Gave Their All

William Mehls Dewees (1711-1777) The “Father” of this history is William M. Dewees. He was the son of William Dewees of Germantown (1680-1745), “the papermaker,” and Anna Christina (Mehls) Dewees (1690-1749).He was born at the new family home and paper mill in what is now Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia. In 1735, he married Rachel Farmar (1712-1777), […]

by William H. J. Manthorpe, Jr.
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This Week on Dispatches: Ray Raphael on Whether the Declaration of Independence was Signed on July 4, 1776

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author, historian, and JAR Editorial Board member Ray Raphael on the memories of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas McKean about the Declaration of Independence and when it was actually signed. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon […]

by Editors
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This Week on Dispatches: David Otersen on Algernon Sidney and the American Revolution

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews  JAR contributor David Otersen on the influence of political philosopher Alergnon Sidney on Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and others. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now be […]

by Editors
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Algernon Sidney and the American Revolution

Algernon Sidney was a seventeenth-century British political theorist, Member of Parliament, and Whig politician who was executed for treason on December 7, 1683, during the reign of Charles II. At his trial, the most incriminating evidence presented by the prosecution was a series of anti-monarchical passages from a seized manuscript of Sidney’s reformist treatise, Discourses […]

by David Otersen
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July 4 and the Declaration of Independence

Today, July 4, Americans celebrate independence from Great Britain, independence that was proclaimed by the Declaration of Independence. This is an important thing to commemorate, and July 4 is a good day to do it – even though many of the things that are celebrated did not occur on that date. Over the years JAR […]

by Editors
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This Week on Dispatches: M. Andrew Holowchak on Thomas Jefferson on Rebellion, Revolution, and “Treason”

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews historian M. Andrew Holowchak on interpreting the distinctions Thomas Jefferson made between rebellion, revolution, and treason. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the JAR Dispatches web site. Dispatches can now be easily accessed on […]

by Editors
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This Week on Dispatches: James M. Deitch on the 23rd, 25th, and 27th Grievances of the Declaration of Independence

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews Marine Corps veteran and JAR contributor James M. Deitch on his analysis of the 23rd, 25th, and 27th Grievances of the Declaration of Independence. New episodes of Dispatches are available for free every Saturday evening (Eastern United States Time) on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Amazon Music, and the […]

by Editors
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“Acts Against the Oppressions of the Government”: Jefferson on Rebellion, Revolution, and “Treason”

Jefferson’s views on rebellion and revolution, when they are addressed, are often largely misapprehended in the secondary literature. One reason for the confusion is that rebellion and revolution are sometimes judged to be equivalent, or nearly so, and thus are often uncritically lumped together, or are viewed merely as symptoms of liberalism, taken too far. […]

by M. Andrew Holowchak
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The Constitutional Authority of the Continental Congress

On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress declared America’s Independence from the British Empire. Approximately five years later, on March 1, 1781, Congress recorded Maryland’s procrastinated ratification of the Articles of Confederation and concomitantly gave them legal effect. The Articles of Confederation are generally regarded as America’s first Constitution, though in many respects they […]

by David Otersen
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Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence

BOOK REVIEW: Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence by Robert G. Parkinson (Williamsburg, VA: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture; Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2021) The final grievance that Thomas Jefferson included in the Declaration of Independence used blatantly racist language, making it […]

by Timothy Symington
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Divine Providence and Deism in the Declaration of Independence

Clemson University Professor C. Bradley Thompson is a nationally recognized historian and Revolutionary Era scholar whose most recent book, America’s Revolutionary Mind, has earned copious praise and widespread acclaim. It is well-deserved. Nevertheless, Professor Thompson’s work is not without flaws as it renews, unnecessarily, the erroneous and ahistorical argument that God, as referenced in the […]

by David Otersen
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The Vermont Constitution of 1777

If the gunfire at Lexington and Concord was the “shot heard round the world,” the phrases in the Declaration of Independence were the words read around the world. In the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson declared America an independent nation, rooting his ideas in political theory and justifying them with a list of grievances.[1] After the Declaration was […]

by Sophie Jaeger
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This Week on Dispatches: Christopher Warren on Documents of the American Revolution

On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews Christopher Warren, historian and Curator of American History in the Rare Book & Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress, on his recent article in JAR discussing important documents of the American Revolution that are held in the collection. Thousands of readers like you enjoy the articles published […]

by Editors
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How Magna Carta Influenced the American Revolution

In 1984, Ross Perot purchased a copy of the 1297 reissuance of the Magna Carta from the Brudenell family who had held the document for centuries. In 1988, it became a permanent fixture of the National Archives Museum where it stayed in the rotunda along with the American charters of freedom for several years. Nearly […]

by Jason Yonce