American Revolution

Featuring titles written during or about the American Revolution, this Collection delves into the history of the 1776 war. Selections include the foundational texts and speeches that led up to the colonists' conflict with Great Britain, as well as biographies of key political figures and historical fiction titles. The Collection highlights a diversity of perspectives and historically underrepresented voices through titles that examine the role of women, colonialism and imperialism, and enslavement in the founding of the United States.

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David McCullough
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Genre Book, NonfictionTags American Revolution, History: U.S.

1776 is a biography of the American Revolutionary War written by historian David McCullough. Published in 2006, the book is a companion piece to John Adams (2001), a biography McCullough wrote about the second US president. Though the Revolutionary War did not officially end until the Treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, the text follows George Washington, King George III, Nathanael Greene, Henry Knox, and other key figures as it examines crucial military events.In... Read 1776 Summary


Publication year 2004Genre Biography, NonfictionTags Colonial America, History: U.S., American Revolution

Alexander Hamilton is a 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton, written by Ron Chernow. Beginning with Hamilton’s birth in the Caribbean, the book traces Hamilton’s story from his childhood, to his early years in America, to his rise as one of the most admired—and reviled—politicians and statesmen that the country would ever see. The popular music Hamilton is based on the story told in Chernow’s book, and shows the development of both America, and one of its... Read Alexander Hamilton Summary


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Phillis Wheatley
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Publication year 1772Genre Poem, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: EqualityTags American Revolution, Colonial America, History: U.S.

Publication year 2007Genre Book, NonfictionTags History: U.S., Colonial America, American Revolution

American Creation is a 2007 nonfiction book by Joseph Ellis that covers the successes and failures of the founders of the United States from 1775 to 1803. Ellis starts with the year and three months that set in motion the colonies’ declaration of independence and subsequent revolution. In this eventful year, the British played the worst possible hand they could, removing the possibility of reconciliation. The colonists included fiery and impetuous rebels such as Patrick... Read American Creation Summary


Publication year 2016Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: WarTags History: U.S., Politics / Government, American Revolution

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Jim Murphy
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Publication year 2014Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Science & TechnologyTags Health / Medicine, History: U.S., Politics / Government, Race / Racism, American Revolution

Published in 2003, Jim Murphy’s An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 is a historical nonfiction book for young adults that provides a detailed look into Philadelphia’s yellow fever epidemic of 1793. As Murphy documents how yellow fever emerged and spread throughout the city, he demonstrates how society operated in what was then the nation’s capital and largest city in the late 1700s. He focuses on urban... Read An American Plague Summary


Publication year 2019Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: ColonialismTags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Military / War, American Revolution, Colonial America, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People is a 2019 adaptation of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s 2015 nonfiction book. Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese adapted the material for middle-grade audiences. The original publication received the American Book Award, and this version is a 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Young Adult Honor Book with recognition from the National Council for the Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council. This book tells the perspective of... Read An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People Summary


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Howard Fast
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Publication year 1961Genre Novel, FictionThemes Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Religion & SpiritualityTags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, Military / War, History: U.S., Religion / Spirituality, Relationships, American Revolution

April Morning is a historical fiction work by Howard Fast, a prolific author whose writings spanned the bulk of the 20th century. Published in 1961, midway through Fast’s career, the novel is one of many he wrote on the Revolutionary War and the birth of America. Originally intended for a general audience, it came to be regarded as a young adult novel as many middle and high school English programs included it in their curriculum... Read April Morning Summary


Publication year 1791Genre Autobiography / Memoir, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Fame, Society: Community, Society: Politics & Government, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Life/Time: Midlife, Values/Ideas: Science & Technology, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / PerseveranceTags History: U.S., Politics / Government, Inspirational, American Revolution, Age of Enlightenment

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin was written in pieces from 1771 to 1790. The work was first published in 1791 in Paris, France, after Franklin’s death as The Private Life of the Late Benjamin Franklin. The autobiography was then published in London in 1793. In his writing, Franklin reflects upon his academic, professional, and philosophical pursuits. He examines how he advanced his economic and social standing during the formation of the United States, covering from... Read Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin Summary


Publication year 2003Genre Biography, NonfictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Society: Politics & Government, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Science & TechnologyTags History: U.S., American Revolution, Politics / Government

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Laurie Halse Anderson
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Publication year 2008Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: EqualityTags Historical Fiction, American Revolution, Race / Racism

Laurie Halse Anderson's middle-grade novel Chains (2008), a National Book Award finalist and Scott O’Dell Historical Fiction Award winner, is the first installment in her Seeds of America series. The historical fiction, set in 18th-century New York City, follows a young Black girl on her journey to escape slavery while the sparks of the colonists’ rebellion gradually ignite the American Revolution. The protagonist, 13-year-old Isabel Finch, narrates her search for identity while caring for her... Read Chains Summary


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Thomas Paine
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Publication year 1776Genre Essay / Speech, NonfictionTags Politics / Government, American Revolution

The all-time bestselling published work in America, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense helped ignite a revolution that changed the world. Released in January 1776, the pamphlet condemned the arbitrary rule of Britain’s King George III and his Parliament, and it urged colonists to rise up against their oppressors and replace colonial rule with a democratic republic of free and equal citizens. Common Sense helped inspire rebel leaders to declare American independence six months later. An e-book... Read Common Sense Summary


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Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Publication year 1836Genre Poem, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: courageTags Military / War, American Revolution

Publication year 2004Genre Book, NonfictionTags History: U.S., American Revolution, Colonial America

Published in 2004, Cokie Roberts’s Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation is a non-fiction, historical study of the role women played in establishing the United States as an independent nation. This study guide refers to the first edition of the text, published by William Morrow-HarperCollins in 2004.  In her introduction, Roberts recalls her childhood delight at hearing tales of her ancestor William Claiborne, who met the Founding Fathers. However, she recognizes that she... Read Founding Mothers Summary


Publication year 1991Genre Novel, FictionTags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, American Revolution

George Washington’s Socks is a 1991 children’s novel by American writer Elvira Woodruff. Combining aspects of historical fiction with children’s fantasy, George Washington’s Socks is the first installment of Woodruff’s Time Travel Adventures series. Its primary audience is middle grade readers aged 8 to 11. Additionally, teachers of literature and history share the book with classes at a variety of grade levels.Plot SummaryTen-year-old Matt Carlton can’t wait to get to the inaugural meeting and campout... Read George Washington's Socks Summary


Publication year 1775Genre Essay / Speech, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Religion & SpiritualityTags History: U.S., Politics / Government, American Revolution

Patrick Henry, widely considered a Founding Father of the United States, delivered his speech “Give me Liberty, or Give me Death” to the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. The goal of the convention was to decide how to handle Britain’s military threat. Henry believed in fighting for independence—the speech’s immediate goal was to convince Virginia to raise a militia—while others wanted to compromise with Britain. Although no manuscript of Henry’s speech exists, accounts from convention... Read Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death Summary


Publication year 2021Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Gender, Identity: Masculinity, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: ConflictTags Historical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, American Revolution

Publication year 2004Genre Biography, NonfictionTags History: U.S., American Revolution

Historian Joseph J. Ellis was fascinated by George Washington ever since Ellis’ boyhood in Alexandria, Virginia, where Washington’s estate, Mount Vernon, is located and his historical presence was strongly felt. By the time Ellis wrote His Excellency: George Washington in 2004, he had already produced several popular books about early American history. His Excellency is a more intimate biography of Washington than many previously written, focusing as much on the subject’s character as on his... Read His Excellency: George Washington Summary


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Esther Forbes
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Publication year 1943Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: War, Society: Politics & Government, Self Discovery, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: courageTags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Action / Adventure, American Revolution

Originally published in 1943, Esther Forbes’s Johnny Tremain is a classic middle-grade historical fiction/adventure novel. After a prideful accident ends 14-year-old Johnny Tremain’s promising career as a silversmith, his search for a new trade leads to his direct involvement in the early events of the American Revolution. The novel won a Newbery Medal and explores themes of self-sacrifice, humility, and change. Citations in this study guide refer to the 2018 eBook edition released by Houghton... Read Johnny Tremain Summary


Publication year 2005Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Community, Society: Immigration, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: ColonialismTags Creative Nonfiction, American Revolution

Publication year 2011Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Society: ColonialismTags History: U.S., American Revolution, Politics / Government, Military / War

Publication year 1966Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & GovernmentTags History: U.S., Politics / Government, American Revolution

Miracle at Philadelphia is a 1969 work of history by Catherine Drinker Bowen. It is a detailed account of the Constitutional Convention that took place from May to September 1787 in Philadelphia, resulting in the original drafting of the United States Constitution. It remains one of the most highly regarded popular accounts of the Convention, especially for its rich portraits of the delegates that provides a vivid sense of political debates and social life.This study... Read Miracle At Philadelphia Summary


Publication year 1974Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & BetrayalTags Historical Fiction, American Revolution, Military / War

My Brother Sam Is Dead tells the story of the Tim Meeker and his family during the years of the American Revolutionary War. Published in 1974, the novel won many awards, including a Newbery Honor, an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book designation, and National Book Award nomination. James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, the authors, are brothers who together wrote a series of historical novels for young adults. James, a journalist, wrote most of... Read My Brother Sam Is Dead Summary


Publication year 2019Genre Biography, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Nation, Identity: RaceTags History: U.S., Race / Racism, African American Literature, American Revolution

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Hannah Arendt
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Publication year 1963Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: War, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & InjusticeTags Philosophy, Politics / Government, History: World, American Revolution

Publication year 1861Genre Poem, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: courage, Life/Time: The Past, Society: NationTags Narrative / Epic Poem, American Revolution, History: U.S.

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Washington Irving
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Publication year 1819Genre Short Story, FictionTags Classic Fiction, Colonial America, American Revolution

After failing to establish a career as a lawyer, Washington Irving (1783-1859) turned to writing. Distancing himself from British literature, Irving sought to create a wholly American folktale for American readers, sprinkled with American geography, mores, and folklore. His first attempt, “Rip Van Winkle,” is one of the earliest examples of the short story in Western literature. Published in 1819 in Irving’s short story collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. (which also features... Read Rip Van Winkle Summary


Publication year 1775Genre Essay / Speech, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Nation, Society: ColonialismTags Politics / Government, History: U.S., American Revolution, Colonial America

Publication year 1776Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Nation, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Good & EvilTags Politics / Government, History: U.S., American Revolution

Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis is a series of pamphlets published between 1776 to 1783 during the American Revolutionary War. Paine uses eloquent, emotional language to persuade the American people to support their states’ new union and contribute to the revolutionary cause. Paine idealizes Americans and their country’s origins to galvanize them to fight for independence, rather than submit themselves to the indignity of being British colonial subjects. Paine uses his platform to attack the... Read The American Crisis Summary


Publication year 2003Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Nation, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Class, Society: Immigration, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Politics & GovernmentTags History: U.S., Immigration / Refugee, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Black Lives Matter, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, American Revolution, American Civil War, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Colonial America, Sociology

The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation, originally published in 2003 by Oxford University Press, is a popular history book by American cultural historian Jim Cullen. As an overview and critical analysis of the American Dream, this book adds some meat to the bones of a traditionally ambiguous concept. Cullen maintains an optimistic outlook about the usefulness of the various American Dreams and about the promise of America, despite... Read The American Dream Summary


Publication year 1781Genre Essay / Speech, NonfictionThemes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: EqualityTags Politics / Government, American Revolution

Benjamin Franklin’s “Articles of Confederation” was the first of six drafts placed before the Continental Congress, and it draws from earlier historical context while also having lasting effects on his contemporaries’ views of a unified nation.Franklin presented the document to the Second Continental Congress in 1775, just as the American Revolution was beginning. The document is composed of 13 individual articles outlining a new confederated government for the colonies in America. Ultimately, the Continental Congress... Read The Articles of Confederation Summary


Publication year 1776Genre Essay / Speech, NonfictionThemes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: NationTags History: U.S., Politics / Government, American Revolution

The Declaration of Independence is one of the founding documents of the United States of America. The text was written primarily by Thomas Jefferson in June of 1776 after the Second Continental Congress appointed him the chair of the Committee of Five (the others were John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Robert Livingston, and Roger Sherman), a group designated to draft a statement declaring the American colonies independent from Great Britain. Jefferson based his draft on existing... Read The Declaration of Independence Summary


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Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay
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Publication year 1787Genre Essay Collection, NonfictionThemes Society: Politics & GovernmentTags Politics / Government, History: U.S., American Revolution

The Federalist Papers is a collection of 85 essays, most of which were published as serialized articles between October 1787 and April 1788, by the American statesmen Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay. Released under the pseudonym Publius, a common name in ancient Rome derived from the word for “the people” or “of the people,” The Federalist Papers were written to persuade the voters of New York state to ratify the US Constitution. The... Read The Federalist Papers Summary


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Avi
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Publication year 1984Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: War, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Justice & InjusticeTags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Military / War, American Revolution

The Fighting Ground, a novel by children’s writer Avi, tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who runs away from home to join the American Revolution. The book gives a minute-by-minute account of one day in the boy’s life and the hard lessons he learns about war. First published in 1984, the novel won several honors, including the Scott O’Dell Award, but it was also challenged or banned in some school districts for its use... Read The Fighting Ground Summary


Publication year 1967Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: ColonialismTags History: U.S., Politics / Government, Colonial America, American Revolution

Publication year 1976Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Daughters & SonsTags History: U.S., American Revolution

The Minutemen and their World is a history of 18th-century Concord, a Massachusetts town located approximately twenty miles west of Boston. The town is famous for the Transcendentalist writers who produced their works there, but it is perhaps even more famous as the site of the first battle of the American Revolution, when the famed “shot heard round the world” was fired at the town’s North Bridge (xvi). The book’s author, Robert A. Gross, describes... Read The Minutemen and Their World Summary


Publication year 2010Genre Biography, NonfictionTags History: U.S., American Revolution

The Notorious Benedict Arnold: A True Story of Adventure, Heroism and Treachery, written by Steven Sheinkin and published in 2010, is a biography for young readers about one of America's notable war heroes who was also her most famous traitor—Benedict Arnold. How this startling reversal came about is traced in the book, which is rigorously researched yet presented in the manner of an adventure novel. Sheinkin confronts the moral ambiguities that lie at the heart... Read The Notorious Benedict Arnold Summary


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James Fenimore Cooper
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Publication year 1823Genre Novel, FictionTags Classic Fiction, American Revolution

The Pioneers, written by James Fenimore Cooper and published in 1823, tells the interlocking story of three characters in the fictional frontier town of Templeton, New York (based on the real Cooperstown, New York) between Christmas Eve 1793 and October 1794. The Pioneers is the fourth chronological story of five novels Cooper wrote about the region, henceforth known as the Leatherstocking Tales series. The protagonist is Nathaniel “Natty” Bumpo (or Leatherstocking), an elderly but extremely... Read The Pioneers Summary


Publication year 1991Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: EqualityTags History: U.S., American Revolution, Politics / Government

The Radicalism of the American Revolution (1991) is a non-fiction book written by American historian and Brown University professor Gordon S. Wood. Most revolutions are an act of violence that result in deaths, property destruction, and a world turned upside down. Americans do not see the American Revolution this way. The American founding fathers were educated men who wrote pamphlets and spoke openly in legislative halls. As the story goes, they were gentlemen, not radicals... Read The Radicalism of the American Revolution Summary


Publication year 2022Genre Biography, NonfictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Life/Time: The Future, Relationships: Teams, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Order & ChaosTags History: U.S., Politics / Government, American Revolution, Military / War