Soldiers fighting in the Battle of Bennington during the American War of Independence

Revolutionary Atrocity

For the Americans, narratives about the savagery of the British became an important part of nation-building and a moral justification for armed rebellion.
The Liberty Tree in Boston, where the Committee of Correspondence often gathered. It was chopped down by the Loyalists in 1775.

The Letter That Helped Start a Revolution

The Town of Boston’s invention of the standing committee 250 years ago provided a means for building consensus during America’s nascent independence movement.
A press gang seizing a seaman

The Role of Naval Impressment in the American Revolution

Maritime workers who were basically kidnapped into the British Royal Navy were a key force in the War of Independence.
Alexander Hamilton by John Trumbull

The Erotic Appeal of Alexander Hamilton

The handsome Founding Father has always had a robust fandom—even before the ten-dollar bill, or a certain musical.
The Bloody Massacre, perpetrated in King-Street, Boston, on March 5th, 1770 by Paul Revere

Crispus Attucks Needs No Introduction. Or Does He? 

The African American Patriot, who died in the Boston Massacre, was erased from visual history. Black abolitionists revived his memory.
Mary Wollstonecraft early republic

Women’s Rights in the Early Republic

The U.S.A.'s founders focused on the rights of white men to vote, own property, and govern. The idea that women should have similar rights came later.
Jefferson statue

What Are We to Make of Thomas Jefferson?

There is perhaps no more enigmatic figure in American history than Thomas Jefferson, born April 13, 1743. How should his legacy be understood today?
The Death of General Mercer at the Battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777

Immigration and National Security on George Washington’s Day

Presuming that immigration was a boon to national security, U.S. borders remained mostly open for the first century of the nation’s existence.
Articles of Confederation

The Constitution Most Americans Have Forgotten About

The Articles of Confederation set off the long-running feud between states' rights and Washington, a debate that still rages today.
Benedict Arnold

How Benedict Arnold Helped Win the Revolution

Some historians think Benedict Arnold's treason may well have aided the American cause in the Revolutionary War.