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
How Women in New Jersey Gained—and Lost—the Right to Vote More Than a Century Before the 19th Amendment Granted Suffrage Nationwide
Vague phrasing in the state’s Revolutionary-era Constitution enfranchised women who met specific property requirements. A 1790 law explicitly allowed female suffrage, but this privilege was revoked in 1807
These Daring Revolutionary-Era Artists Promoted the Patriot Cause From the Heart of Enemy Territory
A new book explores how painters, sculptors and writers, especially women and people of color, used their craft to advocate for American independence while living in George III’s capital city
This Forgotten Founding Father Hoped to ‘Die Up to My Knees in Blood’ in the Fight for American Independence. He Got His Wish
Joseph Warren was a key leader of the American Revolution, mobilizing troops and managing a circle of spies. But he’s mainly remembered for his death at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775
The National Archives Museum Is Using A.I. to Take Visitors on an Immersive Journey Through American History
Called “The American Story,” the new permanent exhibition will guide museumgoers through two million historic documents and artifacts
Meet the Defiant Loyalists Who Paid Dearly for Choosing the Wrong Side in the American Revolution
American colonists who aligned with the British lost their lands, their reputations and sometimes even their lives
Revolutionary War-Era Gunboat Found Underneath World Trade Center Wreckage Finds a Permanent Home in Upstate New York
Researchers are reassembling the ship, which was likely built in the 1770s near Philadelphia
More From the Archives
How the Thirteen Colonies Tried—and Failed—to Convince Canada to Side With Them During the American Revolution
After peaceful attempts at alliance-building stalled, the Continental Army launched an ill-fated invasion of Quebec in June 1775
See the Colorful Flags That the Patriots Unfurled as They Fought in the American Revolution
At the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, a new exhibition has gathered together 17 historic flags that served as symbols of liberty
Paul Revere Wasn’t the Only Midnight Rider Who Dashed Through the Darkness to Warn the Patriots That the British Were Coming
Revere, who was later immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous poem, was one of many riders who rode through the countryside, spreading the alarm on April 18, 1775
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
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