In October 1781, news of the British surrender at Yorktown reached Philadelphia, and crowds poured into the streets to celebrate. They looked for candles in their neighbors’ windows, which signaled that the household had supported their cause...
In December 1777, Continental Army Colonel David Henley climbed off his horse to discipline a drunk British prisoner of war with a sword. Major General John Burgoyne cited this incident when he accused Henley of plotting to murder British POWs...
In December 1776, a Lenape leader named White Eyes traveled to Philadelphia and stood before the Second Continental Congress. He had not come to declare himself a revolutionary, and he had not come to pledge loyalty to King George III. He came to...
On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. Over the weeks that followed, Americans gathered in town squares, churches, coffeehouses, and taverns to hear it read aloud. They heard “that all men are...
The engrossed copy of the Declaration of Independence is on display at the National Archives building in Washington, DC. Millions of visitors flock to see it and the other Charters of Freedom. But how did it end up there and why do people approach...
Five men served on the Continental Congress’s Declaration Committee. We know three of them well: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin. But who were the other two? In this episode, we explore the lives and contributions of Robert R...
The Declaration of Independence is 250 years old, and still unfinished. Its famous assertion “that all men are created equal” and endowed with unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness has never been a settled...
On June 12, 1776, the Second Continental Congress turned to the third and perhaps the most difficult element of independence: drafting a plan of government for their brand new nation. The man Congress chose to write the first draft was John...
In June 1776, the Second Continental Congress faced a question every new nation must answer: how do you make other countries take you seriously? Declaring independence was one thing. Convincing France, Spain, or the Netherlands to risk war on your...
On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to declare independence. But that vote didn’t begin with the Declaration of Independence. It began on June 7, 1776, when Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced a three-part resolution...