First British Royalty to Visit the American Colonies

The First Member of the British Royalty to Visit the American Colonies One of the lesser-known episodes of the American Revolution involved the future William IV (r. 1830 to 1837), then known as Prince William Henry, who became the first and only member of Britain’s royal family to visit the American colonies. Arriving in British-occupied […]

The Real Revolution in “Common Sense”

Thomas Paine Didn’t Just Call for Independence — He Tried to Destroy the Idea of Kings By early 1776, many American colonists were angry with Britain — but that did not necessarily mean they opposed monarchy itself. In fact, many still believed kings were natural, legitimate, even divinely sanctioned rulers. That is what makes Thomas […]

The First Salute to America

For a fledgling nation fighting for its survival, any recognition of its sovereignty—however small and symbolic—becomes an important confirmation of its independence. And not surprisingly, for those who oppose that nascent nation’s independence, those very same gestures are viewed as potentially perilous steps toward full diplomatic recognition. That principle played out throughout the American Revolution. […]

Were Lexington and Concord Spontaneous? Rethinking April 19, 1775

April 19, 1775 was not a spontaneous uprising Did the of Battles of Lexington and Concord happen spontaneously? That’s what I learned in school. And I think that’s what most of us learned—if not explicitly, then through the way the story is told. From school, you probably remember Paul Revere’s Ride. The alarm spreading across […]

A Monarch Who Almost Abdicated During the American Revolution

The American Declaration of Independence lists 27 grievances against King George III. It portrays him as an all-powerful tyrant—or as Dr. Richard Bell puts it, “Nero, Richard III, and Attila the Hun all rolled into one.” But that image misses something important. Behind the posture of control, the American Revolution tormented and wounded the King […]

India and the Global Forces Behind the British Defeat at Yorktown

In Analyzing American Revolution, the global nature of the Revolutionary War has become an inescapable theme. As you will see in the examples below, many of our guest scholars reference and discuss how the fighting in the Thirteen American Colonies transformed into a truly world-spanning conflict. It should therefore come as no surprise that Britain’s […]

Who Refused Britain’s Call for Troops in the American Revolution

Unlike the French, the Habsburgs and the Russians, the British Empire was predominantly a naval power. This was both its great strength and a persistent weakness. It was a strength because, well into early 20th century, no rival could match Britain’s command of the seas. Naval dominance meant control over global shipping lanes—the lifeblood of […]

Samuel Adams and the Question of Independence

On April 3, 1776—just three months before the Declaration of Independence—Samuel Adams wrote from Philadelphia, where he was serving as a Massachusetts delegate to the Second Continental Congress. In a letter to fellow Massachusetts native Reverend Samuel Cooper of Boston, he posed a striking question: “Is not America already independent? Why then not declare it?” […]

“We Have It In Our Power to Begin the World Over Again”

In “Common Sense”, Thomas Paine wrote, “We have it in our power to begin the world over again” to urge American colonists to break from British rule and create a new, independent, and democratic republic. In the answer to our quiz, we mentioned there is a twist: this famous sentence was not published in the […]

American Revolution vs. American Isolationism

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Revolution — and one we were barely taught in school — is its global context. What many of us learned in school was a story of colonial protest, British taxation, and rising American resistance. That story is not wrong. But it is incomplete. The American Revolution was […]