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Those familiar with American history know that the Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution of the unified states during the American Revolution….
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For every historian, there’s an event that makes them feel good every time they read about it. We asked our contributors: What event from…
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In 1984, Ross Perot purchased a copy of the 1297 reissuance of the Magna Carta from the Brudenell family who had held the document…
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Put yourself, in your mind’s eye, back in June 1776, specifically, the period between June 7 and July 1. It is precisely at that…
On 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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In a country in which one of the main constitutional principles is separation of church and state, it is counter-intuitive to find that there…
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It wasn’t really their fault, they said. Slavery, men of the founding generation liked to argue, was brought to the colonies by Britain. It…
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The Declaration of Independence included twenty-seven specific grievances about the conduct of the King and British government. We asked our contributors to choose one…
When 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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The Declaration of Dependence signed by 547 New York City Loyalists in November 1776 was not the only such declaration written and signed by loyal…
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Revolutions 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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Serving on George Washington’s staff were many talented young men, including some who became famous later. Alexander Hamilton served on the staff ably for…
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Writing about Roger Sherman, the only man to sign our four most important founding documents – the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, the…
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During the hot, humid Philadelphia summer of 1776, the writing of the Declaration of Independence was just another Congressional housekeeping chore which the delegates…
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No country venerates its “Founding Fathers” like the United States. Academics, legislators, judges, and ordinary citizens all frequently seek to validate their opinions and…
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There is a tendency today to lump the Founding Fathers together as though somehow they thought alike, acted in unison and actually got along…
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“The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment…
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THE TRIAL THAT GRIPPED THE NEW NATION The Grand Jury in Richmond determined that there was ample evidence of George Wythe Sweeney’s guilt. Virginia…
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George Wythe was about the last person anybody would ever want to murder. At age 80, Wythe was an exceedingly kind and generous man…
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Signers of the Declaration of Independence are treated with particular reverence in American historical memory. Caesar Rodney, Delaware’s delegate to the Second Continental Congress,…
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Each year, more than a million people walk through the cold, dark Rotunda of the National Archives in Washington DC to glimpse the U.S….
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“The day will be most memorable in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations…
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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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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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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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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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History is one giant game of telephone with information passed, often through multiple sources, to the present day. As such, it is full of…