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.

Publication year 1775

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Nation, Society: Colonialism

Tags Politics / Government, History: U.S., American Revolution, Colonial America


Publication year 1776

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Nation, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Good & Evil

Tags 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 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes 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 & Government

Tags 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, Education, Education, Business / Economics, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Arts / Culture

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 1781

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags 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 1776

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Nation

Tags History: U.S., Politics / Government, American Revolution, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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


Publication year 1787

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Politics & Government

Tags Politics / Government, History: U.S., American Revolution, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

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


Publication year 1993

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: War, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Love, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Friendship, Self Discovery, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, American Revolution


Publication year 1984

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Society: War, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice

Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Military / War, American Revolution, History: World

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 1967

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Colonialism

Tags History: U.S., Politics / Government, Colonial America, American Revolution, American Literature, History: World, Philosophy, Philosophy


Publication year 1976

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Values/Ideas: Good & Evil, Relationships: Daughters & Sons

Tags History: U.S., American Revolution, Education, Education, Military / War, History: World

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 2010

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Tags History: U.S., American Revolution, Children's Literature, Military / War, History: World, Biography

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


Publication year 1823

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Classic Fiction, American Revolution, American Literature, History: World, Historical Fiction, Western, Action / Adventure

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 1991

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Equality

Tags History: U.S., American Revolution, Politics / Government, American Literature, History: World

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 2022

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes 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 & Chaos

Tags History: U.S., Politics / Government, American Revolution, Military / War, History: World, Biography


Publication year 1976

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Identity: Gender, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Family, Society: War

Tags Children's Literature, Education, Education, History: U.S., History: World, Historical Fiction, American Revolution, Action / Adventure


Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Life/Time: Childhood & Youth

Tags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Military / War, History: World, American Revolution, Action / Adventure

Woods Runner, by Gary Paulsen, is a young adult, historical fiction novel. It takes place during the American War for Independence (1776) from the point of view of a 13-year-old frontier boy. The novel was published by Random House in 2010 and is a favorite in schools because of its educational passages that provide valuable historical information to the reader. Paulsen’s Author’s Note and Afterword explain his desire to show war for the grotesque and... Read Woods Runner Summary