Best U.S. History Books (1754-1828)

Description
This list seeks to compile the best books on U.S. history for the Revolutionary era through the end of the period of the early republic, which is defined as encompassing the time period from the French and Indian War through the end of the John Quincy Adams administration. Such books can be biographies, general histories, or subject specific histories.
1
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789
by Robert Middlekauff
1,704 members
20 reviews
4
3 Members
eromsted, joelanca, Bretzky1
2
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
8,082 members
162 reviews
½ 4.3
3 Members
eromsted, sipthereader, joelanca
4
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
by Joseph J. Ellis
6,796 members
77 reviews
3.9
3 Members
sipthereader, AnnaClaire, Bretzky1
5
John Adams
by David McCullough
13,754 members
200 reviews
½ 4.3
3 Members
sipthereader, AnnaClaire, Bretzky1,eromsted
6
1776
by David McCullough
13,209 members
246 reviews
4.1
2 Members
AnnaClaire, JimRaynor76,eromsted
7
Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence
by John Ferling
706 members
7 reviews
4.2
2 Members
joelanca, Bretzky1
8
Washington: A Life
by Ron Chernow
3,089 members
83 reviews
½ 4.4
2 Members
sipthereader, Bretzky1
9
Undaunted Courage
by Stephen E. Ambrose
7,527 members
79 reviews
4.1
2 Members
sipthereader, AnnaClaire
10
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
by Jon Meacham
2,477 members
75 reviews
4
2 Members
AnnaClaire, Bretzky1
11
His Excellency: George Washington
by Joseph J. Ellis
3,824 members
59 reviews
4
2 Members
AnnaClaire, Bretzky1
12
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy
by Ian W. Toll
1,037 members
25 reviews
½ 4.3
2 Members
joelanca, Bretzky1
13
Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800
by John Ferling
738 members
14 reviews
4
2 Members
AnnaClaire, joelanca
14
The Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to Revolution
by Edmund S. Morgan
200 members
2 reviews
4
2 Members
eromsted, joelanca
15
Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams
by Joseph J. Ellis
478 members
6 reviews
4.1
2 Members
AnnaClaire, joelanca
16
Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence
by Carol Berkin
383 members
8 reviews
3.9
2 Members
eromsted, AnnaClaire
18
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
by Bernard Bailyn
1,295 members
18 reviews
4.2
Member
eromsted
19
The American Pagent: Volume 1: To 1877
by Thomas A. Bailey
71 members
3.9
Member
MDGentleReader
20
George Washington: A Biography (7 volumes)
by Douglas Southall Freeman
69 members
½ 4.7
Member
Bretzky1
22
Washington's Crossing
by David Hackett Fischer
1,828 members
22 reviews
½ 4.4
Member
AnnaClaire
23
The Anti-Federalists: Critics of the Constitution 1781-1788
by Jackson Turner Main
138 members
½ 3.6
Member
JimRaynor76
25
Tom Paine and Revolutionary America
by Eric Foner
238 members
1 review
4
Member
eromsted
27
The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon
by John Ferling
334 members
27 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
AnnaClaire
28
The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence
by T. H. Breen
294 members
2 reviews
3.9
Member
eromsted
29
American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765-1795
by Edward J. Larson
51 members
1 review
½ 4.3
Member
Blythewood
30
Paul Revere's Ride
by David Hackett Fischer
1,126 members
20 reviews
½ 4.3
Member
AnnaClaire
31
The Other Founders: Anti-Federalism and the Dissenting Tradition in America, 1788-1828
by Saul Cornell
146 members
1 review
4.1
Member
eromsted
32
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
by Joseph J. Ellis
2,804 members
35 reviews
4
Member
AnnaClaire
34
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815
by Gordon S. Wood
1,304 members
12 reviews
4.2
Member
joelanca
35
A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence
by John Shy
116 members
3 reviews
½ 4.3
Member
eromsted
36
John Marshall and the Heroic Age of the Supreme Court
by R. Kent Newmyer
70 members
4
Member
Bretzky1
38
The Lion and the Union: The Anglo-American War 1812-15
by Kate Caffrey
18 members
½ 3.5
Member
Bretzky1
39
The Radicalism of the American Revolution
by Gordon S. Wood
1,670 members
23 reviews
4
Member
eromsted
40
Benjamin Franklin
by Carl Van Doren
614 members
3 reviews
½ 4.3
Member
joelanca
42
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
by Gordon S. Wood
930 members
2 reviews
4.2
Member
eromsted
43
Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington
by Peter R. Henriques
67 members
1 review
4
Member
Bretzky1
44
American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence
by Pauline Maier
776 members
10 reviews
4
Member
eromsted
45
Alexander Hamilton: American
by Richard Brookhiser
609 members
10 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
AnnaClaire
46
John Adams and the American Revolution
by Catherine Drinker Bowen
425 members
5 reviews
½ 4.3
Member
joelanca
47
The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800
by Stanley Elkins
426 members
5 reviews
4.2
Member
eromsted
48
Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams
by Lynne Withey
732 members
10 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
AnnaClaire
49
In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson
by Noble E. Cunningham, Jr.
405 members
3 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
eromsted
50
Generous Enemies: Patriots and Loyalists in Revolutionary New York
by Judith L. Van Buskirk
44 members
1 review
½ 3.5
Member
Bretzky1
51
A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution
by Carol Berkin
429 members
5 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
eromsted
52
Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr
by Nancy Isenberg
634 members
13 reviews
3.8
Member
AnnaClaire
53
Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America
by Linda K. Kerber
299 members
2 reviews
4
Member
eromsted
56
American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic
by Joseph J. Ellis
1,723 members
29 reviews
4
Member
AnnaClaire
57
The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution
by Thomas P. Slaughter
246 members
2 reviews
½ 3.5
Member
eromsted
58
A Revolutionary People At War: The Continental Army and American Character, 1775-1783
by Charles Royster
206 members
1 review
½ 3.5
Member
eromsted
59
The Awakening of American Nationalism, 1815-1828
by George Dangerfield
170 members
1 review
3
Member
eromsted
60
The Elusive Republic: Political Economy in Jeffersonian America
by Drew R. McCoy
214 members
4
Member
eromsted
62
The founding of a nation; a history of the American Revolution, 1763-1776
by Merrill Jensen
80 members
1 review
4.1
Member
eromsted
64
Crisis in Freedom: The Alien and Sedition Acts
by John Chester Miller
51 members
4
Member
eromsted
65
Fries's Rebellion: The Enduring Struggle for the American Revolution
by Paul Douglas Newman
37 members
1 review
3.8
Member
eromsted
67
The Power of the Purse: A History of American Public Finance, 1776-1790
by E. James Ferguson
30 members
½ 3.5
Member
eromsted
68
Jay's treaty; a study in commerce and diplomacy
by Samuel Flagg Bemis
16 members
2
Member
eromsted
70
A Shopkeeper's Millennium: Society and Revivals in Rochester, New York, 1815-1837
by Paul E. Johnson
432 members
5 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
eromsted
71
A Spirited Resistance: The North American Indian Struggle for Unity, 1745-1815
by Gregory Evans Dowd
177 members
2 reviews
3.8
Member
eromsted
74
Cities in Revolt: Urban Life in America, 1743-1776
by Carl Bridenbaugh
75 members
Member
eromsted
76
The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution
by Sidney Kaplan
61 members
Member
eromsted
77
The Urban Crucible: The Northern Seaports and the Origins of the American Revolution
by Gary B. Nash
206 members
6 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
eromsted
78
The King's Three Faces: The Rise and Fall of Royal America, 1688-1776
by Brendan McConville
137 members
1 review
½ 3.6
Member
eromsted
79
Pamphlets of the American Revolution, 1750-1776
by Bernard Bailyn
19 members
3
Member
eromsted
81
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
by Walter Isaacson
5,465 members
83 reviews
4
82
The Declaration of Independence / The Constitution of the United States
by Founding Fathers
1,917 members
14 reviews
½ 4.5
84
Thomas Jefferson : An Intimate History
by Fawn McKay Brodie
1,144 members
10 reviews
3.8
85
Washington: The Indispensable Man
by James Thomas Flexner
1,065 members
9 reviews
4.1
86
Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different
by Gordon S. Wood
1,049 members
23 reviews
3.9
87
The American Revolution: A History
by Gordon S. Wood
957 members
11 reviews
½ 3.7
88
A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America
by Stacy Schiff
815 members
8 reviews
½ 3.7
89
First Family: Abigail and John Adams
by Joseph J. Ellis
764 members
13 reviews
4.1
90
Founding Father: Rediscovering George Washington
by Richard Brookhiser
707 members
8 reviews
3.8
91
1812: The War That Forged a Nation
by Walter R. Borneman
693 members
8 reviews
½ 3.7
92
Inventing a Nation: Washington, Adams, Jefferson
by Gore Vidal
658 members
15 reviews
½ 3.4
93
The American Heritage Book of The Revolution
by Bruce Lancaster
641 members
5 reviews
½ 3.7
94
Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788
by Pauline Maier
574 members
5 reviews
4.1
95
John Paul Jones: A Sailor's Biography
by Samuel Eliot Morison
567 members
9 reviews
½ 3.6
96
History of the United States of America During the Administrations of Thomas Jefferson
by Henry Adams
556 members
5 reviews
½ 4.6
97
The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War
by Fred Anderson
544 members
13 reviews
3.8
99
To Begin the World Anew: The Genius and Ambiguities of the American Founders
by Bernard Bailyn
501 members
3 reviews
½ 3.5
100
Angel in the Whirlwind: The Triumph of the American Revolution
by Benson Bobrick
488 members
3 reviews
4.1