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
Washington: A Life
by Ron Chernow
3,767 members
96 reviews
½ 4.4
4 Members
Billhere, sipthereader, Bretzky1, chas69
3
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
by Joseph J. Ellis
7,613 members
79 reviews
3.9
4 Members
Billhere, sipthereader, AnnaClaire, Bretzky1
4
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789
by Robert Middlekauff
1,928 members
23 reviews
4
3 Members
eromsted, joelanca, Bretzky1
5
1776
by David McCullough
14,823 members
261 reviews
4.1
3 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire, JimRaynor76,eromsted
6
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
9,683 members
175 reviews
½ 4.3
3 Members
eromsted, sipthereader, joelanca
7
The Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to Revolution
by Edmund S. Morgan
221 members
2 reviews
4
3 Members
eromsted, joelanca, rwbib
8
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
by Bernard Bailyn
1,424 members
18 reviews
4.2
2 Members
waitingtoderail, eromsted
9
Undaunted Courage
by Stephen E. Ambrose
8,550 members
89 reviews
4.1
3 Members
Billhere, sipthereader, AnnaClaire
10
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
by Jon Meacham
2,995 members
86 reviews
4
3 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire, Bretzky1
11
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy
by Ian W. Toll
1,188 members
26 reviews
½ 4.3
3 Members
Billhere, joelanca, Bretzky1
12
Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800
by John Ferling
812 members
14 reviews
3.9
3 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire, joelanca
14
The Radicalism of the American Revolution
by Gordon S. Wood
1,855 members
24 reviews
4.1
2 Members
eromsted, lostinthecosmos
16
John Adams
by David McCullough
15,388 members
214 reviews
½ 4.3
3 Members
sipthereader, AnnaClaire, Bretzky1,eromsted
17
Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence
by John Ferling
769 members
9 reviews
4.2
2 Members
joelanca, Bretzky1
18
Washington's Crossing
by David Hackett Fischer
2,021 members
26 reviews
½ 4.4
2 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire
20
His Excellency: George Washington
by Joseph J. Ellis
4,203 members
61 reviews
4
2 Members
AnnaClaire, Bretzky1
21
Paul Revere's Ride
by David Hackett Fischer
1,270 members
23 reviews
½ 4.3
2 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire
23
Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams
by Joseph J. Ellis
534 members
5 reviews
4
2 Members
AnnaClaire, joelanca
24
Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence
by Carol Berkin
442 members
8 reviews
3.9
2 Members
eromsted, AnnaClaire
26
George Washington: A Biography
by Douglas Southall Freeman
74 members
4.8
Member
Bretzky1
27
The American Pagent: Volume 1: To 1877
by Thomas A. Bailey
74 members
3.9
Member
MDGentleReader
30
The Anti-Federalists: Critics of the Constitution 1781-1788
by Jackson Turner Main
149 members
½ 3.4
Member
JimRaynor76
32
Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788
by Pauline Maier
659 members
5 reviews
4.2
Member
waitingtoderail
33
Tom Paine and Revolutionary America
by Eric Foner
264 members
2 reviews
4
Member
eromsted
35
The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon
by John Ferling
367 members
28 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
AnnaClaire
36
Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic
by Joanne B. Freeman
334 members
4 reviews
3.9
Member
waitingtoderail
37
The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence
by T. H. Breen
319 members
2 reviews
3.8
Member
eromsted
38
American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation, 1765-1795
by Edward J. Larson
93 members
2 reviews
½ 4.3
Member
Blythewood
39
The Other Founders: Anti-Federalism and the Dissenting Tradition in America, 1788-1828
by Saul Cornell
156 members
1 review
4.1
Member
eromsted
40
Shay's Rebellion: The Making of an Agrarian Insurrection
by David P. Szatmary
71 members
1 review
4
Member
waitingtoderail
41
American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson
by Joseph J. Ellis
3,098 members
37 reviews
3.9
Member
AnnaClaire
42
American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia
by Edmund S. Morgan
1,185 members
11 reviews
4.1
Member
waitingtoderail
44
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815
by Gordon S. Wood
1,509 members
13 reviews
4.2
Member
joelanca
45
A People Numerous and Armed: Reflections on the Military Struggle for American Independence
by John Shy
125 members
3 reviews
½ 4.3
Member
eromsted
46
John Marshall and the Heroic Age of the Supreme Court
by R. Kent Newmyer
80 members
4
Member
Bretzky1
48
The Lion and the Union: The Anglo-American War 1812-15
by Kate Caffrey
20 members
3.8
Member
Bretzky1
49
Benjamin Franklin
by Carl Van Doren
670 members
2 reviews
4.2
Member
joelanca
50
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
by Gordon S. Wood
1,036 members
2 reviews
4.1
Member
eromsted
51
Realistic Visionary: A Portrait of George Washington
by Peter R. Henriques
79 members
1 review
4
Member
Bretzky1
52
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life
by Walter Isaacson
6,323 members
92 reviews
4
Member
Billhere
53
American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence
by Pauline Maier
874 members
9 reviews
4
Member
eromsted
54
Alexander Hamilton: American
by Richard Brookhiser
665 members
10 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
AnnaClaire
55
John Adams and the American Revolution
by Catherine Drinker Bowen
470 members
5 reviews
4.2
Member
joelanca
56
First Family: Abigail and John Adams
by Joseph J. Ellis
853 members
18 reviews
4.1
Member
Billhere
57
The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800
by Stanley Elkins
470 members
5 reviews
4.2
Member
eromsted
58
1812: The War That Forged a Nation
by Walter R. Borneman
814 members
9 reviews
3.8
Member
Billhere
59
Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams
by Lynne Withey
805 members
10 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
AnnaClaire
60
In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson
by Noble E. Cunningham, Jr.
473 members
3 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
eromsted
61
Generous Enemies: Patriots and Loyalists in Revolutionary New York
by Judith L. Van Buskirk
55 members
1 review
½ 3.5
Member
Bretzky1
62
The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War
by Fred Anderson
623 members
13 reviews
3.8
Member
Billhere
63
A Brilliant Solution: Inventing the American Constitution
by Carol Berkin
495 members
6 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
eromsted
64
Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr
by Nancy Isenberg
708 members
14 reviews
3.8
Member
AnnaClaire
65
The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America
by Colin G. Calloway
478 members
5 reviews
3.8
Member
Billhere
66
Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America
by Linda K. Kerber
328 members
2 reviews
4
Member
eromsted
68
Washington's Secret War
by Thomas Fleming
455 members
6 reviews
4
Member
Billhere
70
American Creation: Triumphs and Tragedies at the Founding of the Republic
by Joseph J. Ellis
1,912 members
31 reviews
3.9
Member
AnnaClaire
71
Saratoga, Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War
by Richard M. Ketchum
440 members
5 reviews
3.9
Member
Billhere
72
The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution
by Thomas P. Slaughter
267 members
2 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
eromsted
73
The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America
by Walter R. Borneman
477 members
5 reviews
3.9
Member
Billhere
74
A Revolutionary People At War: The Continental Army and American Character, 1775-1783
by Charles Royster
229 members
1 review
½ 3.5
Member
eromsted
75
The Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson and America's First Military Victory
by Robert V. Remini
398 members
8 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
Billhere
76
The Awakening of American Nationalism, 1815-1828
by George Dangerfield
182 members
1 review
3
Member
eromsted
77
The Winter Soldiers: The Battles for Trenton and Princeton
by Richard M. Ketchum
321 members
7 reviews
4.1
Member
Billhere
78
The Elusive Republic: Political Economy in Jeffersonian America
by Drew R. McCoy
237 members
4
Member
eromsted
79
A Wilderness So Immense: The Louisiana Purchase and the Destiny of America
by Jon Kukla
317 members
3 reviews
4
Member
Billhere
80
Decisive Day: The Battle for Bunker Hill
by Richard M. Ketchum
257 members
2 reviews
4.1
Member
Billhere
83
Victory at Yorktown: The Campaign That Won the Revolution
by Richard M. Ketchum
212 members
7 reviews
4
Member
Billhere
84
The Founding of a Nation: A History of the American Revolution, 1763-1776
by Merrill Jensen
92 members
1 review
½ 4.3
Member
eromsted
85
Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold's March to Quebec, 1775
by Thomas A. Desjardin
130 members
2 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
Billhere
88
Crisis in Freedom: The Alien and Sedition Acts
by John Chester Miller
56 members
4
Member
eromsted
89
Fries's Rebellion: The Enduring Struggle for the American Revolution
by Paul Douglas Newman
37 members
1 review
3.8
Member
eromsted
90
King William's War: The First Contest for North America, 1689–1697
by Michael G Laramie
35 members
1 review
4
Member
Billhere
92
The Power of the Purse: A History of American Public Finance, 1776-1790
by E. James Ferguson
36 members
½ 3.5
Member
eromsted
93
Jay's Treaty: a Study in Commerce and Diplomacy
by Samuel Flagg Bemis
22 members
2
Member
eromsted
95
A Shopkeeper's Millennium: Society and Revivals in Rochester, New York, 1815-1837
by Paul E. Johnson
474 members
7 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
eromsted
98
Cities in Revolt: Urban Life in America, 1743-1776
by Carl Bridenbaugh
82 members
Member
eromsted
100
The Black Presence in the Era of the American Revolution
by Sidney Kaplan
76 members
Member
eromsted