American Revolution

Portrait of Benjamin Franklin

Ben Franklin Was One-Fifth Revolutionary, Four-Fifths London Intellectual

The enterprising Philadelphian was late to adopt the revolutionary cause, but infused America with English ideals

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton (Mrs. Alexander Hamilton), 1787, Ralph Earl (1751-1801).

Elizabeth Hamilton Once Posed for a Portrait in a New York City Prison

There was a dire need for painters to immortalize America’s elites

Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, circa 1787.

Why Elizabeth Hamilton Is Deserving of a Musical of Her Own

How the founding father’s wife kept their love alive in the face of tragedy

Students pledged to speak only Latin, Greek or Hebrew in each other's company in this 1712 note.

Read About Drama, Politics, Breakfast in These Newly Digitized Colonial Documents

An ambitious Harvard University project brings history to life, archiving nearly half a million documents online

A fragment of a scuttled Revolutionary War-era ship discovered at a Virginia construction site.

Revolutionary War-Era Ship Found at Hotel Construction Site

The scuttled ship could reveal new details about how American colonists built their boats

Illustration of the slave revolt in Haiti, and what slaveholders in the United States feared.

The History of the United States’ First Refugee Crisis

Fleeing the Haitian revolution, whites and free blacks were viewed with suspicion by American slaveholders, including Thomas Jefferson

This 1789 illustration by W.D. Cooper recreates the protest of December 16, 1773.

For the First Time in 242 Years, British Tea Will Be Dumped Into the Boston Harbor

Drink up, patriots!

The manuscript found in the attic

An Intern Saved a Museum by Finding This Revolutionary War Treasure in the Attic

The obvious lesson: never throw anything away

Revolution-Era Building Buried Beneath Future Hotel Uncovered by Construction Crew

Intact foundations, including wooden beams, floorboards and what might even be a repurposed ship’s mast, were found just 8 feet underground

Why Marquis de Lafayette Is Still America's Best Friend

A conversation with Sarah Vowell about her new book, the American Revolution and what we can learn from the Founding Fathers

James Monroe (L) and Alexander Hamilton (R) nearly dueled each other, but an unlikely political ally stepped in

That Time When Alexander Hamilton Almost Dueled James Monroe

And it was an unlikely ally who put a stop to their petty dispute

Why Do Astronauts on the International Space Station Float and More Questions From Our Readers

You asked, we answered

John Paul Jones, an American naval hero during the Revolutionary War, was later known for wooing the women of France.

John Paul Jones and His Romantic Romp Through Paris

After the naval hero gained acclaim in the American Revolution, he met many adorers in the French city

How Rum Helped the U.S. Win Its Independence

Rum may was a key player in America's revolutionary days

The Hermione, 17 years in the making, replicates the original wartime frigate that ferried the Marquis de Lafayette to America in 1780.

The Marquis de Lafayette Sails Again

Now that the ship that the Frenchman took on his 1780 trip to America has been rebuilt, its time to revisit his role in history

Benjamin Franklin reading letters, which may or may not have been written by his female friends.

The Founding Fathers and the Women, Not Their Wives, Whom They Wrote To

These words today would raise suspicion if written between married men and their female friends

Captain Loebl of the US Coast Guard, Sector New York cuts the birthday cake for Alexander Hamilton at the Museum of American Finance

Crashing Alexander Hamilton's Birthday Weekend

Each year, admirers of the oft-neglected Founding Father gather for a multi-day birthday celebration ranging across Manhattan.

A newspaper was the first item found upon opening the capsule.

What Was Found Inside the Oldest American Time Capsule

Historians in Boston have just cracked open a brass box originally buried in 1795 by Paul Revere and Samuel Adams

George Washington's only complete set of dentures, made out of lead, human teeth, cow teeth and elephant ivory.  

George Washington Didn’t Have Wooden Teeth—They Were Ivory

Washington's teeth were made of a lot of things, but not wood

The Forum was among the many sights in Rome that amazed Copley, who said he was “feasting my eyes.”

When Colonial America’s Greatest Painter Took His Brush to Europe

John Singleton Copley left for Europe on the eve of the American Revolution. A historian and her teenage son made the trip to see why

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