In the following excerpt from American Rebels, Nina Sankovitch discusses the education of John Hancock and John Adams from childhood schoolhouses and tutors to Harvard.
Taxes, duties, and the stationing of troops to enforce payment of both were all causes of the American rebellion against the British. But not the only causes.
Some people think there was a Battle of Valley Forge. There could well have been, because 2,000 American soldiers died there. Or what we know about Valley Forge is an illustration we saw in middle-school Social Studies … Read the article
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania February 16, 1778 Mid-morning
George Washington’s army is desperate.
It has been a miserable winter, with rebel troops camped just eighteen miles away from the British Army, which is comfortably housed in Philadelphia. While … Read the article
In Paris for Bastille Day, President Donald Trump said, “France is America’s oldest ally. A lot of people don’t know that,” and added, “France helped us secure our independence, a lot of people forget.”
My new book, … Read the article
The War of 1812, often called “the forgotten conflict,” is probably the least understood American war. Just as frequently, it is described as the Second War of American Independence. This is because of a persistent fallacy … Read the article
With the help of the newly arrived Marquis de Lafayette, Washington and the Continental Army ventured open battle to … Read the article
A characteristic of Washington’s generalship was that he always left his army opportunities either to withdraw or attack. Winter’s onset … Read the article
When John Singleton Copley painted a portrait of Paul Revere in 1768, he depicted an idealized image of one of Boston’s leading artisans. Revere, then in his mid-thirties, sits behind a polished … Read the article
Born on the Pennsylvania frontier, Margaret Cochran was orphaned when her parents were killed during the French and Indian war. The five-year-old was taken in by relatives and knew the pangs of poverty. … Read the article