Tag: John Dickinson

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German Soldier, American Rebel: Christopher Ludwick’s Pursuits of Happiness in Revolutionary Pennsylvania

Popular narratives of the American Revolution rank Christopher Ludwick, at best, among the extras in the imperial dramatis personae, a bit player who performed as honest gingerbread baker or amusingly spoke of himself in the third person.[1] Fortunately, his limited historiographical presence more seriously depicts him as superintendent of bakers for the Continental Army and […]

by Shawn David McGhee
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Christopher Gadsden and the Origins of a Revolutionary

Christopher Gadsden arrived as a South Carolina delegate to the Second Continental Congress three weeks after fighting at Lexington and Concord lit the tinder for the American Revolution. He succinctly captured the backlash of collective anxiety when he created the iconic flag of a coiled and agitated rattlesnake conspicuously warning Britain of the ramifications with […]

by George Burkes
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John Dickinson and His Letters

On December 2, 1767, there appeared in the Pennsylvania Chronicle the first letter in a series collectively called “Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania.” The anonymous first letter came at a critical time in the growing debate between Britain and her colonies over colonial policy. By late 1767, when the first of the letters appeared, […]

by Jude M. Pfister
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Thomas Jefferson and the Conditions of Good History: Writing About the American Revolution

Thomas Jefferson has a Thucydidean, or fact-based, approach to the praxis of history. Evidence of that approach appeared early in his life, in his Literary Commonplace Book. There, Jefferson, quoted Henry St. John, Lord Bolingbroke (1678–1751), who wrote of history, rightly practiced. For history to be authentic, Jefferson, continuing to copy Bolingbroke, added that “these […]

by M. Andrew Holowchak
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This Week on Dispatches: James M. Smith on How America Declared Its Rights

On this week’s Dispatches, host Brady Crytzer interviews JAR contributor James M. Smith on the political, legal, and philosophical influences considered by the First Continental Congress in the formulation of their Declaration of Rights, a 1774 draft that declared the American colonies independent, yet was never brought up for a full vote in that congress. […]

by Editors
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Documents of the Revolution: A Continuum of Conviction

Those familiar with American history know that the Articles of Confederation served as the first constitution of the unified states during the American Revolution. A foundational document, it begins by establishing the name of the confederation of colonies as “The United States of America.” The creation of the Articles is intimately tied with the drafting […]

by Christopher Warren
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Josiah Quincy, Jr.

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 is, he was not a member of the Continental Congress, a military hero, a leader of a movement or group, or an author of an influential work, and because he died […]

by Bob Ruppert
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Stephen Moylan: More than a War Hero

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 several years; his extraordinary career has earned him a place in theatrical history. Joseph Reed became president of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Executive Council, Thomas Mifflin was the first governor of Pennsylvania and […]

by Jeff Dacus