Websites

Africans in America: Revolution 1750-1805

"The story of the American Revolution as traditionally recounted is the saga of the thirteen colonies fighting their colonial ruler, Britain, for independence. But an equally compelling part of the story is the personal, religious, and legal challenges of African Americans of this period and their allies to slavery." Part of a larger PBS series, this section delves into a long under-appreciated aspect of the Revolution.

American Revolution Online Gallery

Online exhibit gallery from the British Library featuring a timeline of the American Revolution, and explanation of major themes. 

Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774-1789

The Library of Congress compiled this collection of  "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."  An excellent bibliography and links to related resources are included.

Founding Fathers: Delegates to the Constitutional Convention

Founding Fathers is an exhibit sponsored by the U.S. National Archives that focuses on the 55 state representatives to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787. Although the website includes the text of the Constitution and its amendments, its most interesting feature is the selection of biographies and portraits of each of the delegates arranged by state.

Papers of George Washington

"The Papers of George Washington, a grant-funded project, was established in 1969 at the University of Virginia, under the joint auspices of the University and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, to publish a complete edition of Washington's correspondence." The website is a treasure house of resources on Washington and a superb index to related Internet materials.

Reasons for the Revolution

A discussion of the major political issues that motivated the patriots to resist King George III. Presented by Colonial Williamsburg.  

Road to Revolution: A Revolutionary Game

"Want to make your own American Revolution? You'll need a good horse, a road map and a working knowledge of LIBERTY!" This PBS website features maps, colorful pictures, and sound and will appeal to younger historians.

The Avalon Project at Yale Law School: Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy

This authoritative site has an extensive collection of digitized versions of significant primary source documents from the pre-18th through the 21st century. The documents are organized by centuries. Within the documents, many links have been added to take you from one document to another. Searches can be done by author, subject, title or event.

The Tea Party and the Coming of the Revolution

Primary source documents and a thematic discussion of the Boston Tea Party. Presented by the Massachusetts Historical Society. 

United States History Timeline

Timeline of the Revolutionary War period, by Professor Quintard Taylor, University of Washington.

Maintained by the staff of the Social Science & History Department, State Library Resource Center, Enoch Pratt Free Library