The Schlager Anthology of the American Revolution offers a modern, original sourcebook covering the movement for American independence. From the creators and publishers of Milestone Documents in American History, this new title is built on the principles of inclusivity and accessibility. Along with essential primary sources from the era, including Patrick Henry's “Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death," Thomas Paine's Common Sense, and Abigail Adams's “Remember the Ladies," this anthology also includes often-marginalized voices, from women to Native Americans to African Americans. These documents have been abridged and edited to make them more accessible to students of differing reading levels. Additionally, each source is followed by a series of questions that prompt readers to use their higher order thinking skills and engage with primary texts in a deep way. Edited by Jon Chandler (University College London lecturer and author of War, Patriotism and Identity in Revolutionary North America) and featuring contributions from numerous scholars, The Schlager Anthology of the American Revolution includes more than 80 textual and visual sources from this historical period. It marks the 2nd installment in the “Schlager Anthologies for Students" reference series.

An Inclusive Approach

The Schlager Anthology of the American Revolution includes a wide spectrum of voices and perspectives from the era. Chapter 1 (“British America in 1763") begins when Americans were still considered part of the British empire and subjects of the king. The volume opens with Benjamin Franklin's essay “Observations Concerning the Increase of Mankind," an early demographic study on immigration and population growth in the colonies, which also featured an early argument against slavery. In addition to other documents from Franklin, this chapter includes the voices of Native Americans Minavana and Pontiac, who in his “Master of Life Speech" encouraged Native Americans to reject European influence and fight for their land.

Chapter 2 (“The Imperial Crisis") focuses on Americans' growing discontent with the crown. Though colonists were still subjects to King George III, their loyalties were deteriorating. Several documents in this chapter, including Nathaniel Ryder's “Parliamentary Debate on the Stamp Act" and Daniel Dulany's “Considerations on the Propriety of Imposing Taxes in the British Colonies," highlight the issue of taxation. Francis Bernard's “Letter to the Board of Trade" and Thomas Moffat's “Letter to Joseph Harrison on the Newport Riot" both detail the violence that resulted in the passage of the Stamp Act, which imposed an indirect tax on colonists. This chapter charts the fraying relationship between the American colonies and the British crown.

Chapter 3 (“The Crisis Deepens") covers the aftermath of the repeal of the Stamp Act and the response to the Declaratory Act, which asserted Parliament's right to enact legislation in the colonies. This chapter includes one of the earliest printed accounts of the Boston Massacre from the Boston Gazette, along with George Hewes's recollection of the Boston Tea Party, published decades after the event. Additionally, the anonymous verse “Address to the Ladies," published in the Boston Post-Boy & Advertiser in 1767, insisted young women join in the patriotic boycott of British-made goods.

In Chapter 4 (“Rebellion"), colonists continue to debate their declining relationship with the British Crown after the passage of Intolerable Acts, which were intended to punish colonists and limit freedoms. In response, colonists gathered in the First Continental Congress. This chapter includes documents issued both from the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress. The division in the colonies before the Revolutionary War is depicted from a patriot's perspective in Anna Young Smith's “An Elegy to the Memory of the American Volunteers." One of the last sources in the chapter, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, called for a break with Great Britain and a war for independence.

Chapter 5 (“The Limits of Independence") focuses on the Black experience in the American colonies as slaves advocated for their freedom. This chapter includes Felix's “Petition to the Governor of Massachusetts," one of the first letters written by a Black person requesting inclusion in the movement for liberty. Phillis Wheatley's “Letter to Samuel Occom" echoed these sentiments, addressing the hypocrisy of calling for liberty when slavery was a common practice in the colonies. This chapter also includes a draft of the Declaration of Independence where, in a section removed in the final version, Thomas Jefferson placed the blame for the institution of slavery on the British monarchy.

Chapter 6 (“Winning the War") contains documents from George Washington and Thomas Paine alongside the voices of the women who played a crucial role in the American Revolution. Abigail Adams implored John Adams to consider the legal position and rights of the women in her “Remember the Ladies" letter. Esther DeBerdt Reed's Sentiments of an American Woman urged women to support the campaign for independence, while Eliza Wilkinson detailed the civilian experience of war in her “Letters from a Planter's Daughter."

The final chapter in the anthology, Chapter 7 (“Losing the War"), describes the experience of American Loyalists, who found themselves defeated and marginalized at the end of the Revolution. Loyalists, including Nicholas Cresswell, Janet Schaw, and Anna Rawle, detailed the challenges they faced after the defeat of the British and their subsequent withdrawal. Their loyalist sympathies left them politically and socially marginalized at the end of the war. Native Americans also experienced a new threat after the war. A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison described the brutalities Native Americans faced along the colonial frontier during the American Revolution, while Chickasaw Chiefs appealed to congress to establish diplomatic channels with the new American government. As seen in Memoirs on the Life of Boston King, Black Americans also lost the hope of freedom and, at the end of the war, thousands of former slaves were among those loyalists who left the United States to resettle in the British Empire. The anthology concludes with William Humphrey's “The Savages Let Loose, or the Cruel Fate of the Loyalists," which reflected the anxieties and dissatisfaction of British Loyalists at the end of the American Revolution.

A Focus on Accessibility

The Schlager Anthology of the American Revolution features curated primary sources accompanied by targeted activities that help students explore the multitude of voices and perspectives of this pivotal era. Document texts are carefully abridged to remain brief and accessible to a broad range of students, both at the high school and early college levels. The commentary that accompanies each source is simple and straightforward. First, a fact box contains the key information about the source: document title, author name, date, document type, and a brief statement of the document's significance. Next, each document includes a concise overview section that places the source in its proper historical context. Following the document text is a list of short-answer questions that prompt students to think more deeply about the source and its meaning and impact, as well as a glossary that defines any unfamiliar words or references in the document text.

Other Features

In addition to the more than 80 sources and accompanying commentary, The Schlager Anthology of the American Revolution includes chapter introductions and Further Readings sections for each of the seven chapters in the set. The set also features a comprehensive subject index and an appendix of documents by category.

The Schlager Anthology of the American Revolution represents a modern approach to historical reference. It is an essential resource for students, researchers, and teachers of this important era in U.S. history and is appropriate for high school, academic, and public libraries.