Father and Son: Patriots Who Gave Their All
byWilliam 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…
Declaration of Independence
This Week on Dispatches: Ray Raphael on Whether the Declaration of Independence was Signed on July 4, 1776
byOn 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…
His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer
byBOOK REVIEW: His Masterly Pen: A Biography of Jefferson the Writer by Fred Kaplan (New York City, NY: HarperCollins, 2022) Thomas Jefferson was many things….
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Thomas Paine on Popular Government in America: Evolution of a Radical’s Thinking
byIt would be hard to find a more strident, vocal supporter of popular government during America’s founding period than Thomas Paine. The proposals put…
This Week on Dispatches: David Otersen on Algernon Sidney and the American Revolution
byOn 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,…
John Joachim Zubly: PART 3, A Patriot Essayist Whose Cause Was Lost
byIn the 1760s and through 1775 John J. Zubly was the leading Whig in Georgia. He wrote a number of sermons and political tracts…
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Algernon Sidney and the American Revolution
byAlgernon Sidney was a seventeenth-century British political theorist, Member of Parliament, and Whig politician who was executed for treason on December 7, 1683, during…
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Emergence of the French Alliance: The Beginning and Final Phases
byIt is widely acknowledged that the military alliance between the United States and France, established in 1778, was responsible not only for a number…
July 4 and the Declaration of Independence
byToday, July 4, Americans celebrate independence from Great Britain, independence that was proclaimed by the Declaration of Independence. This is an important thing to…
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America Begins: How Connecticut’s Samuel Johnson Created America
by“The great End and Business therefore of Philosophy, is to make us truly happy; and this is the End ultimately pursued through all the…
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George III’s (Implicit) Sanction of the American Revolution
byIn Summary View of the Rights of British America (1774), Jefferson wrote of King George III’s unwillingness to use his “negative” to veto unjust proposals….
This Week on Dispatches: M. Andrew Holowchak on Thomas Jefferson on Rebellion, Revolution, and “Treason”
byOn 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…
This Week on Dispatches: James M. Deitch on the 23rd, 25th, and 27th Grievances of the Declaration of Independence
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews Marine Corps veteran and JAR contributor James M. Deitch on his analysis of the 23rd, 25th,…
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“Acts Against the Oppressions of the Government”: Jefferson on Rebellion, Revolution, and “Treason”
byJefferson’s views on rebellion and revolution, when they are addressed, are often largely misapprehended in the secondary literature. One reason for the confusion is…
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The 27th Grievance of the Declaration of Independence
by“He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known…
The 25th Grievance of the Declaration of Independence
byWhen Thomas Jefferson wrote the twenty-seven grievances against the King listed in the Declaration of Independence, he did so with the intention of encapsulating…
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The Use of the Declaration of Independence as a Military Recruitment Tool
byThe Declaration of Independence, viewed by thousands each year, is one of the most revered documents in American history. Housed in a hermetically sealed glass…
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The Constitutional Authority of the Continental Congress
byOn July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress declared America’s Independence from the British Empire. Approximately five years later, on March 1, 1781, Congress…
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Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence
byBOOK REVIEW: Thirteen Clocks: How Race United the Colonies and Made the Declaration of Independence by Robert G. Parkinson (Williamsburg, VA: Omohundro Institute of Early…
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Teaching the American Revolution in the United Kingdom
byTeaching the American Revolution in the United Kingdom comes with baggage. But British students respond to it ways that an American might not expect….
This Week on Dispatches: Chris Coelho on Timothy Matlack, Scribe of the Declaration of Independence
byOn this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews author Chris Coelho on the life and influence of Timothy Matlack, famed for being the scribe…
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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…
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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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Divine Providence and Deism in the Declaration of Independence
byClemson University Professor C. Bradley Thompson is a nationally recognized historian and Revolutionary Era scholar whose most recent book, America’s Revolutionary Mind, has earned…
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A Video Tour with Bridget Barbara: New York City’s Bowling Green and the Statue of King George III
byThe bronze Charging Bull sculpture is not the only iconic statue to have stood at the southern tip of Manhattan. In 1770, a large…
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The Vermont Constitution of 1777
byIf the gunfire at Lexington and Concord was the “shot heard round the world,” the phrases in the Declaration of Independence were the words…
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The First Public Reading of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
by“We hold these truths to be self-evident . . . .” Who were the first people to hear Thomas Jefferson’s memorable words spoken in…
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The Routledge Guide to Paine’s Rights of Man
byThe Routledge Guide to Paine’s Rights of Man by Frances A. Chiu (London & New York: Routledge, 2020) The American Revolution, John Adams famously wrote…
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How Did John Adams Respond to Abigail’s “Remember the Ladies”?
byWomen in all states won the universal right to vote one hundred years ago through the ratification of the United States Constitution’s 19th Amendment…
This Week on Dispatches: Christopher Warren on Documents of the American Revolution
byOn 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…
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Documents of the Revolution: A Continuum of Conviction
byThose 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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Uplifting Moments in American Revolution History
byFor 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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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…
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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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Jacob Duché: Mixing Religion and Politics During the Revolution
byIn 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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The Tragedy of Henry Laurens
byIt 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: The Twenty-Seven Grievances
byThe Declaration of Independence included twenty-seven specific grievances about the conduct of the King and British government. We asked our contributors to choose one…
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…