American Revolution & Revolutionary Era America - Directory of Online Resources

History > U.S. > Early America> Revolutionary Era

See also State & Local History

The American Revolution
"...serve as a complement to the official companion site to PBS's Liberty! documentary series.
From H-Net

The American Revolution - (dead link)
The Struggle for Independence
Sections include: Articles ; Headlines ; Links ; Shopping.

American Revolution and Its Era: - (dead link)
Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies, 1750-1789
"Most of the items presented here are documented in Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies, 1750-1789: A Guide to the Collections in the Library of Congress compiled by John R. Sellers and Patricia Molen van Ee in 1981. The bibliography contains approximately 2,000 maps and charts..."
American Memory Project, Library of Congress

Bill of Rights Original Proposal Draft
Karpeles Manuscript Library

Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People
"This site explores an untold story of our nation's history: how Canada became the home of the first settlements of free blacks outside Africa.
"The Documents section contains a number of original historical documents which we have transcribed for your use, including several first hand accounts of life as a Black Loyalist in Nova Scotia. In addition we have court records, official proclamations, personal letters, and a wealth of other material, all of which may be cited at your leisure. A separate page describes a number of valuable secondary sources, historians, and web sites you may wish to consult for further information."
In addition to the Documents section this well designed site includes: Our Story ; People ; Communities ; Loyalist Now ; Timeline
- From Canada's Digital Collections

A Century of Law making for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1873
"Beginning with the Continental Congress in 1774, America's national legislative bodies have kept records of their proceedings. The records of the Continental Congress, the Constitutional Convention, and the United States Congress make up a rich documentary history of the construction of the nation and the development of the federal government and its role in the national life. These documents record American history in the words of those who built our government...In order to make these records more easily accessible to students, scholars, and interested citizens, A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation brings together online the records and acts of Congress from the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention through the 43rd Congress, including the first three volumes of the Congressional Record, 1873-75."
- American Memory, Library of Congress

  • The Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States
    United States Serial Set Numbers 2484 to 2589
    U.S. Congressional Documents
    "The six-volume set entitled The Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States, from House Miscellaneous Document No. 603 of the U.S. Serial Set, was compiled by Dr. Francis Wharton and promulgated on August 13, 1888, by both houses of Congress."

Common Sense
Thomas Paine, 1776.

The David Library of the American Revolution
"...primarily a microform archive of approximately 10,000 reels that contain an estimated 8 million pages of documentation. The collection is supported by a reference collection of 40,000 books and pamphlets in both bound volumes and microcards. Although the main focus is on the American Revolution, in recent years the library has been augmenting its materials on the French and Indian War and the early national periods. Microfilm holdings currently include over 200 collections from domestic and foreign repositories."

The Declaration of Independence
"This site provides a wealth of information about the signers of the Declaration, the history of the Declaration, and an online version of the Declaration for you to read...The site also provides links to other Declaration-related biographies and histories and a guestbook where you are invited to add comments and ideas. This site is a good resource for anyone curious about the Declaration and its history, or for the student who needs resources for his or her research paper."
- ushistory.org

Declaring Independence: Drafting the Documents
Sections include: Chronology of Events (June 7, 1776 to January 18, 1777) ; Drafting the Documents ; Objects in the Exhibition.
An online exhibit from the Library of Congress

Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789 - (dead link)
"The Continental Congress Broadside Collection (253 titles) and the Constitutional Convention Broadside Collection (21 titles) contain 274 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution. Items include extracts of the journals of Congress, resolutions, proclamations, committee reports, treaties, and early printed versions of the United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Most are one page in length, others range from 1 to 28 pages."
- American Memory, Library of Congress

The Founders' Constitution
 "In this unique anthology, Philip B. Kurland and Ralph Lerner draw on the writings of a wide array of people engaged in the problem of making popular government safe, steady, and accountable. The documents included range from the early seventeenth century to the 1830s, from the reflections of philosophers to popular pamphlets, from public debates in ratifying conventions to the private correspondence of the leading political actors of the day."
Web edition, University of Chicago Press and Liberty Fund

FoundingFathers.info
Sections include: The American Flag ; Virtual Postcards ; Don't Tread on Me! ; The Federalist Papers Online ; History of the USA ; Founding Fathers Quotes ; History Clippings.

George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress
"The complete George Washington Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 65,000 items (176,000 pages). This first release includes forty-one letterbooks (about 8,000 pages). Document types include correspondence, letterbooks, commonplace books, diaries, journals, financial account books, military records, reports, and notes, accumulated by Washington from 1741 through 1799."
Library of Congress

George Washington
1st President of the United States: 1789-1797
Includes First and Second Inaugural addresses, and his Annual Messages
A page out of From Revolution to Reconstruction

George Washington Papers Homepage
Washington's correspondence
"The 135,000 Washington documents now deposited in photographic form in the project's offices represent one of the richest collections of American historical manuscripts extant."
Selected documents are currently available
- University of Virginia

George Washington Resources
- Electric Text Center, University of Virginia

Intelligence in the War of Independence
Sections include: G. Washington ; Organization of Intelligence ; Intelligence Operations ; Intelligence Techniques ; Personalities.
- Publication of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-1789
Edited by Paul H. Smith, et al. (1976-93)
"19,000 documents written by the more than 300 persons who served as delegates to the first and second Continental Congresses during or very near the time of each person's actual service."
- Electric Text Center, University of Virginia

Library of Congress - American Memory

  • The Rochambeau Map Collection
    "...contains cartographic items used by Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau (1725-1807), when he was commander in chief of the French expeditionary army (1780-82) during the American Revolution. The maps were from Rochambeau's personal collection, cover much of eastern North America, and date from 1717 to 1795. The maps show Revolutionary-era military actions, some of which were published in England and France, and early state maps from the 1790s."

Maryland Loyalist and the American Revolution - (dead link)
Includes links, sound files, rolls, and more.
By M. Christopher New

Massachusetts Historical Society

  • Adams Papers - (dead link)
    "The papers comprise over a quarter million manuscript pages of the letters and diaries of generations of Adams husbands, wives, and children including John Adams (1735-1826) and Abigail Adams (1744-1818), John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) and Louisa Catherine Adams (1775-1852), and Charles Francis Adams (1807-1874) and Abigail Brooks Adams (1808-1889)...The papers cover every major political development from the 1750s to the 1880s."
  • The Decisive Day is Come: The Battle of Bunker Hill
    "...the Massachusetts Historical Society presents its first "web exhibition" -- personal accounts and eyewitness descriptions of the battle, along with contemporary maps, drawings, engravings, broadsides, and artifacts, either preserved by the participants or found on the battlefield."

A Multitude of Amendments, Alterations and Additions (etext)
The Writing and Publicizing of the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States.
By Ann Marie Dube, 1996.

National Park Service

  • Colonial National Historical Park (Jamestown and Yorktown, PA)
    "Colonial National Historical Park (NHP) administers two of the most historically significant sites in English North America. Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607, is administered jointly with the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, and Yorktown Battlefield, the final major battle of the American Revolutionary War in 1781."
    Sections include: Cape Henry Memorial ; Jamestown National Historic site ; Yorktown National Cemetery

National Park Service Museum Collections: An American Revolution
"This multi-park exhibit showcases museum and archival collections at selected National Park Service sites. Featured sites and collections commemorate significant events and individuals of the American Revolutionary War [1775-1783]."

New Jersey Division of Archives & Records Management (NJDARM)

PBS - Benjamin Franklin (November 2002)
An Extraordinary Life, An Electric Mind
Companion site to the TV broadcast.
Sections include: Citizen Ben ; Wit and Wisdom ; Inquiring Mind ; World of Influence ; Timeline ; Ben A To Z ; Teacher's Guide ; Explore ; Resources.

PBS - Liberty! - The American Revolution
Companion website to TV broadcast.
"...is a dramatic documentary about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of a loosely connected group of states to become a nation. The George Foster Peabody award-winning series brings the people, events and ideas of the revolution to life through military reenactments and dramatic recreations performed by a distinguished cast."
Sections include: Chronicle of The Revolution ; Liberty! The Series ; Perspectives on Liberty ; The Road to Revolution Game ; Teacher's Guide ; Resources.

Rare Map Collection - Revolutionary America
The University of Georgia

Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress
"The complete Thomas Jefferson Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 27,000 documents. This is the largest collection of original Jefferson documents in the world. Document types in the collection as a whole include correspondence, commonplace books, financial account books, and manuscript volumes.... In its online presentation, the Thomas Jefferson Papers comprises approximately 83,000 images."
- American Memory Project, Library of Congress

Thomas Paine National Historical Association - (dead link)
Includes an online archive of all his major works

University of Georgia Hargrett Library Rare Map Collection
"...maintains a collection of more than 800 historic maps spanning nearly 500 years, from the sixteenth century through the early twentieth century."
Site contents include: New World ; Colonial America ; Revolutionary America ; Revolutionary Georgia ; Union & Expansion ; American Civil War ; Frontier to New South ; Savannah & the Coast ; Transportation.

University of Michigan Clements Library
"...houses original resources for the study of American history and culture from the fifteenth to the early twentieth century."

  • Spy Letters of the American Revolution
    From the Collections of the Clements Library
    "The preservation and availability of the Sir Henry Clinton collection at the Clements Library provides an amazingly complete look at the everyday intelligence operations of both the British and American armies. Many of the letters highlighted in this digital exhibit were pivotal to the success and failures of sieges, battles, and surprise attacks."
    Sections include: Letters ; Stories ; Methods ; People ; Routes ; Timeline ; Teacher's Lounge.

ushistory.org
Created and hosted by the Independence Hall Association in Philadelphia.
Feature sites include: America's Most Historic Mile ; The Electric Franklin ; Betsy Ross House ; Liberty Bell ; Valley Forge ; Brandywine Battlefield ; Revolutionary War 1777.

York County Heritage Trust

  • Nine Months in York Town
    "On November 15, 1777 the Articles of Confederation, our nation's first constitution, were adopted in York Town by the Continental Congress. In celebration of the Article's 225th Anniversary, special events will be held from August 2002 to and July 2003 in York, Pennsylvania. This celebration takes its name from James McClure's book Nine Months in York Town."
    Sections include: History ; Education ; Media Center ; Links.

Wikipedia - (dead link)
"The Free Encyclopedia"

  • American Revolutionary War - (dead link)
    "The American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence) was a war fought between the Kingdom of Great Britain and its North American colonies (these colonies allied with France, from 1775 to 1783). This war is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the American Revolution; however, the American Revolution began much earlier and refers to more than just the war discussed here. This page refers solely to the military campaign, conducted during the war."

See also State & Local History




Maintained by Mike Madin.
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Academic Info http://www.academicinfo.net/usearlyrev.html