Revolutionary War

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• 9/19/2021
  

  Teaching "All Men are Created Equal" (Part II)

  by Jeff Schneider

  In the second part of this essay, a longtime teacher of American history maintains that a close reading of the Declaration of Independence makes it possible to discuss revolution and racism in a thoughtful way without intimidating either white students or students of color.

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• SOURCE: History.com
  8/25/2021
  

  What Did the Continental Congresses Do?

  From the runup to the Revolution to the adoption of the Constitution, three Continental Congresses were the de facto national government. Here's what they did. 

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• SOURCE: Smithsonian
  8/16/2021
  

  What an Englishwoman’s Letters Reveal About Life in Britain During the American Revolution

  by Julie Flavell

  "Jane was convinced that her husband had embarked on a humanitarian errand. She believed the British war machine that carried him to New York was not intended to drive the Americans to desperation, but to force them to the negotiating table."

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• 6/27/2021
  

  Escape as Resistance for Enslaved Women during the American Revolution

  by Karen Cook Bell

  Historians have, for too long, failed to recognize how Black women imagined and pursued freedom by escape from slavery during the American Revolution. 

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• SOURCE: New York Daily News
  5/2/2021
  

  ‘A Tale of the Forgotten Patriots’: New Brooklyn Tour Explores History of British Prison Ships Moored in NYC During the American Revolution

  New York's East River was a mooring site for British prison ships where Colonial revolutionary prisoners were held in dangerous (and disgusting) conditions. 

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• 4/18/2021
  

  Who Won the American Revolution?

  by Guy Chet

  Almost since the smoke cleared after the Battle of Lexington, Americans have debated the relative merits of the militias and the Continental Army in fighting the British. The relative esteem of each group has followed changes in the politics of the nation. 

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• SOURCE: History.com
  2/3/2021
  

  America’s First Black Regiment Earned Their Freedom by Fighting Against the British

  Philip Morgan says the decision to enlist both free and enslaved Black troops resulted both from Rhode Island's difficulty mustering a sufficient all-white force and George Washington's fear that Lord Dunmore's offer of freedom to enslaved men who joined the British army would undermine the slavery-based economy of Virginia and the southern colonies. 

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• SOURCE: Saturday Evening Post
  1/28/2021
  

  The American Revolution’s Most Inspiring Patriots Include Enslaved African Americans

  by Ben Railton

  Enslaved African Americans in Massachusetts petitioned the legislature in 1777 to demand the principles of the Declaration of Independence be applied to secure their freedom, beginning a tradition of critical patriotism, of exposing the gap between national ideals and reality to push for change.

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• SOURCE: The Metropole
  1/19/2021
  

  Early American Urban Protests — A Review Of Boston’s Massacre

  A review of Eric Hinderaker's new book "Boston's Massacre" highlights the shifting narrative of the events and their place in the national story, and the perpetually unanswered conflict between limits of authority and those of popular protest.

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• 10/11/2020
  

  Paul Revere Made the Boston Massacre a Flashpoint for Revolution.

  by Philip Gerard

  The incident that became known as the Boston Massacre didn't have to happen, and didn't have to become a flashpoint for violence after. As political tensions break into violence today, it's worthwhile to think about Boston in 1770.

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• SOURCE: WBUR
  8/25/2020
  

  In N.H. Town, Calls To Put Up Statue Of Black Revolutionary War Hero

  Wentworth Cheswill had an integral role in what may have been the first true battle of the Revolutionary War in Porsmouth, New Hampshire.

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• 6/21/2020
  

  Peace is Temporary Without Trustworthy Leaders: Lessons from the Philadelphia Mutiny

  by David Head

  In an environment of intense mutual suspicion—soldiers accused civilians of stingy ingratitude while civilians saw the army as a threat to their liberty—Washington’s trustworthiness bound the two sides together.

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  5/14/2020
  

  Familiar Story of the Boston Massacre Becomes Familial

  A review of Serena Zabin's upcoming book "The Boston Massacre."

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• SOURCE: History.com
  5/13/2020
  

  Smallpox Inoculations in 1770s Were Risky, But Helped George Washington Win the War

  Historian Elizabeth Fenn notes that Washington recognized the need to negate a British advantage: endemic smallpox in Britain made his enemy less susceptible to the disease rampant in the colonies. 

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• Lexington and Concord -- Where the Rubber Meets the Road

  by Guy Chet

  The Revolution was, first and foremost, a war.  The Revolution’s battles and campaigns thus offer sound insights as to the rebels’ motivation and aims. 

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• SOURCE: Boston Globe
  2/27/2020
  

  A Historian Finds Women, Children, and ‘Family History’ at the Boston Massacre

  “What happens when we think of this as an event that is populated by women and children as well as just guys with guns?”

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• 10/13/19
  

  Author Christian Di Spigna Is On a Mission to Honor a Revolutionary War Hero

  by Michael McQuillan

  A review of Founding Martyr: The Life and Death of Dr. Joseph Warren, the American Revolution’s Lost Hero.

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• 7/28/19
  

  Would Slavery Have Ended Sooner if the British Won the American Revolutionary War?

  by Keith Brooks

  After its victory, the U.S. went on to become an empire unparalleled in history, its wealth origins rooted largely in slave labor. 

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• SOURCE: National Review
  5/27/19
  

  The American Revolution’s Starving, Barefoot, Heroic Troops

  Our young nation was very poor, the war was very expensive, and Congress and the states wanted everyone else to pay.

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• SOURCE: NY Times
  5/11/19
  

  Why We Still Care About America’s Founders

  by Rick Atkinson

  Despite their flaws, their struggle continues to speak to the nation we want to become.