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American Revolution

Table of Contents

Introduction

Library Congress Subject Heading

Browsing Areas

Keys to Abbreviations and Locations

Bibliographies

Encyclopedias

Atlas

Biographies

Dictionaries

Books

Indexes, Abstracts, and Catalogs

Internet Sources

Introduction

    The American Revolution not created the American political nation, but molded permanent characteristics of the culture that would develop with in it. The Revolution is an event, consequently, whose meaning cannot be confined to the past. Whether we recognize it or not, the sense we make of the history of our national origins helps to define for us, as it has for generations before us, the values purposes, and acceptable characteristics of our political institutions and cultural life. 

    The purpose of this pathfinder is to assist researchers and others to getting better acquainted with the Revolutionary War. All the sources that are listed in this pathfinder includes, the reasons for the war, the main battles, important people, and how this country ultimately begun. The intended audience for this pathfinder is for a high school or college student that is doing a research paper on this topic.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

These subject headings can be used when searching for the books and other necessary sources dealing with the Revolutionary War. These can  be used in online catalogs, indexes, and abstracts.

Browsing Areas

At times it may be hard to locate important information through the online catalog. If you are at the library and need to look through the shelves for the American Revolution. The Dewey call number listed is where books on this topic can be found.

Keys to Abbreviations and Locations

AFPL- Atlanta-Fulton Public Library

RWL- Robert  Woodruff Library

DCPL- Dekalb-County Public Library

Bibliographies

A good starting point in attempting to locate materials in a specific field are bibliographies. The following sources provide information on early American History and it will include information about the American Revolution.

Gephart, Ronald M. Revolutionary America 1763-1789: A Bibliography. 2 vols. Washington: Library of Congress, 1984.

Book call no. 973.3 (DCPL, AFPL)

A brief narrative, a chronology, and a select bibliography

Commager, Henry Steele. Documents of American History. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 9th edition 1973.

Book call no. E173C66 1973 (RWL)

Contains 14,110 annotated entries, encompassing over 20,000 titles arranged in twelve chronological and thematic chapters followed by an extensive essay

American Caravan: A yearbook of American Literature. New York: Literary Guild of America 1927.

Book call no. P5536A55 (RWL)

Freidel, Frank, ed. Harvard Guide to American History. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1974.

Book call no. 973.0496073 (DCPL, AFPL)

Lists other bibliographies, historiographies documents, reference, articles and books both covering and related to the American Revolution

Encyclopedias

The encyclopedias listed are a good place to begin your research on the American Revolution, especially if you are unsure of your topic or need to find additional information in order to continue your research. These sources should primarily be used as reference works or as an introduction to the research topic.

The American Revolution, 1775-1783: An Encyclopedia, edited by Richard L. Blanco. New York, Garland Publishing, 1993. 2 vols.
Book call no.: R 973.3 A5123 (DCPL, AFPL)

Blackwell Encyclopedia of the American Revolution, edited by Jack P. Greene and J. R. Pole. Cambridge, MA, Blackwell Reference, 1991. 845 p.
Book call no.: 973.303 B632 (DCPL, AFPL)

Articles cover all the major topics relating to the Revolution, including its central events, the context in which it occurred, its causes, its effects, and the principal concepts associated with it. Includes maps

Boatner, Mark M., III. Encyclopedia of the American Revolution. New York, David McKay, 1966. 1287 p.
Book call no.: R 973.303 B662e (DCPL, AFPL)

Cross-reference entries include summary articles of important and pervasive topics and shorter entries for the leading Revolutionary figures and key issues. Contains fifty-four maps

Faragher, John Mack, gen. ed. The Encyclopedia of Colonial and Revolutionary America. NY: Facts on File, 1990.

Book call no. E188 E63 1990 (RWL)

Contains 1,500 short entries, covers from the Norse exploration to the end of the American Revolution. Emphasis is on the English colonies, with some treatment of the Spanish, French, and Russian colonies. Very useful cross-references

Atlas

The atlases listed below are all historical atlases that can be used to study boundary changes, military campaigns, early exploration and similar topics. These sources can be especially useful in researching the American Revolution because they help to put the different events that took place during this time period into a framework that can useful in understanding the factors and conditions the war was fought under.

Atlas of Early American History: The Revolutionary Era, 1760-1790. Princeton, NJ, published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture by the Princeton University Press, 1976. 157 p.
Book call no.: R 911.73 A881 (AFPL)

Details the entire history of the struggle for independence, from Colonial governments and North American extensions of European wars to the early days of the American Republic, uses full color maps and vivid illustrations in two-page spreads to tell the story of the founding of the USA. The book focuses on the land and sea battles of the Revolutionary War in places like Bunker Hill, Trenton, Saratoga, Guilford Courthouse, Chesapeake Bay, and Yorktown, but attention is also paid to aspects of society at large like the awakening of religious zeal inspired by George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards, the destination of immigrants, the slave trade, and relations with the Native Americans. Also explored is the political dimension of the role of the colonies as a piece of the British Empire and the international impact of the Revolution

Carrington, Henry B. Battle Maps and Charts of the American Revolution. New York, Arno Press, 1974. 88 p.
Book call no.: 912 C318b (DCPL, AFPL)

The maps range from crude field sketches to high examples of cartographic art which were produced after the heat of battle as a record of the event. The authors have selected 56 maps that show the scope and progress of our war of independence.

Marshall, Douglas W. and Peckham, Howard H. Campaigns of the American Revolution: An Atlas of Manuscript Maps. Ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press, 1976. 138 p.
Book call no.: 911.73 M367c (DCPL, AFPL)

Lord, Clifford L. and Elizabeth H. Lord. Historical Atlas of the United States. New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1972.

Book call no. R911.73 (DCPL, AFPL)

Nebrenzahl, Kenneth. Atlas of the American Revolution. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1974 R.911.73 (DCPL, AFPL)

Biographies

These sources contain biographies of some prominent and some not-so-prominent figures of the American Revolution. In addition to the biographies that the following sources give, there are bibliographies that direct you where to for further information.

Purcell, L. Edward. Who Was Who in the American Revolution. Facts on File, Inc.; (June 1993)

This source contains information on some of the most important figures that were involved in the American Revolution and what role did they play in America's fight for independance.

Claghorn, Charles E. Women Patriots of the American Revolution. Rowman & Littlefield (Non NBN); (April 1, 1994)

Book call no. 973.315042 (DCPL, AFPL)

This book contains some of the most important women that were behind the scenes in the American Revolution. It includes the roles that the women played, and how important of a role they played.

Ferling, John E. Setting the World Ablaze: Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and the American Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000

Book call no.

Contains a joint biography of George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson that dwells upon the negotiations in congress throughout the 1770's, the battles, strategy, and politics of the War for Independence, and the diplomacy of the American Revolution

Fredriksen, John C. American Military Leaders: From Colonial Times to the Present. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-Clio, 1999. 2v.

This source talks about some of the greatest military leaders in the history of the United States. Military leaders of the American Revolution are included in this book.


Dictionaries

The following sources provide useful background information for the study of the American Revolution. They also provide bibliographies and reading lists that allow users to begin further research. These sources should primarily be used as reference works or as an introduction to research topics.

Mays, Terry M. Historical Dictionary of the American Revolution. Scarecrow Press; (January 1999)

Book call no. E209 M36 1999 (RWL)

This source provides over 1,000 articles, covering people, places, battles, events, individual countries (France, Spain), and issues related to the Revolutionary period from the mid-1760's to 1783. While the book covers a wide range of topics, thee author favors the military aspect of the Revolution, providing entries for many forts, vessels and minor battles

Adams, James Truslow, ed. Dictionary of American History. New York: Scribner's 1976. 8v.

Book call no. E174D52 1976 (RWL)

Contains 6,200 written by approximately 800 authors. The dictionary has articles of varying lengths from a short paragraph to several pages. Longer articles are subdivided chronologically and if necessary by specific aspects of a given subject

Books

These books provide an in depth analysis of the American Revolution. The books contain the reason the colonies wanted independence, the major battles of the war, the most important people involved, and the aftermath of the war.

Bonwick, Colin. The American Revolution. Charlottesville, VA, University Press of Virginia, 1991. 336 p.
Book call no.: 973.3 B723a (DCPL, AFPL)

Conway, Stephen. The War of American Independence 1775-1783. New York, St Martin's Press, 1995. 280 p.
Military Operations in America, pp 73-132.
Book call no.: 973.3 C767w (DCPL, AFPL)


Diamant, Lincoln. Chaining the Hudson: The Fight for the River in the American Revolution. Secaucus, NJ, Lyle Stuart, 1989. 233 p.
Book call no.: 973.33 D537c (DCPL, AFPL)

Alden, John R. The South in the Revolution, 1763-1789. Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University, 1957. 442 p.
Book call no.: 975 A358s (DCPL, AFPL)

Hibbert, Christopher. Redcoats & Rebels: The American Revolution Through British Eyes. New York, Norton, 1990. 375 p.
Book call no.: 973.33 H624r (DCPL, AFPL)


Higginbotham, Don. The War of American Independence: Military Attitudes, Policies, and Practice, 1763-1789. New York, Macmillan, 1971. 509 p.
Book call no.: 973.3 H635w (DCPL, AFPL)

Johnson, Curt. Battles of the American Revolution. New York, Rand McNally, 1975. 126 p.
Book call no.: 973.3 J66b (DCPL, AFPL)


Lumpkin, Henry. From Savannah to Yorktown: The American Revolution in the South. Columbia, University of South Carolina Press, 1981. 332 p.
Book call no.: 973.3 L958f (DCPL, AFPL)

Miller, Nathan. Sea of Glory: A Naval History of the American Revolution. Annapolis, MD, Naval Institute Press, 1992. 558 p.
Book call no.: 973.35 M649s 1992 (DCPL, AFPL)

Dupuy, R. Ernest and Dupuy, Trevor N. The Compact History of the Revolutionary War. New York, Hawthorn Books, 1963. 510 p.
Book call no.: 973.3 D945c (DCPL, AFPL)

Indexes, Abstracts, and Catalogs

Research about the American Revolution is found in the literature of various sources. To find further related information, look in the databases listed below under such topics as the American Revolution, Colonial government, the names of various battles or colonial leaders and the Library of Congress Subject Headings listed at the beginning of this pathfinder. The order the indexes are displayed below reflects which ones are more likely to have a greater number of references to relevant published material. All of the databases and abstracts listed below can be accessed online through the Albany Libraries homepage (http://library.albany.edu/).