The Americans abandoned Philadelphia to the British in 1777.

A fire in NYC that burned a fifth of the city in 1776 may have been started under orders from George Washington.

The First Continental Congress did not meet to discuss independence from Britain

The Continental Army invaded Canada in an attempt to seize Montreal and Quebec City in 1775.

Before the White House was constructed, the president lived and worked in Philadelphia

From 1790 to 1800, the President's House at 6th and Market Street in Philadelphia served as the executive mansion. George Washington and John Adams both served there as president before the capital moved to Washington, DC. The site is a tour of a replica of the house.

At age 22, Washington inadvertently started the French and Indian War.

A virtual tour of Philadelphia’s American Revolution Museum

Philadelphia’s Old City hosts one of the largest museums on the American Revolution. This virtual tour allows you to view the museum’s exhibits as if you were there by zooming in on descriptions, browsing images, and learning about artifacts, portraits, and more.

Benjamin Franklin founded America's first lending library, the Library Company of Philadelphia, in 1731.

The first newspaper to report the Declaration of Independence was a German-language Philadelphia publication, simply because it was the only one that published on July 5.

The Founding Fathers were divided in their reactions to the Boston Tea Party.

Washington's military acumen and political judgment were crucial to the Continental Army's success

In this podcast, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Rick Atkinson argues that Washington's endurance, strategic communication, political judgment, and ability to elevate capable subordinates proved decisive, in sharp contrast to the failures of British leadership during the war.

Congress actually voted to approve independence on July 2, 1776, leading many Founders to believe that would be the date Americans would one day celebrate.

This video highlights lesser-known facts about the Declaration of Independence, including that Congress approved independence on July 2—leading many Founders to believe that would be the day Americans would celebrate their independence.

Since 1776, the Declaration of Independence has served as a model for more than 100 nations and freedom organizations writing their own declarations.

Celebrations for America's 150th birthday in 1926 were a poorly organized mess that nearly bankrupted the host city of Philadelphia.

Abigail Adams sailed to Europe to join John during his diplomatic posting in Paris in 1784

This podcast chronicles Abigail's voyage across the Atlantic to join John in Paris during his diplomatic service, then follows the couple's return to America and their rise to the White House.

When the Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War in 1783, British officials refused to pose for the portrait of the negotiations, leaving the painting partially unfinished.

July Fourth wasn't always a holiday, and its meaning has changed over time.

Emanuel Leutze's painting 'Washington Crossing the Delaware' is one of the defining images of the Revolutionary War.

New York was a hotbed of early revolutionary activity

In the decade before independence, New York City saw Stamp Act riots, liberty pole confrontations, the 1770 Battle of Golden Hill, and defiance of the Quartering Act, and organized efforts to block and destroy taxed British tea.

The Constitution was written in the same building where the Declaration of Independence was signed

The US Constitution was drafted in the Pennsylvania State House—the same building in Philadelphia where the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776. Read this page from the National Constitution Center for other fast facts about the document.

The 1783 peace treaty with Britain formally ended the Revolutionary War and nearly doubled the size of the United States.

The Declaration of Independence was not only a statement of principles but also an appeal for military allies that the struggling colonists needed to survive.

The federal government's decision to pay off the states' Revolutionary War debts required a new tax, which sparked an armed rebellion. 

King George III drafted a letter of abdication during the American Revolutionary War.

Americans celebrated the end of the Revolutionary War with nationwide toasts

In 1783, citizens celebrated the signing of the Preliminary Articles of Peace with nationwide parties. Across the new country, many made 13 toasts to the 13 states. They also drank to George Washington. One poet in Boston wrote, “Health to his honor I’d freely drink, Had I a glass of wine; And whosoever with me shall think, May mix their toast with mine.”

Marshall served in the Continental army under Washington

Before his judicial career, Marshall served in a Virginia regiment during the American Revolution, rising to the rank of captain. He fought at Brandywine and Monmouth, endured the winter at Valley Forge, and developed a personal connection with Gen. George Washington.

Revolutionary War reenactments have taken place for centuries

The first known reenactment of the war occurred in 1778, while the war was still ongoing. A journal entry from a lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army remarked that soldiers had commemorated a “Glorious victory obtained over the British” at Saratoga with “a Grand sham fight.”

Opposition to British taxes, regulation of trade was key to American independence

The economic situation in the colonies formed the backbone of the central events of the Revolution. British war debts caused it to lay the first direct taxes on colonists, cease their westward expansion claims, and adhere to stringent trade regulations, leading to backlash and eventual separation.

John Adams served as a lawyer for the British troops involved in the Boston Massacre, believing they deserved a fair trial.

The causes of American rebellion were multifaceted

British taxes on colonists to pay for the French and Indian War were just one element. Thousands of miles of separation between London and the Colonies, expanding territories, a distinct Colonial identity, and political conflicts combined to prompt the Revolution.

Shays' rebellion pitted rebel veterans against the Revolution's leaders

The Revolutionary War led to independence and significant debt for most states. In 1786, a group of veterans and farmers from western Massachusetts protested against the state government’s increased taxes. Led by Daniel Shays, the group attempted to capture an armory in Springfield but failed.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement.

Benjamin Franklin donated the books that became the first true public library in the US.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.

After the Boston Tea Party (1773), colonists boycotted tea and turned to coffee, with coffeehouses becoming hubs for revolutionary discussions. The stimulating import from the Caribbean helped shape the nascent American taste.

Watch Ken Burns' documentary series on the American Revolution, which tells its story through the lives of soldiers, civilians, enslaved people, Native nations, and international allies.

The oldest restaurants in the US

This list features several establishments that have been around since before the Declaration of Independence, including the White Horse Tavern, in Newport, Rhode Island, and New York's Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington dismissed his troops at the end of the Revolutionary War.

The Royal Governor of Virginia offered slaves their freedom if they escaped and fought for the British in the American Revolutionary War.

A letter drafted by a Boston town committee in 1772 helped unite the colonies behind independence.

Weeks before the Battle of Lexington, colonists resisted a British raid in Salem, MA, that nearly escalated into the first battle of the Revolution.