Special Report
America’s 250th Anniversary
To mark the 250th anniversary of America’s founding on July 4, 1776, Smithsonian magazine is highlighting the people, places and events that shaped the United States’ fight for independence from Great Britain
What Spurred the South to Join the American Revolution?
How a disagreement with a Scottish lord over westward expansion, a cache of gunpowder, and the future of enslaved labor helped kick-start the southern colonies’ embrace of the radical cause
Discover Patrick Henry’s Legacy, Beyond His Revolutionary ‘Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death’ Speech
Delivered 250 years ago, the famous oration marked the height of Henry’s influence. But the politician also served in key roles in Virginia’s state government after the American Revolution
Newly Discovered Letters Illuminate the Life of a Female Printer Who Published Revolutionary Texts and Pushed the Colonies Toward Independence
As Virginia’s first female newspaper publisher, Clementina Rind emphasized women’s viewpoints and collaborated with prominent politicians like Thomas Jefferson
Discover the Short Life and Long Legacy of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish Cavalry Officer Who Became an American Revolutionary Hero
On the first Monday in March, Pulaski Day festivities at Chicago’s Polish Museum of America honored the “Father of American Cavalry,” 280 years after his birth
Was This Little-Known Standoff Between British Soldiers and Colonists the Real Start of the American Revolution?
On February 26, 1775, residents of Salem, Massachusetts, banded together to force the British to withdraw from their town during an oft-overlooked encounter known as Leslie’s Retreat
America’s First ‘Viral’ Post Was Published on This Day in 1776, When Thomas Paine’s ‘Common Sense’ Sparked a Revolution
The Englishman’s pamphlet helped spur the 13 colonies to declare independence from Britain
More From the Archives
Why Faneuil Hall Is the Perfect Metaphor for the American Revolution’s Complicated Definition of Liberty
How a lively market on Boston Harbor became part of many defining moments of the Colonial and Revolutionary eras
These Black Soldiers Fought for the British During the American Revolution in Exchange for Freedom From Slavery
The Carolina Corps achieved emancipation through military service, paving the way for future fighters in the British Empire to do the same
How Did British Politicians React to America’s Attempts at Independence? Rather Poorly!
When the Colonies got too brassy, the English Parliament went ballistic—despite some wise voices of reason
At a Bold Meeting 250 Years Ago, the Continental Congress Set America in Motion
While far less famous than the coalition that met in 1775, this group of founders found agreement in their disagreements and laid the groundwork for a revolution
Founders and Unsung Heroes
What the American Revolution Taught the United States' First Presidents
A new book by historian William E. Leuchtenburg examines how the first six commanders in chief embodied the revolutionary spirit and set precedents that shaped their successors' tenures
Did the Midnight Ride of Sibyl Ludington Ever Happen?
What to make of the alluring legend of the New York teen who warned that the Redcoats were coming
Mary Katharine Goddard, the Woman Whose Name Appears on the Declaration of Independence
Likely the United States' first woman employee, this newspaper publisher was a key figure in promoting the ideas that fomented the Revolution
The Father of the Nation, George Washington Was Also a Doting Dad to His Family
Though he had no biological children, the first president acted as a father figure to Martha's descendants
Catalysts for Revolution
A Fresh Look at the Boston Massacre, 250 Years After the Event That Jumpstarted the Revolution
The five deaths may have shook the colonies, but a new book examines the personal relationships forever changed by them too
![The Bostonians’ “preferred outcome” was for the tea to be “peacefully sent back to London,” says historian Benjamin L. Carp. “It’s only when they find out … the governor is not going to let [that happen] that they say, ‘Well, we have no choice [but] to destroy [the tea].”](https://th-thumbnailer.cdn-si-edu.com/lLFEV_l4bYrTwLVuyHA0XPdcBVc=/450x300/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/43/66/43662967-ea0e-4ff2-8c9a-6f79fb77e472/tea-party.jpg)
The Many Myths of the Boston Tea Party
Contrary to popular belief, the 1773 protest opposed a tax break, not a tax hike. And it didn't immediately unify the colonies against the British
At a Bold Meeting 250 Years Ago, the Continental Congress Set America in Motion
While far less famous than the coalition that met in 1775, this group of founders found agreement in their disagreements and laid the groundwork for a revolution
Was This Little-Known Standoff Between British Soldiers and Colonists the Real Start of the American Revolution?
On February 26, 1775, residents of Salem, Massachusetts, banded together to force the British to withdraw from their town during an oft-overlooked encounter known as Leslie's Retreat
The Revolutionary War
The True Story of the Battle of Bunker Hill
Nathaniel Philbrick takes on one of the Revolutionary War’s most famous and least understood battles
Myths of the American Revolution
A noted historian debunks the conventional wisdom about America's War of Independence
Molly Pitcher, the Most Famous American Hero Who Never Existed
Americans don't need to rely on legends to tell the stories of women in the Revolution
The American Revolution Was Just One Battlefront in a Huge World War
A new Smithsonian exhibition examines the global context that bolstered the colonists’ fight for independence