Category: American Revolution

Did You Know John Adams Once Put His Career at Risk to Defend the Right to a Fair Trial?

Across New England, snow fell early in the day on March 5, 1770. In Boston, a single sentry, Private Hugh White, grenadier of the 29th Regiment of Foot, stood watch at the Customs House, a soldier of one of the two regiments of His Majesty’s Army remaining in the city to keep the peace and…


This 18th-Century American Woman Boosted Morale in the Revolutionary War and Helped Inspire the Cotton Gin

Catharine Littlefield, born in 1775 in what was then the British colony of Rhode Island, would grow up to become a dedicated wife and supporter of those around her, as well as a woman who could take action on her own when needed. Her mother died early during her childhood, and she was sent to…


Liberty Tree: A Look at Thomas Paine’s Song Celebrating the Beauty of American Freedom

In a chariot of light from the regions of day, The Goddess of Liberty came; Ten thousand celestials directed the way And hither conducted the dame. A fair budding branch from the gardens above, Where millions with millions agree, She brought in her hand as a pledge of her love, And the plant she named…


The Oldest Revolutionary War Hero

“Old Sam” Whittemore was about 80 when he encountered a British army of about 1,700. If a standard retirement age or the right to claim disability had existed in colonial America, Samuel Whittemore would probably not have felt these things were right for him. He was just one of the many minutemen who dropped his…


‘Join, or Die’: Ben Franklin’s Warning of a Divided America

Benjamin Franklin published “Join, or Die”—now considered to be the most famous colonial political cartoon—on May 9, 1754. It appeared in “The Disunited State,” an editorial in his Pennsylvania Gazette, which was the most successful newspaper in the colonies at that time. The symbolism of the cartoon’s fragmented snake is significant, and the message is…


George Washington: Like a Culprit to His Execution

“My movements to the chair of Government will be accompanied with feelings not unlike those of a culprit who is going to the place of his execution.” These were the unenthusiastic words of George Washington, written to fellow Revolutionary War veteran Henry Knox on April 1, 1789, not long before his nearly inevitable election as…


The Values in the Declaration of Independence

Commentary Americans today are the heirs to a long chain of Anglo-American constitutional documents. The chain began with a charter issued by King Henry I in 1100. It continued through Magna Carta (1215), the Petition of Right (1628), the English Bill of Rights (1688/89), and charters for the British colonies. Among the significant American documents…


Macdonald’s Legacy (Part 3): Canadian Confederation’s Indispensable Man

Commentary This is Part 3 of a multi-part series examining Macdonald’s legacy. Click here for Part 1 and Part 2. Rightly or wrongly, for better or worse, the essence of Canadian nationhood has always centred around the single-minded conviction that we are not American. Descendants of British Empire Loyalists, French Canadians, northern indigenous peoples, and…


Poetry, Almanacks, and Spelling Bees

Upon seceding from Britain, her thirteen former colonies immediately began to lay the foundations of an independent humanities tradition. One could argue, of course, that the process of creating a uniquely “American” literature was already well underway long before the Revolution even began—with William Bradford’s “History of Plymouth Plantation,” for example, or the poetry of…


The French Revolution Is Attacking the American Revolution

Commentary “That’s insane!” These days, how often do we say those words? The litany could go on and on. Dr. Seuss is suddenly persona non grata, six of his books removed from publication because they are “racist” and “hateful.” That’s insane! Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has become a widely reviled personality because she claims…