Refusing to lead a military coup against the Continental Congress in 1783 put the new nation on track to have civilian leadership under law. Most of us know that George Washington refused a third term as president of the United States. He set a precedent followed by all other presidents except for FDR and it[…]
Joseph Warren’s political activism began with his writings about the Stamp Act, and he began to be noticed as a public figure in 1766. By George C. Wildrick Dr. Joseph Warren (Figure 1) was one of the remarkable men of the Enlightenment who defies single labels. He was a man of demonstrated physical and moral[…]
Loyalist individuals were inspired to action or inaction by a variety of motives, only some of which had to do with ideological concerns. The Revolutionary War was also in many ways a civil war. Approximately one-fifth of Americans supported Britain during the Revolution, although their exact numbers are uncertain due to the inherent difficulty in[…]
When their cause was defeated, about 15 percent of the Loyalists (65,000–70,000 people) fled to other parts of the British Empire. Introduction Loyalists were American colonists who stayed loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War, often referred to as Tories, Royalists, or King’s Men at the time. They were opposed by the[…]
Loyalists comprised 15-20% of the colonial population during the Revolutionary War. The Patriots “Patriots,” as they came to be known, were members of the 13 British colonies who rebelled against British control during the American Revolution, supporting instead the U.S. Continental Congress. These Patriots rejected the lack of representation of colonists in the British Parliament[…]
A noted historian debunks the conventional wisdom about America’s War of Independence. Introduction We think we know the Revolutionary War. After all, the American Revolution and the war that accompanied it not only determined the nation we would become but also continue to define who we are. The Declaration of Independence, the Midnight Ride, Valley[…]
What do the ghosts of that bloody history whisper to us now? At this moment that feels like a hinge in history—when America will swing either toward authoritarianism or toward a more just and liberal democracy—the ghosts of history rise up and speak to us. Five of those ghosts lay in the snowy gutters of[…]
Mackintosh played a key role in riots and other events related to the protest and eventual repeal of the Stamp Act in March 1766. Where it is: The marker can be seen in North Haverhill, just east of Horse Meadows Cemetery. It’s on the west side of Route 10, about 1.7 miles south of the[…]
These acts worked, inadvertently, towards unifying colonists against British policy. Abstract The purpose of my project is to analyze how Virginians responded to the Intolerable Acts of 1774, which were mostly aimed towards Boston and Massachusetts. This analysis consists mainly of coal county and town resolutions passed during the summer of 1774 in response to[…]
It can be traced, in part, to the Enlightenment and its profound impact on colonial thinking. Political The Revolution generated radical changes in the principles, opinions, and sentiments of the American people. New ideas and issues affected social customs, political ideals, and gender and racial roles as the thirteen colonies evolved into the United States.[…]
The original Green Mountain Boys were a militia in what is now Vermont in the decade prior to the American Revolutionary War. Introduction The Green Mountain Boys was a militia organization first established in the late 1760s in the territory between the British provinces of New York and New Hampshire, known as the New Hampshire[…]
Soldiers were typically yeoman farmers with a sense of honor and status and an ideological commitment to oppose British tyranny. Introduction The Continental Army was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the former British colonies that later became the United States of America. Established by a[…]
The term has also been applied to various later civilian paramilitary forces trying to recall the success and patriotism of the originals. Introduction Minutemen were civilian colonists who independently organized to form militia companies self-trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. They were known[…]
The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker’s Hill, 17 June, 1775, by John Trumbull / Museum of Fine Arts, Boston For both French and American artists, there was an initial interest in depicting the events of the American Revolution in the 1780s, followed by a later wave of art in the 1820s[…]
John Trumbull, The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, 1786–1820, oil on canvas, 20 7/8 x 31 inches / 53 x 78.7 cm (Yale University Art Gallery) Like many artists of the early-Federal period, the name John Trumbull is not one immediately recognized by most Americans. But his paintings are. By Dr. Bryan Zygmont / 02.25.2016 Associate[…]
This painting depicts the forces of British Major General Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1738-1805) (who was not himself present at the surrender), surrendering to French and American forces after the Siege of Yorktown (September 28 – October 19, 1781) during the American Revolutionary War. By John Trumbull, 1820 / Wikimedia Commons By Dr. Christopher H.[…]
Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – The Second Continental Congress 1.1 – Introduction During the Revolutionary War, the Second Continental Congress acted as the national government of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion. Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull, 1819: The resolution for independence was among the most important accomplishments of the[…]
Engraving of the Boston Tea Party by E. Newberry, 1789 / New York Public Library Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 02.27.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – The Seven Years’ War, 12754-1763 1.1 – The French and Indian War The French and Indian War was fought between the colonies of Great Britain and New France,[…]
George Washington Crossing the Delaware, by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (1851) / Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York By (left-to-right) Dr. Michael D. Hattem, Dr. Jessica M. Parr, and Dr. Mark Boonshoft / 08.14.2017 Hattem: PhD Candidate in Early American History, Yale University Parr: Historian of the Early Modern British Atlantic Boonshoft: Assistant Professor of[…]
Baron von Steuben at Valley Forge, 1777, by Augustus G. Heaton, 1907 / National War College By Mrs. Harriet D. Eisenberg I have chosen to look up particulars concerning the daily life of the soldier at Valley Forge in the awful winter of 1777-8. And as no historian can picture the life of any period so vividly[…]