Portal:American Revolution

←

Class E - American History

American Revolution

→

Class

E

Main/Index

This page links to documents of historical importance related to the American Revolution and the subsequent war.

Stamp Act of 1765 by the British Parliament, after the 4th French and Indian war, also known as the Seven Years' War
Declaration of Rights and Grievances by the Stamp Act Congress 1765
Virginia Resolutions Against the Stamp Act by Patrick Henry, passed by the Virginia House of Burgesses on May 29, 1765
Quartering Act of 1765 by the British Parliament
Declaratory Act aka the American Colonies Act of 1766 (6 Geo. 3. c. 12), by the British Parliament, accompanying repeal of the Stamp Act and amendment of the Sugar Act
The w:Townshend Acts by the British Parliament
- The Revenue Act of 1767 passed on 29 June 1767.
- The Commissioners of Customs Act 1767 passed on 29 June 1767.
- The Indemnity Act 1767 passed on 2 July 1767.
- The New York Restraining Act 1767 passed on 2 July 1767.
- The Vice Admiralty Court Act 1768 passed on 8 March 1768.
Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania by John Dickinson
the Massachusetts Circular Letter by the Massachusetts House of Representatives

A Journal of Occurrences in Boston 1768-1770, series of articles chronicling occupation by the British.
Accounts of the w:Boston Massacre in which British Officers fired on a mob of colonists, killing five.
- A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre by Boston town hall, principally James Bowdoin
- A Fair Account of the Late Unhappy Disturbance in Boston by Lieutenant-Governor Thomas Hutchinson
- John Adams diary by John Adams, who had defended the British Officers against charges of murder.

Tea Taxes and Tea Parties

Tea Act of 1773 13 Geo. 3. c. 44 by the Portal:British Parliament, 10 May 1773. C.f. w:Tea Act
Philadelphia resolves October 16 1773 at the Pennsylvania State House, Independence Hall, organized by Benjamin Rush Colonel William Bradford, Thomas Mifflin, Dr. Thomas Cadwalader, and Philadelphia "Sons of Liberty" leading to the w:Philadelphia Tea Party.
To His Fellow Countrymen, On Patriotism by Benjamin Rush October 20, 1773
Boston resolves November 29, 1773 at Fanueil Hall organized by Samuel Adams and the "Sons of Liberty", leading to the w:Boston Tea Party.
Edenton Resolves, Edenton, North Carolina, Oct. 25, 1774 Edenton Tea Party by the "w:Daughters of Liberty" C.f. Homespun movement and other Boycotts.

Pre-war escalation

Portal:Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament in 1774
- Boston Port Act
- Massachusetts Government Act
- Administration of Justice Act
- Quartering Act of 1774. This and the earlier Quartering Act of 1765 were the reason for the 3rd Amendment to the United States Constitution. They are cited as 13th grievance in the Declaration of Independence.
- Quebec Act
States' response to the Intolerable Acts

Responses by the First Continental Congress in 1774
Conciliatory Resolution passed by the British Parliament in February 27, 1775

Give me liberty or give me death, speech by Patrick Henry March 23, 1775 at the Second Virginia Convention, as recalled by William Wirt

Armed Rebellion

The w:Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775 initiating the w:Boston campaign, whose main action was

the w:Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775
- The Committee of Safety’s Account of The Battle of Bunker Hill, 25 July 1775, [1]
- An account of the battle of Bunker's Hill by Henry Dearborn and Israel Putnam, [2]

Responses by the Second Continental Congress in 1775
- Declaration of the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms (July 6, 1775)
- Olive Branch Petition (July 8, 1775)
- Report on Lord North's Conciliatory Resolution July 31st, 1775
A Proclamation for Suppressing Rebellion and Sedition by King George III 23rd August 1775
Speech on the Rebellion in the American Colonies by King George III 27th October 1775
Response of the Continental Congress to the Proclamation of Rebellion by King George III 6th December 1775 by the Second Continental Congress
Essays Upon The Making Of Salt-Petre And Gun-Powder (1775 & 1776)
Lord Dunmore's Proclamation
Philipsburg Proclamation, w:Philipsburg Proclamation

Revolutionary War

Lee Resolution 1st June 1776, and its original copy by Richard Henry Lee
Declaration of Independence adopted 4th July 1776 by the Second Continental Congress
- "Original Rough Draught" of the Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson
Liberty Further Extended: Or Free Thoughts on the Illegality of Slave-Keeping 1776 essay by Author:Lemuel Haynes
1776 Declaration of Dependence by Loyalists after the w:Landing at Kip's Bay and the w:Battle of Harlem Heights
Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union by the Portal:United States Congress § Second Continental Congress
The American Crisis by Author:Thomas Paine, published on December 19, 1776.
National Thanksgiving Proclamation (1777) by Samuel Adams and the Second Continental Congress in recognition of the Continental Army win against the British in the Battle of Saratoga, N.Y.

Peace Treaties

Franco-American Treaty of Alliance, and Treaty of Amity and Commerce (France–United States), both signed February 6, 1778 by Benjamin Franklin, Arthur Lee and Silas Deane on behalf of the United States, and Conrad Alexandre Gérard for France, leading to the w:Anglo-French War (1778–1783). The w:Treaty of Amity and Commerce (France–United States) had a secret clause that allowed Spain and other European nations to join. C.f. w:Treaty of Alliance (1778)
The Taxation of Colonies Act 1778 (18 Geo. 3. c. 12) by the British Parliament 11th March 1778, C.f. w:Taxation of Colonies Act 1778
Treaty of Aranjuez on April 12, 1779, in which Spain allied with France against Britain. C.f. w:Treaty of Aranjuez
Declaration of Armed Neutrality by Empress Catherine II of Russia on 11 March [O.S. 28 February] 1780
Tripartite convention for the League of Armed Neutrality in August 1780, between Denmark-Norway, Sweden, and Russia. When the United Province of the Netherlands attempted in December 1780 to accede to the w:First League of Armed Neutrality, Britain declared war, the w:Fourth Anglo-Dutch War.
Dutch-American treaty of commerce and amity, October 1782
Treaty of Paris (1783) negotiated by Benjamin Franklin and John Adams and John Jay and minister plenipotentiary David Hartley of his Brittannic majesty, ending the American Revolutionary war.
Treaty of Paris (1783), in which the United Kingdom recognizes the United States
The Hessians and the other German auxiliaries of Great Britain in the revolutionary war
The German Element in the War of American Independence
The Adventures Of A Revolutionary Soldier

Eyewitness Narratives and Testimonies

Martha Moulton's testimony and reward, 4 Feb 1776
Statements of American combatants at Lexington and Concord contained in supplement "Official Papers Concerning the Skirmishes at Lexington and Concord" to The Military Journals of Private Soldiers 1758–1775, by Abraham Tomlinson for the Poughkeepsie, NY, museum, 1855, [3]
Author:Philip Vickers Fithian
The Adventures Of A Revolutionary Soldier by Author:Joseph Plumb Martin
Familiar Letters of John Adams and His Wife Abigail Adams During the Revolution by Author:Abigail Adams and Author:John Adams (1735-1826)
Benedict Arnold's letter To the Inhabitants of America (1780) by Benedict Arnold
The Sentiments of an American Woman, 1780 by Esther De Berdt Reed
Letter to Jacob Green (1783) by Nathanael Greene

Analysis

"The American Revolution", in Lectures on Modern History by John Acton (1906)
"Sovereignty in the American Revolution", in The American Historical Review by Claude H. Van Tyne (1907)
History of the Rise, Progress, and Termination of the American Revolution by Mercy Otis Warren (1805)
"The Sentiments of an American Woman", by Esther De Berdt Reed (1780)
Timeline of the American Revolution by the Valley Forge National Historical Park division, United States National Park Service (2006)

Literature and poetry

The Partisan by William Gilmore Simms (1835)
"Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1861)
"The American Rebellion" by Rudyard Kipling (1911)
Concord Hymn by Author:Ralph Waldo Emerson

Maryland	Chestertown Resolves (May 1774) Talbot Resolves (May 1774) Bush River Resolution (March 1775)
Massachusetts	Suffolk Resolves (September 1774)
New York	Orangetown Resolutions (July 1774) A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress (December 1774) The Farmer Refuted (February 1775)
North Carolina	Rowan Resolves (August 1774) Edenton Tea Party (October 1774) Mecklenburg Resolves or Declaration (May 1775) Liberty Point Resolves (June 1775) Tryon Resolves (August 1775) Halifax Resolves (April 1776)
Virginia	Loudoun Resolves (June 1774) Fairfax Resolves (July 1774) Fincastle Resolutions (January 1775) Augusta Resolves (February 1775) Augusta Declaration (May 1776) Virginia Declaration of Rights (June 1776)