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
3,785 members
97 reviews
½ 4.4
4 Members
Billhere, sipthereader, Bretzky1, chas69
3
Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation
by Joseph J. Ellis
7,643 members
79 reviews
3.9
4 Members
Billhere, sipthereader, AnnaClaire, Bretzky1
4
John Adams
by David McCullough
15,446 members
214 reviews
½ 4.3
4 Members
sipthereader, AnnaClaire, Bretzky1, OrangeLFL,eromsted
5
The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789
by Robert Middlekauff
1,939 members
23 reviews
4
3 Members
eromsted, joelanca, Bretzky1
6
1776
by David McCullough
14,879 members
264 reviews
4.1
3 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire, JimRaynor76,eromsted
7
Alexander Hamilton
by Ron Chernow
9,736 members
177 reviews
½ 4.3
3 Members
eromsted, sipthereader, joelanca
8
The Stamp Act Crisis: Prologue to Revolution
by Edmund S. Morgan
223 members
2 reviews
4
3 Members
eromsted, joelanca, rwbib
9
The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution
by Bernard Bailyn
1,433 members
18 reviews
4.2
2 Members
waitingtoderail, eromsted
10
Undaunted Courage
by Stephen E. Ambrose
8,576 members
89 reviews
4.1
3 Members
Billhere, sipthereader, AnnaClaire
11
Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
by Jon Meacham
3,011 members
86 reviews
4
3 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire, Bretzky1
12
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy
by Ian W. Toll
1,191 members
26 reviews
½ 4.3
3 Members
Billhere, joelanca, Bretzky1
13
Adams vs. Jefferson: The Tumultuous Election of 1800
by John Ferling
813 members
14 reviews
3.9
3 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire, joelanca
15
The Radicalism of the American Revolution
by Gordon S. Wood
1,866 members
24 reviews
4.1
2 Members
eromsted, lostinthecosmos
17
Almost a Miracle: The American Victory in the War of Independence
by John Ferling
772 members
9 reviews
4.2
2 Members
joelanca, Bretzky1
18
Washington's Crossing
by David Hackett Fischer
2,031 members
26 reviews
½ 4.4
2 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire
20
His Excellency: George Washington
by Joseph J. Ellis
4,223 members
61 reviews
4
2 Members
AnnaClaire, Bretzky1
21
Paul Revere's Ride
by David Hackett Fischer
1,269 members
23 reviews
½ 4.3
2 Members
Billhere, AnnaClaire
23
Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams
by Joseph J. Ellis
535 members
5 reviews
4
2 Members
AnnaClaire, joelanca
24
Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence
by Carol Berkin
450 members
8 reviews
3.9
2 Members
eromsted, AnnaClaire
26
The American Pagent: Volume 1: To 1877
by Thomas A. Bailey
76 members
3.9
Member
MDGentleReader
27
George Washington: A Biography
by Douglas Southall Freeman
75 members
4.8
Member
Bretzky1
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
661 members
5 reviews
4.2
Member
waitingtoderail
33
Tom Paine and Revolutionary America
by Eric Foner
265 members
2 reviews
4
Member
eromsted
35
The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon
by John Ferling
368 members
28 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
AnnaClaire
36
Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic
by Joanne B. Freeman
335 members
4 reviews
3.9
Member
waitingtoderail
37
The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence
by T. H. Breen
321 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
3,107 members
37 reviews
3.9
Member
AnnaClaire
42
American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia
by Edmund S. Morgan
1,188 members
11 reviews
4.1
Member
waitingtoderail
44
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815
by Gordon S. Wood
1,514 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
673 members
2 reviews
4.2
Member
joelanca
50
The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
by Gordon S. Wood
1,041 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
6,353 members
92 reviews
4
Member
Billhere
53
American Scripture: Making the Declaration of Independence
by Pauline Maier
881 members
9 reviews
4
Member
eromsted
54
Alexander Hamilton: American
by Richard Brookhiser
667 members
10 reviews
½ 3.6
Member
AnnaClaire
55
John Adams and the American Revolution
by Catherine Drinker Bowen
475 members
5 reviews
4.2
Member
joelanca
56
First Family: Abigail and John Adams
by Joseph J. Ellis
859 members
18 reviews
4.1
Member
Billhere
57
The Age of Federalism: The Early American Republic, 1788-1800
by Stanley Elkins
471 members
5 reviews
4.2
Member
eromsted
58
1812: The War That Forged a Nation
by Walter R. Borneman
818 members
9 reviews
3.8
Member
Billhere
59
Dearest Friend: A Life of Abigail Adams
by Lynne Withey
808 members
10 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
AnnaClaire
60
In Pursuit of Reason: The Life of Thomas Jefferson
by Noble E. Cunningham, Jr.
474 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
497 members
6 reviews
½ 3.7
Member
eromsted
64
Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr
by Nancy Isenberg
711 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
329 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
1,917 members
31 reviews
3.9
Member
AnnaClaire
71
Saratoga, Turning Point of America's Revolutionary War
by Richard M. Ketchum
442 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
475 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
399 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
323 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
318 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
213 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
129 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
476 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