The United States of America was built on a foundation of contradiction—a “land of the free” built on stolen land, in an era of widespread slavery, and with property-owning white men making up the primary voting bloc during the nation’s first decades. While the Declaration of Independence made the bold claim that “all men are created equal” and endowed with the unalienable Rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness,” the promises and gains of the American Revolution were not extended to all. Over the past two and a half centuries, American history has been punctuated by ongoing social struggles, protest movements, and warfare as we’ve attempted to secure freedoms and political rights for larger and larger segments of our population.

We have developed this reading list to reflect the ongoing and unfolding revolution in this country, placing a special emphasis on Massachusetts writers and thinkers, as well as important books from across the U.S.—and the world. We hope that this list will be a useful resource as you commemorate America’s 250th and consider how far we’ve come as a nation, and how far we still need to go. Our American Experiment is still far from complete!

To get started, click the orange tabs in the menu above to navigate through the booklists. Most interested in the period of the American Revolution and its immediate aftermath? We’d recommend starting with the “From Rebellion to Early Republic” list. Looking for more expansive accounts of our journey as a nation and the revolutionary spirit that fueled the fire? Check out the “General” list.

To download graphics and assets related to this project, please visit the Reading the Revolution toolkit on the MBLC website.

Happy reading from the Mass Center for the Book and the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners!