How to evaluate primary documents -- Chronology of events from the accession of King George III to the throne of Great Britain to the end of the American Revolution, 1760-1783 --
Documents of revolutionary America -- Disruption and continuation of daily life -- 1. Regular routines in life: Newspaper obituaries (1768-1982) -- 2. A fact of life: newspaper reports of accidental deaths (1773-1783) -- 3. Trials of daily life: newspaper advertisements about spousal abuse and abandonment (1775-1776) -- 4. The dangers of daily life: newspaper accounts of fires (1771-1776) -- 5. The difficulties of running a household during wartime: Temperance Smith's account (1775) -- 6. Living under fire during war: Timothy Newell's journal (1775) -- 7. Some things in life continue, even in war: newspaper accounts of weddings (1767-1775) -- 8. The trials of life: newspaper advertisements for lost and found animals (1775-1776) -- 9. Wars eventually end: Anna Rawle's diary (1781) --
Economics and employment -- 10. Headaches during wartime: government efforts to deal with economic problems (1774-1782) -- 11. The daily necessities of life get caught up in the revolution: newspaper advertisements for cloth (1773-1775) -- 12. Getting needed information: newspaper advertisements for almanacs (1775) -- 13. War produces property destruction: Robert Morton's diary (1777) -- 14. Trials of wartime: advertisements in the Connecticut Courant reflect the scarcity of supplies (1776-1777) -- 15. Daily trials: newspaper reports of the impact of weather on daily life (1771-1780) --
Fun and games -- 16. Continuing to learn how to have fun: Philip Fithian's diary (1773) -- 17. Having fun even during wartime: Sarah Wister's journal (1777) -- 18. Seeking relief and relaxation: reports of theater productions during the war (1776-1778) --
Health and medicine -- 19. Dealing with illnesses: Nicholas Cresswell's diary (1774) -- 20. Preventive medicine: accounts of smallpox inoculations in the Army (1776-1777) -- 21. Impact of smallpox inoculations on a family: letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams (July 13, 1776) -- 22. Death omnipresent: Dr. Lewis Beebe's diary (1776) -- 23. Epidemics an on-going problem: Joseph Plumb Martin describes a Yellow Fever Epidemic in the Continental Army (1782) --
Love, marriage, and family -- 24. Raising children: Eleazar Moody's The School of Good Manners (1772) -- 25. War drives families apart: letter from Benjamin Franklin to William Franklin (October 6, 1773) -- 26. Managing the family business: Abigail and John Adams (1776-1778, 1783) -- 27. Moving as the armies move: Baroness von Riedesel's journal (November 1778-February 1779 -- 28. War splits families: letter from Timothy Pickering Jr., to his father (February 23, 1778) -- 29. Raising children: letters between Thomas Jefferson and his daughter Martha (1783, 1787) --
Religion -- 30. Different cultures: Native American Christianity, Nicholas Cresswell's diary (1775) -- 31. Religion influences action: The Schwenkfelders' Declaration against Service in the Militia (1777) -- 32. The issue of religious freedom: Boston supports religion for the sake of order in its response to the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights of 1780 (May 12, 1780) -- 33. The question of public support for organized religion: Ashby, Massachusetts, opposes enforced public support in its response to the Massachusetts Declaration of Rights of 1780 (June 2, 1780) -- 34. The revolt against Great Britain is a bad idea: Jonathan Boucher preaches a sermon in opposition to revolution (1775) -- 35. The revolt against Great Britain is a good idea: Abraham Keteltas preaches a sermon in support of revolution (1777) --
Slavery -- 36. Growing opposition to slavery: Petition Seeking Freedom (1777) -- 37. Growing opposition to slavery: legal arguments against the institution in Massachusetts (1780, 1783) -- 38. Advertisements for runaway apprentices slaves (1775-1780) -- 39. Let's free the slaves: letter from Alexander Hamilton to John Jay (March 14, 1777) -- 40. Growing questions about slavery: essay by Caesar Sarter (1774) -- 41. The Church questions the institution of slavery: essay by the Reverend Samuel Hopkins (1776) --
42. Conflicts on the Frontier during the war: Indian attacks (1773-1777)
43. Naval Service during war: Andrew Sherburne's memoir (1779)
44. "Hard Winter": Joseph Plumb martin's memoir (1779-1780)
45. Impact of war on the people: letter from Nathaniel Greene to his wife, Catherine (January 12, 1781)
46. The horrors of civil war: descriptions of conflicts between Patriots and Loyalists (1781).
