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The 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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We recently ran an article about monuments commemorating the American Revolution. We asked our contributors: If you could commission a monument, what would you…
In 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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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…
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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As adopted by the Constitutional Convention, Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution mandated that the population numbers forming the basis for…
On this week’s Dispatches host Brady Crytzer interviews actor, teacher, US Army and US Air Force veteran, and JAR contributor, John L. Smith, Jr., about…
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Close 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…
When we picture the Declaration of Independence, most of us immediately think of the document handwritten on parchment and signed at the bottom by…
John 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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1785 was a rare year in Paris—it was safely nestled between revolutions. The American Revolution had come to an official end right there in…
Josiah Quincy, Jr.’s name is rarely mentioned in history books. This is because his name never appeared at the top of any leaderboard, that…
By the end of 1774, Catharine Macaulay had met Benjamin Rush, Arthur Lee, Richard Marchant, and Benjamin Franklin, and had corresponded with John Dickinson, James…
When reading the excellent JAR article “The Dark and Heroic Histories of Georgia’s Signers,” I happened to recall another Georgia delegate to the Second…
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This month, we asked our contributors to consider the many changes of fortune that occurred over the tumultuous four decades that transformed thirteen British…
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By the end of 1772, Catharine Macaulay had completed and published the first five volumes of her History of England from the Accession of…
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Catharine 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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When the Second Continental Congress met in June 1775, they were not prepared for what they found. Several months earlier on April 19 the…
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Throughout the course of history, the ancient civilization of Rome has been widely discussed, praised, and emulated by writers, statesmen, and philosophers alike. Rome…
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On July 2, 1778, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hanged Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner and Continental soldier Ezra Ross, together with British soldiers Sgt. James Buchanan…
Thomas Jefferson, that American Sphinx,[1] is perhaps Alexander Hamilton’s only rival within the high pantheon of the founding generation for enigma. Hamilton’s character recalls…
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The characters and contributions of Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton are collectively sketched by…
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As a young country lawyer, John Adams thought he seemed to lack focus. “Ballast is what I want, I totter, with every Breeze. My…
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There was a slight chill in the Massachusetts air on the evening of February 13, 1818, which caused frost to gather around the windows…
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Today, May 29, 2018, Disney Hyperion is introducing young readers to the American Revolution with Thomas Paine and the Dangerous Word, an eighty-page picture…
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“Diplomacy is seduction in guise …”, whispered Benjamin Franklin to his fellow commissioner John Adams. “One improves with practice.” Although the quote isn’t real…
We are very happy to announce our newest JAR book is now available for sale. John Adams vs Thomas Paine: Rival Plans for the…
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John Adams had a nose for good character. He could sniff out individuals of talent and integrity like a bloodhound. He famously nominated George…
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Before ever he was a president, vice president, ambassador, Continental Congressmen, or Massachusetts lawyer, John Adams was a schoolmaster in a rural hamlet in…
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The ship carrying John Adams was sinking in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! The awful thought must have been crippling for Adams, chosen…
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Historian Oliver Morton Dickerson was studying American colonial newspapers when he noticed identical articles appearing in newspapers in New York, Pennsylvania, Boston, elsewhere in…
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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…
On September 27, 1779, John Adams was appointed “Minister Plenipotentiary for negotiating a Treaty of Peace and a Treaty of Commerce with Great Britain.”…
Crotchety old John Adams had finally had enough. It was bad enough that after George Washington’s battlefield victories at Trenton and Princeton, the idol…
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It’s a simple question — perhaps so basic that it’s been overlooked. How old were the key participants of the American Revolution? Authors often…
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In 1765 Parliament instituted a Stamp Act for the North American colonies, which proved wildly unpopular from Savannah to Halifax, and ultimately unworkable. The…
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The primary dispute between Britain and her North American mainland colonies in the 1760s and early 1770s has often been summed up in four…
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Dear Mr. History: I often hear that John Adams estimated that one-third of Americans supported the Revolution, one-third opposed it, and one-third was neutral. …