Browse Exhibits (39 total)
American Military Strategies in the Revolutionary War
This exhibit showcases the military methods and strategies used by the Continental Army to defeat the British in the Revolutionary War. It pays specific attention to their guerilla tactics, strategic alliances with the French and other nations, and knowledge of the geography of colonial America.This research is aimed at anyone interested in learning about the Americans’ victory in the Revolutionary War, but more specifically, the military and battle-focused side of the era. While there is a complex history of the intersection of European imperialists with the Native Americans in colonial America and the politics surrounding the ordeal that predated the fighting period of the war, I’ve seen that people are mainly invested in the battles the colonists fought against the British. I think teaching a wider audience about my topic will pose a good juxtaposition to the strategies and methods seen in wars today, which is something I am personally interested in.
My goal of this research is to discover how the 3 factors of using guerilla tactics, securing alliances with the French and other nations, and having knowledge about American geography worked together to give the Americans a significant advantage to eventually beat the better-trained and larger British Army and officially secure independence once and for all.
Communities of British Detroit During the Revolution
Detroit early on was a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural community which showcased the various indivuals and cultures who peopled the Great Lakes region of the 18th century. The settlewment served as a major crossroads for those engaging in the fur trade whether it be French-Canadians to the Indigenous Anishinaabeg people.
During the American Revolution the settlement served as a staging ground for indigenous raids along the frontier as the British attempted to secure the Ohio Country from the American colonists. The fort also served as a prison for captured American soldiers throughout the war.
This exhibit will demonstrate that long before before Detroit was the modern American city we know it as today, it was a meeting point for many different peoples and communities. Fort Detroit as it was known under British rule was a central hub in the fur trade for the Great Lakes along with being a major player in the American war for independence, all on the frontier.
This exhbit will examine the communities of people which lived and worked in Detroit in the latter half of the 18th century. It will act as an examination Detroit's role during the American Revolution as well as individual profiles of the different groups which made up the early settlement.
The Prosecutions under the Sedition Acts
In 1798, there was turmoil in the young United States of America. There was intense party politics between the Federalists and the Democratic- Republicans, and there was a looming war with former ally France following diplomatic failures. Due to these uncertainties, Congress would pass the Sedition acts. The Sedition Acts, passed in the summer of 1798, criminalized seditious libel against the federal government, in any form of writing or speech such as newspapers, published works, or verbal utterance.1 This meant that any negative comment made against the President or Congress, even if true, could be prosecuted and punished with prison time. This bill directly contradicts the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which allows Americans to have the right to free speech and press. Even though this was a violation of the Bill of Rights, prosecutions proceeded, and many men were sentenced to prison as a result of criticizing the government. Matthew Lyon, Thomas Cooper, and James Callendar all spoke against the government, and were prosecuted under the Sedition Act. These trials were paid close attention by the American public, and the defendants in these trials became martyrs for the fight against the Sedition Act. The previous actions, trials, and writings of Matthew Lyon, Thomas Cooper, and James Callendar made them effective martyrs of the Sedition Act, especially in their defenses of the First Amendment. These trials and their defendants' martyrdom strengthened the First Amendment, due to their influential nature in the American political landscape.
1 "Laws of the United States: The Sedition Act." Columbian Centinel, 8 Aug. 1798 [Boston, Massachusetts] , p. 1.
Women in the Boston Massacre
The time we live in has women involved in every aspect of life. They are helping lead our country, becoming doctors and lawyers, and sharing their voices. While it may not be perfect, equality of both genders is becoming more apparent. However, this was certainly not always in case. Men dominate the early history of the United States of America. The men were the leaders and decision-makers. They were the ones taken seriously and valued in their opinions. They were the ones who fought in the wars. Pretty much every aspect of the American Revolution revolved around the men. Even when just researching about the revolution it is hard to find sources that acknowledge women as contributors. However, the women were vital to the revolution. Their roles in it were different but they still mattered. This exhibit is going to show how they mattered and give a voice to all the women at the time.
The Role of Women in the American Revolution
When people think about the role women played in the American Revoltion they tend to think of them as nurses, deputy husbands, and campfollowers. Therefore, there is little attention payed to the poltical views or actions taken by the women of this time period. As a society we largely associate political action with voting, running for office, campaigning, and organizing political movements. Women in the late eighteenth century were not able to do many of these things, largely because of the coverture law, which denied married women a civic identity independent of her husband. The result of this was that married women could not own property or sign contracts. Paired with their lack of voting rights women lacked virtually every path to formal political action. However, that does not mean that they were uninvolved with the poltics of the time, or that they were not politically active. On the contrary, they participated in a varity of non-traditon political activities and were vital the war effort on both a domestc and national level.
Women of the American Revolution
Often when people reflect on notable wars, they focus on men and their efforts on the front lines. It is important to not only understand the contributions that men made, but how women helped aid in important victories as well.
Women’s contributions are not written in most history books or talked about in schools, which contributes to a lack of knowledge throughout the general public. This exhibit holds significance as it uncovers and highlights the efforts women gave during this period in order to establish victory for America. Not only will this educate the general public, but it will be especially important for women to see that the efforts of their predecessors were not overlooked. A scholar by the name of Sheila Skemp talks in depth about rewriting the narrative of women’s efforts in the war, saying “women played active, even essential roles… they shouldered burdens of their absent husbands.”1
Throughout my exhibit, I want to prove that women had an integral part in the victory of the American Revolution, but were not appropriately recognized for their contributions behind the scenes. Women made their impact on the war by serving as undercover soldiers and spies, aiding with medical practices, and serving as a media outlet through their written reports. These efforts through different mediums go to show that women had a major role in the Revolutionary war.
1 Sheila L. Skemp, “Women and Politics in the Era of the American Revolution,” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History, June 9, 2016, https://oxfordre.com/americanhistory/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199329175.001.0001/acrefore-9780199329175-e-216?mediaType=Article.
Federalists, their opposition to the war of 1812, and the Hartford Convention.
This exhibit is dedicated to the Federalists' opposition to the War of 1812, why they opposed it, and how it destroyed them as a political party in the United States.
The United States and the empire of Great Britain found themselves once again in a war against each other. A war of territorial expansion and defense of maritime neutrality rights for the United States but a deeply unpopular war with those who lived in New England or identified with the Federalist party. The Federalists in New England had various reasons to oppose conflict with Great Britain. First this can be seen in the Embargo Act of 1807 and the economic impact it had on the United States but specifically how it affected New England and its unpopularity there. Then the exhibit will demonstrate how the Federalists opposed the actual War of 1812 and how their opposition to it would climax in the Hartford Convention of 1814. These demands were seen as ludicrous and were rejected, especially as news of the war ending and Andrew Jackson’s victory in New Orleans arrived. The Hartford Convention destroyed the image of the Federalist Party and thus killed it as it would be seen in the 1816 election and its total disappearance in the election of 1820.
Revolutionary America's Impact on Children's Lives
Oftentimes, when thinking about the American Revolution, the first people to come to mind are adult men like Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Thomas Paine. Although these figures were extremely important to American Independence, there were a lot more people who influenced Revolutionary America. Additionally, the general public often undermines the extended period in which Revolutionary America occurred. Oftentimes Revolutionary America is interpreted to have ended directly after gaining independence on July 4th, 1776, and to have started not long before then. However, Revolutionary America was enduring tensions occurring long before 1776 and America was picking up the pieces of the revolution long after in an attempt to gain true freedom and create their own republic a great amount of time after gaining independence. Therefore, this caused the lives of all colonists to be impacted greatly a significant amount of time before, during, and after the revolution.
This research will focus immensely on the roles of children during the American Revolution and the impact that the American Revolution had on their lives, since they are often left out of revolutionary teachings. This is essential information to be studied to enhance the way that children understand the American Revolution on a deeper level through relations with other children. Research will be presented regarding the ways in which the American Revolution impacted children’s lives in a majority of different ways including familial tensions, children’s jobs, and education. I hypothesize that children’s lives were not only affected by the American Revolution but that they too, played a large role in the way the Revolution was carried out.
This digital collection includes resources from a variety of primary and secondary sources held by University Libraries and National Archives.
Why Women were Denied the Right to Vote.
The American Revolution was a historic movement that promised liberty, equality, and the pursuit of happiness. Yet, for half the population—women—equality remained an unfulfilled promise. Despite their vital contributions to the war effort, women were systematically denied the right to vote in the years following the Revolution. This exhibit explores the reasons behind this denial of basic rights and how men sought to exclude women from political life in the newly founded nation.
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773. Bostonians dressed as Native Americans and dumped 342 chests of tea overboard from three British ships in protest against taxation without representation. The Tea Party took place at Griffin's Wharf, where the ships were tied up. When looking back at American history, you must not skip over the first event in which colonists showed resistance against the British.