The notion of citizenship — and who had a right to it — has been a divisive and evolving issue since the country's founding.

When the United States was still deeply entrenched in the slave trade, the USS Constitution led a squadron that worked closely with formerly enslaved Black revolutionaries — illustrating that, in a democracy, foreign policy is only as permanent as the next election.

The intersection of Washington Street and Inner Belt Road in Somerville is the site of a little-told Black history event that happened about two decades before Paul Revere's ride, that centers on an enslaved man named Mark.

Patriots hung British soldier effigies from the Liberty Tree, which grew near Boston Common in the 1600s and 1700s. It was a spot where protesters assembled and pushed the boundaries of dissent.

As smallpox spread, colonists equated public health with self-governance, demanding that local officials track outbreaks and protect the public from contagion.

Old almanacs and songs show how religious icons — familiar from ancient, sacred texts — helped legitimize a war effort for independence.

New England’s behemoth pines were an important resource for the colonists. When the crown tried to reserve the most prized trees for the king, rebellion followed.

While it’s been used as a rallying cry for women’s political rights, the famous phrase may have had more to do with tyranny at home.

Often portrayed as hotbeds of revolutionary fervor, the nine colonial colleges offered curricula that proved traditional and slow to change — even as some students and alumni were having heated debates outside the classroom.

The personal library of Henry Knox encompasses a wide array of topics, from Middle Eastern civilization to philosophy to military tactics.