John Marshall: Hamilton 2.0
byCelebrated for his stirring words in the Declaration of Independence, and having profited upon the popularity since, Thomas Jefferson was now America’s chief magistrate—and…
John Adams
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Lord Dunmore’s Proclamation: Information and Slavery
byLord Dunmore, John Murray, the 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730-1809) and Royal Governor of Virginia (1771-1776),[1] was an important political and military figure during…
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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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Worthy of Commemmoration
byWe recently ran an article about monuments commemorating the American Revolution. We asked our contributors: If you could commission a monument, what would you…
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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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 Constitution Counted Free Women and Children—And It Mattered
byAs adopted by the Constitutional Convention, Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution mandated that the population numbers forming the basis for…
This Week on Dispatches: John L. Smith, Jr. on John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and King Louis XVI together at Notre-Dame
byOn 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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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…
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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The Day Notre-Dame Cathedral Hosted Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and King Louis XVI
by1785 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.
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…
Catharine Macaulay, England’s First Female Whig Historian: the War Begins, 1775
byBy the end of 1774, Catharine Macaulay had met Benjamin Rush, Arthur Lee, Richard Marchant, and Benjamin Franklin, and had corresponded with John Dickinson, James…
Johan Joachim Zubly: The Other Georgia Delegate
byWhen 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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Contributor Question: Best Strategic Defeat?
byThis 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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Catharine Macaulay, England’s First Female Whig Historian, 1773–1774
byBy 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 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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Continental Congress vs. Continental Army: Paying For It All
byWhen 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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Rome’s Heroes and America’s Founding Fathers
byThroughout 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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The Most Extraordinary Murder
byOn July 2, 1778, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts hanged Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner and Continental soldier Ezra Ross, together with British soldiers Sgt. James Buchanan…
A Second Bonaparte: Searching for the Character of Alexander Hamilton
byThomas 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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Morris’s Misidentification: Miscasting Thomas Jefferson as an Obsessive Compulsive Personality
byThe 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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The Early Years: John Adams Lists Abigail’s Faults and Abigail Replies!
byAs 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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John Adams: A Liberal Congregationalist and the American Revolution
byThere 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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Interview: Sarah Jane Marsh
byToday, 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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The First Countries to Diplomatically Recognize the United States
by“Diplomacy is seduction in guise …”, whispered Benjamin Franklin to his fellow commissioner John Adams. “One improves with practice.” Although the quote isn’t real…
New JAR Book: John Adams vs Thomas Paine: Rival Plans for the Early Republic by Jett B. Conner
byWe 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 and the Molding of William Vans Murray, Peacemaker
byJohn 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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John Adams: Portrait of the Founder as a Young Schoolmaster
byBefore 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 Remarkable Spanish Pilgrimage of John Adams
byThe 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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How John Adams Won the Hancock Trial
byHistorian 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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Adams vs. Paine: A Critical Debate
byThere is a tendency today to lump the Founding Fathers together as though somehow they thought alike, acted in unison and actually got along…
How John Adams Almost Undermined the French Alliance
byOn September 27, 1779, John Adams was appointed “Minister Plenipotentiary for negotiating a Treaty of Peace and a Treaty of Commerce with Great Britain.”…
George Washington’s Top 10 Talents According to John Adams
byCrotchety 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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Ages of Revolution: How Old Were They on July 4, 1776?
byIt’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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“No Taxation without Representation” (Part 2)
byIn 1765 Parliament instituted a Stamp Act for the North American colonies, which proved wildly unpopular from Savannah to Halifax, and ultimately unworkable. The…