10 Uncomfortable Truths about the American Revolution - TopTenz Reaction

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[@lancepenman5471]

I did hear an American say that if it werent for America in WWII the French would now be speaking German - but if it were not for the French in the American revolution the Americans would today be speaking English!!!

[@yondie491]

okay that was good!

[@MonkeyBanjo7]

That’s just fucking brilliant

[@nate1066pollock]

And in thanks, we changed "chips" into "French fries" 😁😉

[@Calvin-ks9cr]

Or Brittish Empire would still exist.

[@George-Hawthorne]

We still speak English, the only thing that changed is the accent and the vernacular.

[@bens9792]

My favorite comment I’ve seen on a Revolution video is that “America calls it independence, Great Britain calls it tax evasion”

[@animalia5554]

Why not both?

[@stefanlowe9067]

To be fair what’s more American then tax evasion

[@muttley5958]

​@@animalia5554 🎯. 😂 😂

[@seandail1]

Sure, because we like our taxes to be imposed by the people's representatives instead of a King and his money counters.

[@matthewreichlin4993]

Except that stupid. The American colonies represented Great wealth, more than they even realized, and the American revolution was a huge blow to the crown and Great Britain.

[@cliffrusso1159]

Simon "I am everywhere" Whistler

[@atompunk5575]

Lols

[@christiangudmundsson8390]

Once you come to accept that Simon Whistler intends to dominate this platform with his numerous channels, when you accept that there are teams behind him doing research, writing scripts and all that, you have to give him that he's really good at presenting stuff. I used to get annoyed, but there's no good reason to.

[@SvenElven]

@@christiangudmundsson8390I have never really 'gotten' why he's so omnipresent. I think his style of presentation with that very posh voice and hint of wry snark makes him come off as slightly condescending!

[@jamesfetherston1190]

@@christiangudmundsson8390 He has a great voice and excellent delivery.

[@svenrio8521]

Man of a thousand channels

[@TomWilson-sy4jo]

I remember the old saying that Revere is most likely remembered because Longfellow realized more words rhymed with Revere than with Prescott or Dawes

[@cervanntes]

I've heard that too, although honestly, I think he only rhymes Revere in the poem 3-4 times and that could just as easily have been done with Dawes. Paws, pause, claws, clause, jaws, flaws, straws, gnaws, saws, because, etc. Granted, Revere does have better rhymes for the story being told; hear, near, fear, etc. There are other possible reasons he chose Revere, the first simply being that he admitted he was inspired to write the poem after visiting the Old North Church. Unlike what he wrote in the poem, however, the signal in the church wasn't *for* Revere and the other riders but ordered *by* Revere. In other words, of the people that made that midnight ride, the only one directly associated with the Old North Church signal and hence Longfellow's inspiration was Revere. Also, not sure if it's relevant, but Revere served under Longfellow's grandfather, so there's that too.

[@MCastleberry1980]

Was coming in to say the same thing "Listen my children and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere" just works really well, and thus the other riders kind of fell into obscurity lol

[@PhantomBanker]

Robert Wuhl had a great take on this in Assume the Position… “Israel Bissell? Sounds like a Jewish vacuum cleaner…🎶Come along kiddies! Daddy’s gonna whistle! Gonna tell you all the story ‘bout Israel Bissell!🎶”

[@UsaSatsui]

I think Revere was just the most prominent figure that went out riding that night. Even at the time, I'm pretty sure he was more well known than the others.

[@GuapoJhimi]

Lmao. WTF does Longfellow's poem have to do with history? He wasn't writing history anymore than you. He was writing for the same reason as you. So someone would notice him. Validate him. Make him pertinent . He succeeded. You all failed.

[@nickdial8528]

Yes, the french were paramount. However , this top ten video seems to completely gloss over and ignore the fact that washington had to survive for years against british military power before the french involvement became a hard reality. That is nothing to sneeze at, that in of itself is a huge feat.

[@IWantToBeBricky]

During that time America was also losing the war, they were losing territory down south and up by now Maine. If Washington ran out of luck and got killed or captured America would be basically gone by the French came to help

[@nickdial8528]

@@IWantToBeBricky What does that have to do with what I said? It doesn't matter if they were losing the war, the very fact he was able to survive for years, outmanned and out gunned, is an accomplishment in of itself and that is the point of my post. The French didn't get involved, until Washington had victories with Saratoga, that got their attention enough to believe in supporting the cause, so surviving for years and being able to pull out victories, just to gain the support, is a massive accomplishment.

[@MagicButterz]

The main point is the Americans had no chance without the French

[@nickdial8528]

@@MagicButterz It's how it was phrased.

[@CheerfulFerryBoat-ug8gr]

​@@IWantToBeBrickyThank God for Spain being involved! Spain was just as significant as France if not more so. Spain funded the Yorktown campaign paying both the French and Continental soldiers who hadn't been paid for several months and years causing several mutinees and also paid and refurbished Degrasse's French fleet allowing Degrasse to travel to both the Chesapeake and later Yorktown which Spain also had a huge role in the military planning which is why the Spanish Ambassador was invited to the Yorktown victory celebration in October of last year 2023! Spain protected French possessions in the Caribbean allowing Degrasse to travel to his destination freely without worry. Spanish General Bernardo de Gálvez was kind and generous enough to release his own French troops under Spanish command and ALLOWED Degrasse to take them to go reinforce Rochambeau at Yorktown! Spain also sent muskets to Saratoga in coordination with the French in 1777! Thanks Spain! 🇪🇸

[@andrewmstancombe1401]

Paul Revere was court martialled from the Army for cowardice in the face of the enemy he then appealed and won. It's great having friends in high places.

[@purvijavishnuproductions]

Hey, VTH! I love your videos! I'm a high schooler and I find history fascinating, and I love your calm, collected, and informative approach to presenting history. I wanted to suggest a video that I would really love to see that I haven't seen anyone do yet. If you're unaware, one of the most popular Advanced Placement (AP) courses that is offered by the College Board to high schoolers is AP United States History. All AP courses have an exam administered by the College Board at the end of the year. I wanted to see a video where a historian takes an old AP US History exam (preferably the one from 2023). They're all published and available online by the College Board. I think this video would be really fun and would also appeal to a younger (high school) audience. I hope you take this into consideration. Again, love your work. Thanks!

[@Beth-zs2jr]

As a Brit, it's so interesting hearing about the American Revolution and how ingrained knowledge about it is. I never learned about it in school, if anything it was a footnote in the list of wars we've caused/gotten involved in over the centuries. I'd argue most Brits, unless specifically studying that time period, know everything they do about the Revolution based on movies and Hamilton. Fantastic learning from you how many of these little tidbits are true or false in their assessment

[@johnwilletts3984]

On a hilltop overlooking my home town of Rotherham Yorkshire England stands a monument to the Boston Tea Party called Boston Castle. It was built in 1775 at the start of the conflict. Not far away at Parlington Hall stands a massive Victory Arch built in 1783, around the top it reads ‘Liberty Triumphant in N. America 1783’. It’s long forgotten now, but the Patriot Movement started in parliament as a branch of the Whig Party back in 1725. They opposed the Tory Party with a mission to end political corruption, but by the 1760s they were pushing for Civil Liberties, a fuller democracy and an end to the slave trade. They also believed that all Englishmen had the democratic right to chose their own governance (even American Englishmen). It was this that led them to support Independence. In 1825 the Patriot Party renamed themselves the Liberal Party and so still exist in Parliament to this day. To celebrate the centennial 4th July 1876 my home town opened its first public park with a massive party to celebrate the Patriot movement. Called Boston Castle it still exists. I wrote a little book about all this during lockdown and give talks to local history groups. The Patriots may have won militarily in America, but they also won politicly in Britain. Today our local Whig politicians such as Lords Effingham and Rockingham are remembered in the names of American Cities and Counties. Here in Rotherham we remember them in the names of two pubs!

[@ac1646]

John, thank you so much for this fascinating bit of history. My A Level history was Modern Political History from the Congress of Vienna to the Treaty of Versailles so we didn't study as far back as your timeframe. I guess you can only fit so much into two years! Is your book available to purchase?

[@gabrielfreeman518]

This is awesome! I had no idea!

[@faeembrugh]

It's not as well known as Trafalgar but the French suffered an absolutely disastrous maritime defeat in the Battle of the Saintes in 1782 which caused enormous financial problems for France on top of the other costs of helping the USA.

[@skiteufr]

The Saintes only saved Britain from losing Jamaica to the French. But the French had already captured 7 British caribbean possessions stripping the British crown from a lot of revenue. Added to that, the French also captured Menorca to Britain in the mediterranean and disrupted trade with India. The French were everywhere and all these forced the British to stop their war

[@robertharrington703]

Fun fact: the word "Tory" originally came from the Irish word "Tóraidhe" meaning "robber" or "outlaw" or something to that effect. It was used to describe the English settlers when they landed here, and in arguably my absolute favourite point of irony, is still alive today in the nickname of the Conservative Party of the UK.

[@joshuawells835]

In regards to the taxation argument, I would counter with while the Sugar Act really only effected the wealthier colonists, the Stamp Act applied to more goods and thus effected more people, hence why more people got made at the Stamp Act. It goes towards to continuing escalation of events that ultimately led to the Revolution. But yes, the "Joe Farmers," as my professor would say" of the colonies had no dogs in the fight and only wanted what was best for his family and farm.

[@historylover7355]

George Washington gets alot of flack for not being a good general. While at the same we admit that most of his armies were militia who not only were under supplied, but not being paid. Washington keeping that army alive and even achieving a victory at trenton is one of the greatest victories in military history even Frederick the great regonized that.

[@tman29360]

Was the mentioned general Greene working under the same conditions? Just curious if his troops had better supplies or funding

[@historylover7355]

@tman29360 most likely a little better by the time of Greene southern campaign they would've been recieving support from the French and the troops would've been whipped into way better shape after valley forge and von Steuben.

[@jason200912]

Wasn't washington in charge of the continental army and not the militias?

[@historylover7355]

@jason200912 athe continental army, was made up of a loose band of militias from across the different colonies with like a small amount of being non militia, What we would call professional soldiers. George Washington, with the help of von stueben would whip, said militias into professional soldiers and a professional army at valley forge.

[@stevenpearce8715]

If I didn't have work I would go and meet with you. 😢. Anyway enjoy your trip my friend.

[@nathencawkins9233]

I'm watching this video while reading a copy of a Memorial military roster on my fathers' side of the family which includes the Revolutionary war and the Civil war.

[@rswarre]

He said that the American's use of guerrilla warfare isn't grounded in fact. Has he not heard of Francis Marion, or the overmountain men?

[@GairBear49]

According to Middle Class Democracy and the Revolution in Massachusetts by Robert E. Brown, around 98% of the adult males were qualified to vote in Massachusetts and around 92 to 95% did. Brown and his wife did a study of Virginia and came up with about 90% qualified and about 85% voting, As one of my history professors at CU Boulder said, the revolution was a preservative revolution.

[@thienbaongo7997]

I am always astounded by how well you know your own ancestors, and can so clearly recount their stories It's very impressive! And admirable

[@anathardayaldar]

Everytime he mentions an ancestor involved in that historic event, we have to drink a shot.

[@thienbaongo7997]

@@anathardayaldar LMAO, so true

[@DouglasLippi]

I'm just wondering about the accuracy. I think in this video he said "my 5th grade grandmother" which I am guessing is a mistake. Obviously, we all make mistakes. Just makes me wonder how many other mistakes are in there.

[@steventaylor8918]

I never heard anyone make the case that Washington was a military genius. Washington's greatness was in his moral authority. Leaders in Europe (many people here) were stunned when Washington returned to is home in VA after the war. Everyone expected him to take charge as some kind of despot. He was the true American Cincinnatus. Without his character there would be no United States.

[@u2bemark]

Yeah.. America needed help.. but so did Britain.. ever hear of Hessian mercs? Hell.. The Crown were imported Germans themselves because the Protestant element in the Kingdom couldn't keep the throne without foreign help.

[@TheTonyahawk]

What a wonderful channel!!! I actually am enthralled by the twists, turns and what if s in History and your channel feeds my quest for differing opinions and more knowledge. I'm a first generation American, all of my family immigrated from England/Scotland /Ireland to Canada (Montreal and Vancouver) not the US but not only am I glad of my heritage I'm glad to be an American/Californian!! So with that and my heritage I have been taught both sides of the Revolution and the what ifs can blow one's mind!!! Also Viva La France, I concur we would not exist without France!!!

[@93KJBrown]

Top Tenz actually isn't hosted by Simon anymore. Kind of a shame really, but that's okay. He's got about 13,000 other channels you can check out if you're interested.

[@nickdial8528]

Simon also claimed in one video, that the American revolution was a very small hiccup in British history, so it's not really focused on..which is insane, you're talking about an event where they amassed a massive amount of naval power and military. They fought for eight years and lost north america, which they just fought a war over against the french. This was not a hiccup, this was a massive unfolding in british history that ended up shaping the world until today.

[@KINGkong3747]

You’re not wrong but neither is he. At the time it was brushed off as a hiccup becasue it was unimportant to them

[@nickdial8528]

@@KINGkong3747 @KINGkong3747 Unimportant? The british sent the largest expeditionary force in their history to the Americas to fight the Revolution, which consisted of fifty thousand regulars, 30,000 Heessians, 13000 native American allies and a third of their Naval fleet, and they fought for 8 years. This is not a skirmish or a hiccup it's a war that involved several empires, the Prussian Empire aiding the British to supplement their ranks with Heessian soldiers, you had the Dutch and the Spanish and the French get involved, this was a very large conflict. "to subdue the rebellious colonies. At its peak, the British army in North America had approximately 50,000 officers and men, constituting the largest expeditionary force sent overseas by any British governments." That sound Unimportant? Lol No...to claim that is unbelievably ignorant.

[@archivesoffantasy5560]

@@nickdial8528Yeah I agree nobody fights for 8 years if they don’t care whether they win or lose. The war is not really covered much in UK education, but neither is the Seven Years’ War and the War of 1812 is even lesser known.

[@nickdial8528]

@@archivesoffantasy5560 There's a lot of history to cover, and I notice when it starts to get into the later wars, less gets focused on it. Schools run out of time unless you're taking a specialized course on a particular topic. But when people try to claim they were small hiccups or nonconsequential, that's just silly. I mean, the battle of Gibraltar, was a battle because of the american revolution. Those wars were absolutely consequential wars and changed the course of history forever to what we now know today. I mean, after all, The United States is a direct result from the outcome of the American revolution, and in a short amount of time became a leading world power that has forever changed the dynamics of the world that we currently live in today, so it wasn't a small hiccup or skirmish whatsoever, and it had a massive effect and change on the world. But yes, nobody dedicates eight years of fighting along with the largest overseas mobilization in their history, because they don't care about fighting it. Especially when they had just fought the French for control of the continent.

[@scollyb]

It's a bit like a British Vietnam

[@harryrabbit2870]

Very fond of Simon Whistler's channels, so +1 for that. Agree with your assessment of the video as it pretty much agrees with historical accounts and histories I have read on this subject, so +1 for that too (confession: my degree is in history; it's pretty much all I read.) And I enjoyed your matter-of-fact presentation, so +1 for that. Thumbs-up. Well done.

[@ryanpotter3812]

I'd argue that America's first involvement in a European conflict was the War of 1812 (not the First World War). No possibility that America declares war on Britain/invades Canada in 1812 without Britain's involvement in the Napoleonic Wars. The War of 1812 is essentially the North American theatre of the greater Napoleonic Wars (at least in my opinion!)

[@jdotoz]

The War of 1812 was basically a side theater of the Napoleonic Wars. Though really that was more like the Third World War, the first being the Seven Years War and the second being the War for American Independence.

[@Alex-g4h1q]

Yeah the only time America was invaded, by mostly farmers, natives, and militia and burnt the white house and went home. We got our asses kicked back home and never tried to attack what would become Canada and our ally ever again.

[@derravensberger9395]

A little note about the United Kingdom. This was created in the course of the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The union with Ireland created the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (which was shortened to Northern Ireland after the independence of the later Republic of Ireland).

[@aaroncortright9860]

the spark actually that lit the fuse was the King had created the Church of England as the only legal religious institution thing was he made it so he could tell the pastors, priests what they could or could not preach, the American colonists were already mad about the taxes and shipping stuff we're told about, if that had been as far as it went we might still be Brits, but the King tried to create essentially a church of England thing here in America were he could tell the preachers what they could or could not preach and that was the spark that actually lit the fuze there's a part of the bible that says " no man may add or subtract from the bible!" that specificly pissed off the preachers who railed against it and it was the final thing which those who wanted independance used to strike the match.

[@tommcnevin6057]

Paul Revere is mainly remembered from the Longfellow poem, "The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere", written on the eve of the Civil War to try and inspire a sense of patriotism as the divided house seemed on the verge of falling. He was one of many riders in 1775, was captured along the way by the Regulars, lost the horse he had borrowed, and did not complete his mission. I do not how true this is, but in a novel I read about the attack on a British fort in Maine, by the Massachusetts Navy in 1779, that ended in disaster, in which Paul Revere was involved, he was regarded as a buffoon, by a fellow officer in that campaign, who happened to be Longfellow's grandfather.

[@michaeltelson9798]

Industry was stifled here especially when it came to metal working beyond simple blacksmiths and foundaries. Thomas Jefferson had wished that he could have scientific equipment produced here, but by law they couldn’t. The British made items that he could get were overpriced and secondhand in quality. Another story of Americans paying their debts is about the death of Pulaski. John Cooper was with the mortally wounded Pulaski on that field in Georgia. John Cooper pledged that either himself or a descendant would fight for Polish independence as Pulaski did for our independence. After WWI, future film director and producer Merian Cooper volunteered to stay behind to work with graves registration to find where his fallen squadron mates were buried. Then he worked with humanitarian aid. Fauntleroy, an American ace and Cooper organized American airmen and staff to form a volunteer air squadron to help the fledgling Polish nation. This is the Kosciusko Squadron which fought in the Polish-Bolshevik War (1920-22). It is still a squadron in the Polish Air Force to this day with many battle honors.

[@mjs1557]

This was a very interesting video. I never speak bad of the French as a whole. I actually respect the fact that the French waited to see if we could win on our own and if we had a snowballs chance in hell to pull it off. To make sure we were worth helping. Unlike us to day where we immediately jumped into the Afghan War, the Second Iraq War, and the Ukraine War. The first two were a huge waist of money and life. The third one is looking to become the same as the first two. So I actually applaud the French for not rushing into things like we do.

[@njlauren]

Washington was not a great tactical general. He really wanted to fight a European style war but knew he couldnt. He went wih a fabian strategy , skirmishing snd hit and run tactics. The comtental army by the lste 1770s basically didnt fight much, they were at Jockey Hollow for 3 years, then went south to fight at Yorktown. He used deceipt and feints to make the British think he was actuve. Basucally he waited the British out, pinned them down in NYC. He held the armies together, the same way he held the country together after the war by getting the constitution written and in his actions as president.

[@omalleycaboose5937]

I think its wrong to say washington wasnt a good general, he wasn't good in combat but he was great as an overall administrator. While not a perfect comparison , the times are very different, but id say hes comparable to Ike... not all generals say today will or should lead troops in combat.

[@Guy-cb1oh]

I agree. Saying he wasn't a good Tactician would be more accurate.

[@johnylumpcrab5730]

As a believer in Providence, Washington was fearless in battle, having had several horses shot out from beneath him while on the front lines.

[@TimPowerGamer]

I think it should be clarified that Deism was the intellectual fad of the time period of the founding fathers. There were a boatload of deists in France and Britain during that same time frame.

[@MrWWIIBuff]

I'm going to write this as the video goes on. I agree with a lot of what both of you said about Washington, he definitely struggled on the tactical side. But I disagree with the point of "He spent most of the time running away" I think that's dodging the point of he knew when to cut and run and wouldn't fight to defend a dot on the map if it was not advantageous to do so. I think we also ignore how many other nations provided help, France gets the lions share of the credit, but Poland, the Dutch, the Prussians and the Spanish should also be recognized. While I agree that most people living in the colonies were not necessarily for the Revolution, based on my own reasearch and reading of period sources, it follows the trend of the Rule of Thirds: 1/3 will be against, 1/3 for it and 1/3 apathetic. Just tends to be the way it goes. Disgree on Proxy War as well. Proxy war usually does not involve your own forces, which France does committ its own forces. King George III was not being a big meanie, and most of the gripes the colonists had was with Parliament and wrote letters to KG3 to get him to make Parliament to see the light. Though even in Parliament, there were a number of MP's who were not happy with the PM's approach. The American Revolution by Fiske is a pretty good read on it. And once again, had they let any Colonial representation in Parliament, or let the colonial legislatures raise the taxes, they probably could have avoided the radicalism that would lead to the war. As for the Myths, did Molly Pitcher exist? Probably not. I think it may be used to try to lobby the vote for women, by saying we fought there by using an amalgamation of people's stories. She didn't exist, but the stories did. Paul Revere is one of the more common mythologized ones but many do recognize now that much about his ride is made-up. Good Content as always! Have fun in the UK!

[@indoorkites420]

they should make a tv show that put historic general agianst each other according to their historic accuracy, like zhukov vs washington

[@christophermoebs5514]

The revolution could be called a proxy war by the French in the sense that they were still pretty po'ed about being kicked out of North America in the French & Indian or seven Years War

[@rhaudeni5770]

#3. A number of colonists felt they already contributed their fair share by such things as participating in militias during the French & Indian War, and/or accepting a subservient position in the empire's economic system. Any taxes on top of that (no matter how small) would be seen as unfair. By the 1770s some people in the colonies really just wanted to run their own show anyway. Their stated reasons for breaking free were a means to an end.

[@roryvance3694]

I do have a problem with using the phrase "Founding Fathers" . Many scholars are moving away from that because its imprecise. Were those that supported independence but hated the Constitution (Anti-Federalists) "founding fathers"? Especially considering it was their complaints that led to the Bill of Rights. In a way, they win the argument with the rise of Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans over the Federalists. Does that mean the Federalists are not? Are we including every member of the state legislatures that ratified the Constitution? They debated and influenced how we view our Country. Are we naive to think that no woman had any influence on the Constitution, even if not publicly? If they were at the Constitutional Convention, a better term is "Framers" If you want to include all the others, "founding generation" is a better term.

[@anthonysteinberg4853]

I agree with all his points. But as an American I already knew ALL of this. To say I believe the myths is insulting 😤

[@kate2create738]

The movie/tv series about Benjamin Franklin sounds interesting, already loved the HBO’s miniseries of John Adams so hopefully this one can go into greater details, especially when dealing with getting a military alliance with the French.

[@mjbrennantpc]

I enjoy your work Regarding this review, a couple of thoughts. As for popularity, one might point out among the most celebrated American warriors, Col Robert Rogers fought for the Crown. As for the native Americans at least in the New York area and PA saw the Iroquois nation split with some serving with the colonists, especially the Oneida. As for Washington’s leadership- it reminds me of Eisenhower during WW2- he had to be as much a politician as a supreme commander. It should be no surprise he was frequently defeated in set piece battles- but with no professional or experienced officers what might one expect. It took 3 years for Lincoln to find Grant! But great job! If you haven’t read Angels in the Whirlwind and awesome view of the war.

[@Spinach_D]

I hate when people invent a premise and then disprove their own false premise. We learned all this in Jr High in the 1980s

[@johnmcdonagh-j1t]

I have always respected your objectivity so I would like your comments on something I read recently, I find it hard to believe ! "Contrary to the account that generations of Americans have been imbued with, no one spoke the rousing words--no taxation without representation---during these momentous years. Attributed to James Otis a member of the Massachusetts house of representatives, the citation first appeared in the biography of him published in 1823 sixty one years after the date of his agitation ,and 40 years after his death There is no contemporary record of the phrase being exclaimed during the revolution, and it never was a rallying cry that modern modern memories like to think" If it's true it's phenomenal !!

[@bucksdiaryfan]

You could say the same thing about Eisenhower that you say about George Washington -- and I consider Eisenhower the best president of the 20th Century, and a great American

[@jason200912]

Teddy was better

[@bucksdiaryfan]

@@jason200912 love him, but if I was 18 when he was President I would be scared shitless cause he's never seen a war he didn't want to join lol

[@jason200912]

@@bucksdiaryfan wouldn't matter since war and conscription would happen regardless for ww1. I don't think Roosevelt was in favor of conscription I think he only wanted volunteers which is what rhey did post vietnam due to piss poor morale

[@bucksdiaryfan]

@@jason200912 Lord Kitchener only wanted volunteers as well, but quickly found out that not as many Brits wanted him as much as he wanted them lol

[@jason200912]

@@bucksdiaryfan who knows. But they stopped after Vietnam using cinscripts.. teddy seemed to be all for autonomy which was the opposite of fdr and wilson

[@kevinkerr9405]

It is true that Washington was not a great tactician. However, even if the US Army had achieved numerical equality and been commanded by its best tactical commander, it would still have lost most, if not all of the battles, against Great Britain. This is because the British Army was superbly trained regulars. Arguably the only European army as well drilled was the Prussian. Washington did recognize von Steuben's ability as a drillmaster to train American soldiers to at least stand up to British Regulars. As you note, the most important American victory and the one that persuaded the French to intervene was Saratoga, which was largely the result of Benedict Arnold who is apparently he who must not be named.

[@Accuratetranslationservices]

Fun fact: Lafayette was an American citizen _before_ he was a French citizen. Legally speaking, he was an American first. The reason for this is because Maryland as a colony gave him citizenship - full citizenship, not “honorary citizenship” as is often mistakenly said. When the Constitution came into effect, all citizens of all the states became federal _American_ citizens as well (this is a quirk of US law to this day, you are _both_ a citizen of your _state_ and a citizen of the US, and yes that does actually matter for certain things like what court you can sue someone in). So, Lafayette was a US citizen in 1789. He was not a French citizen yet, because French citizenship was a class-based thing reserved for well-to-do folks before the French Revolution, which had not happened yet. Lafayette actually found this situation amusing and made remarks in his life about how he was an American first. Then, in the 1900s, one of Lafayette’s descendants actually won a legal battle (I forget what, I think for inheritance or something) on the basis that Lafayette was a US citizen, and was successful, thereby confirming Lafayette’s American citizenship status once and for all… except bizarrely, US Congress actually then made Lafayette an “honorary citizen” in the 2000s. I think it because they legitimately were not aware of any of this/an oversight, but he was already a real citizen, not an honorary one. So there it is.

[@JosephMitchellMitchell]

And A MASON

[@skiteufr]

During the monarchy, you were a French national because you were the loyal subject of His Most Christian Majesty the King of France, namely Louis XVI at the time. So he was French at the time he was sent to America whatever you're saying

[@claudiaclark6162]

No I didn't learn anything I didn't really already know. Thank you it was interesting. I would really like to know more information about the 110th Illinois during the Civil War if you get a chance.

[@waynefarmer3044]

It's very inappropriate to disrespect the French. You weren't there, you don't know. There were alot of factors that contributed to there surrender to the Nazi's.

[@alexanderyacht6483]

In March 1782, there was a battle in Toms River, NJ, when Tories attacked a Patriot blockhouse and captured it and its commander, Joshua Huddy.

[@theAverageJoe25]

As someone who has always been very interested in this history of the American revolution, it has always bothered me seeing just how much my fellow Americans mythologize our history

[@johngalt234]

I hate to say it, but it always seems like it is the right-wing and Christian part of our society.

[@theAverageJoe25]

@@johngalt234oh no doubt about it for the right wing part. I’d disagree and the Christian part. There’s a lot of people who think of themselves as Christians and in their own way they are but they behave in a very unchristian manner. I myself am a Christian, and I don’t diefy or mythologize our history

[@johngalt234]

@@theAverageJoe25 I'm talking about the devout, church-going, Evangelical type. not your "cultural Christians." The whole Regent University, Liberty University crowd.

[@Winters004]

That’s kind of the point and not something unique to the US. You cannot build a functioning nation without a powerful creation myth to bind people together.

[@justincoleman7856]

So since the American Revolutionary war & the Civil War were both rather old school wars, it only makes sense that both didn't immediately end when they were signed because of the delay in communication. The only difference with the Civil War is that they had the telegrams, but still there was fighting (mostly from the south as some men didn't want to believe that Robert E Lee had really surrendered).

[@mattm7798]

If Simon ever leaves youtube, half of its content will disappear

[@Ozgur72]

15:50 isnt this a version of proxy war though? An independence movement supported by another power in its fight with a bigger power. Like vietnam wars. Actually most of the proxy wars are like that.

[@jdc4483]

I enjoy Simon Whistler’s videos and really enjoy your commentary. The only issue I have with Simon‘s videos, and many people who do videos like his, is that many times they state known facts, as if they’ve been somehow covered up until he speaks them. All you have to do is do a little bit of reading on the US revolutionary war and the points Simon presents are prevalent. This type of sensationalism-videos is especially true with people who do Biblical related videos. They’ll say something about the Bible in a “shocking” format, that anyone who’s ever read it would say, “so what that’s exactly what it says.”

[@pathfinderlight]

The American Revolution was more a Rebellion against Parliament than it was against the King, though at the time the King took a big chunk of the blame.

[@elliottjames8020]

Don't forget that post Yorktown you have British success against the French in the Carribean and elsewhere. The Royal Navy victory at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782 means the Americans actually much less favourable terms at the negotiations with the Treaty of Paris.

[@thecynicaloptimist1884]

An interesting little note too is that the French fleet that was destroyed at the Saintes was the fleet that enabled the victory at Yorktown by driving off the Royal Navy at the Chesapeake.

[@thomaskalbfus2005]

Myths of the American Revolution 1. George Washington did not tell a lie. 2. George Washington chopped down a cherry tree. Those are the two myths I can think of.

[@freneticness6927]

I appluad you for just reviewing the video. Simon whistler seems very hitchens influenced anyways.

[@Noland55]

It is obvious the narrator has a romantic view of what makes a good general . The attributes of George Washington were what was needed to win the war. His troops were rarely a match for British troops. He is a model of a successful guerilla general. One of the first.

[@danielferguson3784]

The American colonists were very lucky that they were not taken over by the French. I'm sure they would have disliked being ruled by Catholic France & Spain more than their fellow British protestant relatives. The Americans had needed the British to defend them from the French, & from the native peoples whose land they were busy encroaching on, against the terms of treaties made with the King. This all cost Britain loads of money, & the raising of taxes to help cover these was not unreasonable. The Americans treated their Loyalists very badly, taking their property & forcing them out of the country, so that many had to seek safety in Canada.

[@user-sirscottdouglas]

That is true. I’m a Mason Lodge 4 You are exactly right We must have free will. They were Christians. You have to pray and ask for these things. God is not gonna just jump in every time you think you need them. Ok no more text. I’ll do the video

[@rogueatlas]

Great video! What's your favorite biography of George Washington? One that simultaneously acknowledges his military ineptitude and strong leadership skills - I'd love to read a character study on that combination.

[@benderWestlund]

Even the chapter on Yorktown, where I live, is mostly wrong…. The word “ effectively” is used ALOT as it was the turning point towards its end… and the museum here specifically talks to this issue…

[@LKMNOP]

Paul Revere's name became famous because of the poem. Not because he was so popular as a colonist. It was the poem that put his name in everyone's mind. That is historical

[@johnmckinnon420]

Being a devil's advocate and very defensive, I could be that American who said they'd be speaking German, probably to an America hater. Actually, one of my favorite moments of history is when a Col. Stanton, in front of Lafayette's tomb in WWI said, "Lafayette, we are here!", letting France know we were there repaying the favor. The United States of America has been in alot of wars and "police" actions but we've never been at war with France. In addition though, we had help from two Polish Officers, an alleged Gen. from Austria who turned the army into a fighting force and several First American tribes. That's as far as my knowledge goes, there are others I'm sure. Vive France 🇫🇷, Slava Ukraine🇺🇦! EDIT: Oops, I paused and posted this before he talked about Stanton.

[@normsti000]

Interesting, but it is from a British perspective so it will be different. Still, when all is said, while men will fight for land, adventure and comrades, they still need an underlying cause in which they can put their hopes and beliefs. For better or worse, the individual Revolutionary soldiers had one that caused them to fight against the Brits. The Grand Cause should never be under estimated.

[@CrimsonPrince12]

I found it kinda funny how you said it wasn’t really a proxy war between France and England…then went on to describe exactly why it was a proxy war in defense of your argument😜

[@mercy2351]

But isn't leadership as big of an aspect of being a general as military strategy? "General" isn't synonymous with "strategist," even though there is overlap there. Both skills are integral to the job, so it doesn't seem fair to say Washington was a "bad general" if he was so good at one crucial element that it overshadowed his deficits in other aspects (especially if he made up for those deficits by expertly appointing good tacticians to key roles under his leadership). So would it maybe be more accurate to say that Washington was a poor *tactician* but a good general overall when considering his total contributions (which, for all tactical failings, still ended up leading to overall military success).

[@cobbler9113]

I think the proxy war argument has merit, especially as the period 1689-1815 is often referred to as a Second Hundred Years War between England/Great Britain/UK and France. In that context, French backing for American forces makes more sense, but as you say, the Revolution had to start and gain momentum.

[@nerdweebotrash3298]

As I have told many of my friends, there was a reason why Americans agreed to defeat Germany first in WWII. We owed the French. We wouldn’t be the world’s greatest superpower without the French risking their own lives for the Colonists.

[@theMovieFanList]

I think John Adams is probably one of the only "devout" Christians in the first five Presidents and among the few in the "founding fathers".

[@modernjosephus356]

I would say Most Founding Father's were strong Christians and a few were not. Jefferson, Franklin, and Adams are mostly the only examples ever given of "Deists" (every once in a while they will throw in George Washington). But even the "Diests" had a high regard for Christianity.

[@jimivey6462]

Had not been for French support with our revolution, we would all be speaking English today.

[@johnresto1603]

Lots of fighting in the south after the victory at Yorktown. There is a book about it.

[@patrickmccrann991]

Mostly Continental Militia attacking the British and Tory strongholds after Cornwallis surrender. Clinton sent no more support to the south. He sat in New York for the latter half of the war.

[@kathyastrom1315]

Talking about who the respective political leaders were on both sides of the Revolution, I saw one historian say that, whereas the Americans were blessed with many of the best minds of their generation, the Brits were saddled with the opposite. Of course, the Brits were also dealing with trying to run a war from across the ocean, but they were also reluctant to let the generals on the ground in North America run the war with complete autonomy. Those generals did suffer from major rivalry issues, but so did the Americans.

[@drivingonice]

I largely agree with your analysis. Simon was off on a couple of things. The one thing that you said that I disagree with is about Washington. You said he was a poor general. I would say he was not the best tactical general, but he had many good quality’s as a general you even mentioned many in your analysis. Washington was the man that kept his army in the field for 8 years. Despite long odds poorly trained troops even internal decent.

[@r3h0l3s7]

Benedict Arnold is also a big misrepresentation. All his successes on the battlefield are wiped away, and only known as a traitor.

[@ricardoaguirre6126]

Would love to hear your thoughts on the PBS show Liberty's kids.

[@logannichols5848]

Everything mentioned has been said in every history class. I disagree with peoples emphasis on French involvement. The French sent their fleet to bottle up Yorktown. It was their first involvement in the war. And with the French joining the war the English realized they couldn't win shortening the war and saving lives.

[@1rwjwith]

Yeah but one thing Simon says..”The American Revolution is looked upon with great pride by most Americans” …From what I observe and what is demonstrated.MOST AMERICANS CURRENTLY ESPECIALLY THOSE UNDER 40 HAVE LITTLE OR NO IDEA WHO THE REVOLUTION WAS FOUGHT AGAINST OR FOR OR WHEN IT EVEN HAPPENED!! PRIDE..at this point in public Schools hardly anything about American history is taught with PRIDE! Thats the real truth.

[@edwardmeade]

It is interesting to note that less than half of all of Britian's American colonies actually revolted. Think about that.

[@derekfnord]

I remember hearing once that more colonists fought on the side of the British than fought on the side of the revolutionaries. Can anyone confirm whether that's true?

[@homersimpson5821]

Their a Molly Pitcher restop on Jersey Turnpike.

[@ronaldedson496]

I know

[@lukebrians9055]

I would say the biggest problem to do with taxation us you make me fight a war. Say if we win you get a bunch of land then take a bunch of my money. Yes the British were protecting the colonies but the original video under plays how very much this was about one more knock at France.

[@gungriffen]

19:30 Simon is basically chastising a British system, we hadnt won yet. It was their system. Also do the British vote for the King?

[@coleparker]

It is not that I necessarily disagree with the Top Tenz guy,. but his observations on the American Revolution in this video is somewhat simplistic to the point where he is ignorant of the History of the Colonies. First of all, by the time of the Revolution, the Colonies and their legislatures were well over a 100 years old, thus many were in fact semi independent from the mother country in terms of economy and self rule at the time of the revolution. As for Washington being a great general, it is hard to judge him by comparison with the British Army at the time. His army at the beginning was composed of local militia, and untrained volunteers, and most his officer staff, was barely familiar with the basic tactics in battle let alone strategic objectives of the 18th century. Also he had to contend with Political rivals both on his staff and with members of Congress, who primary concern with their own State legislatures. It is true that the Revolution was not wholly supported by the entire population within the 13 colonies. Estimates are that only about 1/3 of the population actually supported it to the extent that they wanted full independence. However, to counterbalance, not everyone in Britain supported the British effort, in fact some in the Royal Parliament actually felt that the American cousins had legitimate grievances, and there many army soldiers and even a couple of the Generals (I believe it was the Howe Brothers) that felt the war was wrong. As for the French connection, the Top Tenz guy totally misrepresents how the Americans ignored their contribution. Lastly, the Americans were not totally against the Taxation to help pay for debt. What they resented was the Royal Govt imposing the tax without going through the local legislatures and without consult of those members or representatives in Parliament, which is the Real meaning No Taxation without Representation statements that were uttered. As for the American Battle tactics, Top Tenz ignores those battles that were fought in the South at Cowpens and other areas, where the American Rifle and Indian tactics were employed to the detriment of their enemies. Also he ignores the one sniper round that caused the defeat at the Battle of Saratoga.

[@bfiedelman5575]

It was a proxy war with the French especially Choiseul, the First Minister looking to reverse the results of the Seven Years War. There was fighting in Africa and India and especially the in the West Indies. Britain had to fight all over the globe to protect what it had won in 1763 thereby diluting the power of its navy that had been left to weaken, and taxing the ability to send troops to fight not only in North America but world wide. Yorktown was the major British defeat that marked the end of fighting in 1781, but the peace treaty wasn't signed until 1783 because Britain, France and Spain were still fighting especially for the Sugar Islands. If you were to read correspondence by the delegates there was a lot of it devoted to the West Indies which were deemed more valuable than the 13 Colonies. A good deal of argument/debates in Parliament after the North Ministry fell was over keeping colonies and not about losing America. All in all, the Revolution was just one war in a series of Anglo-French Wars that began with The Spanish Succession and ended in June 1815 at Waterloo.

[@walkermangum56]

I just clicked because of the Fulham kit in the thumbnail

[@295Phoenix]

I actually think George Washington was an above average (but not too above) general. He won't pull off miracles but once he had a well-trained army thanks to von Steuben he did well at Monmouth, IMO.

[@RoyFizzle]

As long as you don’t go beardless Simon videos I’m good 😂

[@geoffreypereira8024]

Washington, great strategist; mediocre tactician. Indeed, about a decade ago a panel of British historians rated Washington as the most formidable enemy in their history.

[@user-ld4xx1el6q]

My father was a deist, or agnostic. He believed that there was some sort of supreme being but that He was not knowable in the Christian sense. He believed in works righteousness which is, of course, directly in opposition to salvation by Grace through faith, at least my Christian belief. As Jesus says in John 15 apart from Him we cannot do anything. I believe that extends to breathing...

[@91GT347]

You do not have to be a Christian, to be a Mason. You just have to believe in a higher power. Whatever that power may be. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hermertic, etc. Knights Templar are Christian.

[@nielgregory108]

You don't HAVE to believe in anything as I know alot of Masons who laugh at the notion.

[@jackrosario9990]

Spain also help the 13 colonies.

[@billbliss1518]

Where does Simon or Top Tenz get their information from as to what Americans know or don’t know? Any sort of polling? I doubt it. I can say that any 16 year old American who has paid a modicum of attention in history class already knows the majority of this.

[@DennisUrMenace]

Something about a European telling me about about American history and generalizing American thoughts on the subject is upsetting. Is this how other countries feel when we do it? 😂

[@andreascovano7742]

You really need to watch the Video by Old Britannia on the diplomacy of the revolutionary war. It is fantastic!

[@thomasmccormick6662]

While most of what is said in the videos that Simon narrates about America is pretty spot on, you can tell that he - or more likely the script writers - frame the things they talk about with a negative connotation attached. That part is rather predictable and played out.