American Revolution
The Satirical Genius of Benjamin Franklin’s 1774 Letter to Lord North
“A friend to military government.” That’s not what we’d expect from one of the leading supporters of American independence, but that’s just how Benjamin Franklin signed his “Open Letter to Lord North.” While many American colonists confronted arbitrary British power...
Prelude to Independence: Thomas Jefferson Declares British Acts Null and Void
“A nullity” and “we declare these acts void” This was the bold conclusion about British Acts that Thomas Jefferson came to in his powerful pamphlet A Summary View of the Rights of British America. Written nearly two years before the...
The Treaty of Paris: How the War for Independence Almost Didn’t End
Signed on Sept 3, 1783 – the Treaty of Paris has long been called the formal end to the War for Independence. But the war didn’t officially end on that date with the signatures of Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and John Jay. The treaty, made with 13 free,...
Before Lexington and Concord: The British Gun Grab That Nearly Sparked the Revolution
Despite the fact that it proved to be mostly a false alarm, the “Powder Alarm” of Sept 1-2, 1774 showed the colonists that the British were serious – and willing to use gun control efforts to subjugate them. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? In response,...