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American Revolution

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There's More to That

Dive Into the Deeper Story of the American Revolution on How New England and Virginia United Against the British

Inside the steeple of Old North Church and among the Southern Colonies, less familiar stories of the events from 250 years ago emerge

Silas Deane, left, worked with Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, center, to secure gunpowder from Antoine Lavoisier, right. 

America's 250th Anniversary

How an American Merchant, a French Official and a Pioneering Chemist Smuggled Much-Needed Gunpowder to the Continental Army

The trio’s scheming became a crucial element of the fledgling nation’s success in the Revolutionary War

Patrick Henry rallies armed Virginian farmers before marching toward Williamsburg, Virginia, May 1775.

America's 250th Anniversary

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

The excavations that uncovered the British fortifications took place at the site of a proposed single-family home in St. Augustine, Florida.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Rare Reminder of Britain’s Brief Reign Over the ‘Nation’s Oldest City’

The find offers archaeological evidence of the 20-year interlude when the British ruled St. Augustine, Florida, which was founded by the Spanish in 1565

Washington Crossing the Delaware, Emanuel Leutze, 1851

America's 250th Anniversary

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

A 19th-century lithograph of Patrick Henry's "give me liberty or give me death" speech

America's 250th Anniversary

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

A statue of Clementina Rind, a trailblazing publisher and printer who took over the Virginia Gazette after her husband's death, is featured in the Virginia Women's Monument.

America's 250th Anniversary

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

The president of Poland, the senior United States senator from Illinois and much of the Chicago political machine gathered beneath this painting, Pulaski at Savannah, on the first Monday in March.

America's 250th Anniversary

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

“Here … we claim the first blow was struck in the war of independence,” wrote Salem historian Charles Moses Endicott in his account of Leslie's Retreat.

America's 250th Anniversary

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

On February 20, 1792, George Washington made sure the post office would remain part of the federal government, establishing the postmaster role first held by Benjamin Franklin as the head of a permanent cabinet department, the Post Office Department.

On This Day in History

Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Gloom Stopped the United States Post Office Department From Launching on This Day in 1792

The American Revolution cemented the importance of a federally protected post office in the minds of the people and politicians

Written in 1777, the letter from George Washington is expected to sell for $150,000.

You Can Buy a Rare Letter by George Washington Written at a Crucial Turning Point in the Revolutionary War

In the optimistic missive, Washington extols the revolutionary spirit of the American people—even in defeat—and makes a rare reference to the experimental smallpox inoculation that helped prevent outbreaks

Washington at Princeton, Charles Willson Peale, 1779

This Historic Portrait of George Washington Is Being Restored to Its Former Glory

The 18th-century painting by Charles Willson Peale had previously been the subject of mismanaged restoration attempts. Now, experts in Versailles are bringing it back in line with the artist’s original intent

This copy of the Declaration was printed by Robert Luist Fowle of New Hampshire.

This Rare Printing of the Declaration of Independence Could Sell for $4 Million

Made by a printer in New Hampshire, this 1776 broadside edition was created to disseminate America’s founding document to the public

Portrait of Thomas Paine by Laurent Dabos

America's 250th Anniversary

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

Atop Faneuil Hall sits a grasshopper weather vane, imitating a similar one on London’s Royal Exchange.

America's 250th Anniversary

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

Between July 1776 and June 1826, Jefferson recorded weather conditions in 19,000 observations across nearly 100 locations.

Discover Why Thomas Jefferson Meticulously Monitored the Weather Wherever He Went

The third president knew that the whims of nature shaped Americans’ daily lives as farmers and enslavers

Painted around 1730, the angels were covered up in 1912.

Conservators Are Uncovering Elaborate Angel Murals Hidden Behind Seven Layers of White Paint at a Colonial-Era Church

The colorful wall paintings adorn Boston’s Old North Church, which played a crucial role during Paul Revere’s famed 1775 midnight ride

An 1812 illustration of a private from the Fifth West India Regiment. In the 1790s, the remaining members of the Carolina Corps became part of the newly established First West India Regiment.

America's 250th Anniversary

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 do scientists know which insects can see color?

Can Insects See Color? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

One side of the coin is stamped with a simple "NE" to represent New England, while the other side features Roman numerals to denote its value.

American Colonists Minted This Humble Silver Coin in 1652. It Just Sold for $2.52 Million

Settlers in Massachusetts needed cash, but England wouldn’t send any. So, they created their own mint in Boston and began making coins

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