The British army was sent to Massachusetts to maintain order. It started a war instead. This is how our Revolutionary War began.
Imagining the Battle of Lexington
Graphic images of the Battle of Lexington, evolving over more than a century, have shaped the way Americans understand the beginning of the Revolutionary War.
A Revolution in Tar and Feathers
The story of John Malcom, coated with tar and feathers, reflects the changing nature of protest on the eve of the American Revolution.
The Enduring Importance of the American Revolution
The American Revolution is our national epic and the source of freedom in American life.
The Glorious Second of July
Before we declared our independence on July 4 we had to decide that we were independent. On July 2, 1776, we defied fear and doubt and became a nation.
Lessons from the Boston Massacre
On the night of March 5, 1770, a party of British soldiers shot and killed five Bostonians in an event known ever since as the Boston Massacre. The killings shook the loyalty of Britain’s North American colonists to the British government. John Adams wrote that the “foundation of American independence was laid” that night. The basic outline of what happened is well established, although the fine details are elusive. The soldiers who participated in the killings were tried for murder, and dozens of eyewitness accounts were entered into...
Above: The Battle of Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, Carl Rochling (1855-1920), late 19th century, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Gift of the estate of C.H.T. Collis, 1929
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