10 Uncomfortable Truths about the American Revolution - TopTenz Reaction

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[@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.

[@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.

[@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! 🇪🇸

[@soupordave]

Washington was a good enough general to know when he needed to withdraw and pulled off some pretty good ones. His best trait was keeping the Army together.

[@crushedscouter9522]

this. some of these people don't understand that being a general doesn't just mean dealing with the stuff that happens when guns are firing. in fact, the vast majority of a generals responsibilities don't have anything to do with battle.

[@StickWithTrigger]

He was out flanked and encircled many times and only go out through insane luck and its weird he never learned from this mistake

[@jamess7576]

​@@StickWithTrigger Yeah you form an army from scratch then go (often times outnumbered) against regulars. A good number of instances where Washington got flanked were due to circumstances outside of his control. Washington's abilities as a General are severely underrated.

[@thomasmoshier3920]

Exactly. You take a bunch of farmers with no money, no food, and very little training or experience. And put them up against the best army in the world and let’s see how you do. It’s amazing Washington was able to hold them together as long as he did. You want to talk about Providence…..

[@jamess7576]

@@thomasmoshier3920 Right and I also find the hand waving of Trenton and Princeton as simply enemy incompetence very superficial and ignorant. The Trenton-Princeton campaign and subsequent actions putting continual pressure on the Red Coats was an example of darn good generalship. Wilder Historian has a good ongoing series regarding Washington. He also includes primary sources.

[@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.

[@Mikebumpful]

@@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

[@seanentzel9616]

You comment so often Chris about your ancestors getting hung or killed in battle so often that it blows my mind that they managed to reproduce quickly enough so that you could make it here today

[@cmlemmus494]

We don't know how old his ancestors were when they got killed. Besides, in an era where the counting method was cutting edge birth control, a 30-year-old grandfather wasn't exactly a rarity.

[@onedaysoon5351]

Ancestors also include aunts, uncles, and cousins

[@vaudevillian7]

@@onedaysoon5351 an ancestor is someone you have direct descent from, so aunts, uncles and cousins are relatives rather than ancestors

[@cmlemmus494]

@@onedaysoon5351 No, those are ancestral relatives. A person's ancestors are the people in the direct line.

[@seanentzel9616]

Everyone... I was just making a joke

[@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.

[@1krani]

Washington was a mediocre field commander but ran an excellent campaign, and he picked his generals much in the same way. Nathaniel Green and Benedict Arnold weren't the best at split-second commands, but they knew how to work an area and how to operate leading up to the battle. In fact, it was Arnold's aggressive nature that saved Horatio Gates's army at Saratoga from catching a sneak attack. Washington specifically sent Arnold to Saratoga knowing Gates was too defensive in picking his battles.

[@dennisweidner288]

@1krani Fair enough, but his cosmic importance was that after winning the War and being in total command of the Continental Army-- he stepped down. He could have been king if he had wanted.

[@soundofhistory_]

Honestly, I love that Washington was kind of a bad military commander and still managed to win. Feels like a uniquely American thing. His strength was recognizing talent and nurturing/leading that talent. Which is what America needed at the start.

[@andrewmstancombe1401]

Uniquely American!! Lol. Do you know anything about British history ? You forget Washington was British until After the Revolt when he became " American" British history is full of near disaster British losing the battle but winning the war. We call it muddling through. Somehow, something will happen, and it'll all turn out right. Right up to the present Day, whereas the US spends trillions on defence, to protect the country in case a war starts the British have cut to the bone, hoping somehow if war starts, we'll muddle through.

[@robertfry6783]

A POV of Washington from one of your British cousins: He was a Multimillionaire (multi billionaire in today’s money) slave owning land owner refuses to pay any taxes towards vast bills of his government in recent wars against france. Goes to the recent enemy and asks for yet more vast funding to finance an unpopular war of revolution against their own govt. Once he wins instigates taxes on all and unravels all the treaties that had been signed with Indian nations and steadily seizes all their lands and perpetrates genocide. Slavery in N America lasts 50-100 years longer than it would have It being abolished mainly by the Britain (yes attempted atonement for their part in the slave trade) who effectively stamped it out globally. The French successfully played us off against each other and worse you keep having to thank them even tho they generally complain about all of us English speakers!

[@scoutdynamics3272]

Knowing one's limitations and delegating those duties to one who can use them the mark of a good commander

[@jaythompson5102]

He made some incredible retreats for example at New York. Retreating in good order was a real skill and he was great at it. He basically won the war by not losing.

[@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!

[@capri012001]

The 2 most well known women that fit the "Molly Pitcher" story are Margaret Corbin who was at the battle of Fort Washington, her husband John was part of the New York artillery and when he was killed at his canon she did take his place she only fought for a few minutes before being struck from grape shot. She survived but nearly lost her left arm and was an invalid the rest of her living at veterans home at West Point. She and Deborah Sampson were the only 2 women in the Revolution that received an honorable discharge and a military pension . The other woman was Mary Ludwig Hayes at the battle of Monmouth. Her husband was wounded and she took his place and fought for the remainder of the battle. She was not hurt but a canon ball did run in between her legs tearing her dress, but it didn't seem to phase her. Unfortunately she got no recognition for her heroics.

[@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.

[@johnresto1603]

I am a volunteer guide at Monmouth Battlefield and its was proved in the 1970s that she didn't fire a cannon. There is a source book abiut Molly Pitcher by David Martin that goes over all of rhe different stories about her.

[@GuapoJhimi]

Aw. Well, you broke it wide open. Shut down the country. Breaking revelations. Chuck it all. Molly didn't shoot the cannon. We don't exist. Lmao. Who gives a shit?

[@benjamies4136]

The HBO show John Adams makes his adventure to France so funny. He was so out of touch with French culture while good Ole B.F was basically made for French society(in the miniseries)

[@chaddubois8164]

I admire John Adams integrity, hardwork and devotion to his wife but from what I've heard he wasn't the most popular guy, especially while President. I think he was an underrated and important piece in getting things going but once things were up and running, his insecurities got in the way of politics and working with others. He had the brains but not the people skills. You can graduate with high marks but if no one wants to work with you then it's going to be a rough road.

[@benjamies4136]

@chaddubois8164 yeah John adams is really a fascinating finding father, easily the most legally minded, instrumental in the declaration and the legal barriers for independence, but also harbored a lot of "royalist views". Even in the miniseries there is a simple line where without John adams even saying anything while now President washing is ending a meeting he curtly states (to paraphrase) "you better only call me Mr president" in his checked anger. John adams a big advocate to call the president "his excellency" which made a lot of people believe he had wanted Washington to not step down. It's interesting that he ended up president number 2. The whole beginning of the feud between him and Jefferson is very interesting also.

[@atfeldman123]

@@benjamies4136 Mr. President and nothing more was the quote I believe.

[@benjamies4136]

@atfeldman123 yes! Thank you. Such a quick line but I remember that being a really powerful reminder of more of the controversial stances of Adam's. Thank you

[@atfeldman123]

@@benjamies4136 I guess at the time it made sense, we were new untested, and not really respected by a lot of powers. I guess he thought using some stylings of monarchy might earn us some goodwill from actual monarchs who did not trust us.

[@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!

[@njlauren]

There was another side to the revolution, in England. George the 3rd was not a stupid person, he was well read. But he had a very strong idea of morals and to him the rebels were violating strict moral codes& felt they needed to be severely punished. Plus George also was Jealous of other monarchs bc they didnt have to deal with a parliament the way he did. Per Trevalyan it was also a battle of King vs parliament, & the loss of America accelereted the decline if royal power.

[@andrewshaw1571]

I wouldnt accept Trevallyan's scholarship on this issue. He's what we would call a whig historian. More modern scholarship displays that king george was far more accepting of parliaments sovereignty, given he rarely directly intervened and owed his entire dynasty in the uk to it. George was the first constitutional monarch in spirit, doing many of the things americans call him a tyrant for precisely because doing so would require him to go over parliaments head, violating his oath to uphold the bill of rights. His personal views on the revolution are completely normal for a ruler of the time, baring in mind he was a child when the jacobites threatened to march into london. Compare him to louis 15th or catherine the great and the man looks like a gentle flower.

[@99Kronos]

I think the funniest fact about the Seven Years War and everything that came after was who specifically started it. The Seven Years War was "officially" started in 1756 when Frederick the Great invaded Saxony. However, the Battle of Jumonville Glen (which then transitioned into the Battle of Ft. Necessity when things went sideways) in 1754 was started by a twenty-two year old Lieutenant Colonel named...George Washington. France and Britain weren't at war at the time, but that sparked an international incident which then became full-blown conflict and eventually spiraled into other powers joining in. So it is entirely accurate to say that George Washington kicked off a series of events that led to a global conflict, followed by the British Empire imposing the Stamp Act and the Tea Act to try to mitigate the cost of said conflict, in turn causing the American Revolution... ...Which George Washington would end up leading, as well as leading the subsequent nation that formed out of it. And his presidency would set the precedent for all succeeding presidents to follow and his non-interventionist policies would set the tone for America's foreign relations up to WWII. He basically accidentally'd his way through nearly fifty years of history and we are still feeling the effects of it nearly two and a half centuries later.

[@EuropeanQoheleth]

There is such a thing as officially. I wish people would stop putting it in scare quotes.

[@PeterJ1851]

Yeah sure do you really beliefe your own words? 17 years out of 250 without a war and you say non interventionist? The USA meddeld in nearly all continents and that constantly.

[@jamescobban857]

A worthwhile discussion is whether there would even have been an American Revolution if not for GW committing a WAR CRIME in 1754. Almost all of the British administrative actions which the American elite found "intolerable" were a direct consequence of that WAR CRIME. Montcalm would never have threatened the English colonies if GW had not condoned the murder of Jumonville and his small force. The Quebec Act was only necessary because Britain unexpectedly found itself controlling the "so many acres of snow" of Voltaire. The 1763 prohibition of settlement west of the watershed was a direct consequence of the treaties with the natives which Britain had signed to get support for fighting the French. And of course the taxes and the presence of British military within the English colonies were only necessary *because* Britain had a massive war debt and could not afford to withdraw the troops. Now the Seven Years War almost certainly would have been fought anyway. Its causes were mostly in Europe. But New France could not have on its own threatened the English colonies, who outnumbered them thirty to one. But the British only seized Québec to cut the logistics of Montcalm, and in 1763 it tried to give it back to France! If France had accepted, again there would have been many fewer motivations for independence.

[@cervanntes]

August 16th, 2024 will be the 200th anniversary of Lafayette's Farewell Tour and there will be bicentennial celebrations later this year in many of the places he visited on that stop. President Monroe had invited Lafayette back to the states in 1824 to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the new country. Lafayette was supposed to tour for 3 months but ended up travelling to 24 states over 13 months to celebration after celebration. A young Edgar Allen Poe even served in his Honor Guard at one point. As the last surviving major general of the Revolution, his visit was extremely popular and in some cities massive crowds of upwards of 100,000 people showed up to welcome him. He found himself invited to various dedications and honors along the way, including at Fayetteville NC, the first of the many towns that were named after him. I think we often forget just how popular and beloved this young French marquis was back in the early years of the country. As a side note, he was considered by many to be a natural-born citizen of the US since he was recognized as a citizen of Maryland before the Constitution was ratified, and not only that, but Maryland had declared that Lafayette and all his male heirs in perpetuity would be citizens of Maryland. That declaration actually led to a court case in 1955 where an Italian man claiming to be a male-line descendant of Lafayette argued in court that this made him a natural born US citizen due to the Maryland act regarding Lafayette's heirs. That court decided that while the Maryland act did apply to any heirs born on or before the Constitution went into effect, it did not apply to any born after although the Dred Scott decision, of all things, did suggest that all descendants of Lafayette would still be considered citizens of Maryland, just not the United States. In any case, he was also named an honorary citizen in 2002, erasing any uncertainty about his US citizenship.

[@henryJBonaparte]

I just love the portrayal that the historian/actor Mark F. Schneider gives us at these events that's been hold in the South-Eastern USA. He's an astonishingly good Lafayette.

[@CUtigerz97]

Lafayette landed in my hometown of Georgetown, SC on his original trip to the colonies. My favorite restaurant growing up was named after him! France made a big difference in winning the war. I think we covered that debt and them some.

[@GreenEyedRogue]

Point 4: The founders who identified as Deists were often doing so to avoid being accused of favoring one denomination over another. Prior to the formal surrender at Yorktown, the Church of England or Anglican Church was the only legal form of Christianity outside of Maryland. It was Madison's (An Anglican) exchange of letters with the Anabaptists of Virginia (who were practicing in secret) that later formed his thoughts on religious freedom as expressed in the First Amendment. Bear in mind, while Cornwallis surrendered in October 1781, it took a full decade before the Bill of Rights was passed in December 1791. That decade was one of the most politically contentious in our history, and many of the political fault lines were religious with various denominations vying for influence over whatever form the eventual government of the nascent United States would take. Washington was raised an Anglican, and adopted the American moniker Episcopalian after the revolution but described himself as a Deist once he was nominated for the presidency. In short, claiming Deism was a way to take a politically neutral position during a time when religious identity was greatly impacting the political landscape. It's unlikely that any of the founders were atheists.

[@animatorofanimation128]

Regarding #9: The largest battle of the war didn't even happen in the colonies, but at Gibraltar, where a massive Franco-Spanish army laid siege. The final attempted assault was massive but a total catastrophe for the allies and actually helped Britain recover a bit in the peace settlement Edit adding something for #3: Funny that George III is considered a big old tyrant in the States since he is one of Britains most important and kinder kings. By most accounts he was a pretty decent guy as far as kings go (until he lost his mind obviously). In terms of decision making in the revolutionary war it's really his ministers that enter the conversation more

[@thecynicaloptimist1884]

True, and pretty much until news of Bunker Hill arrived, George III was actually pretty sympathetic to the colonists.

[@taylorhagen3916]

Im a history lover especially as a little kid Instead of playing cops and robbers, oe cowboys and Indians I played British Vs. Colonies including France King George 111 and Cornwallis were always the two big bads as a kid As I got older I got a better understanding of all the nuances

[@ewy2753]

Great video! I want to point out when you mention the Spanish involvement in the revolution and their opening of a second front in Europe, I'm pretty sure the image shown is actually of the southern front with Bernardo De Galvez and his campaign on Spanish West Florida. As someone from the Pensacola T-Mobile area this is a big part of our early history and I think it may even make a great video topic for you 👍🏼

[@CheerfulFerryBoat-ug8gr]

@ewy2753 Bernie is the Man! Without Gálvez and Spain the American Revolution would never have been won! France alone could never have led the 13 Colonies to victory. Only Spain's involvement guaranteed American victory! Spain tipped the balance in favor of the American Colonies!

[@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

[@MrBossman00]

Ive noticed a trend lately for American Revolution videos. Kings and Generals released one about the battle of Trenton a few days ago thats really good. Consider checking it out while you’re on the theme!

[@ryann6067]

It’s on purpose. The 250th anniversary of the start of the Revolutionary War is next year, 2025. It’s actually almost exactly 1 year out as it’s Patriot’s Day.

[@colinfinnell2673]

10:24 I would, and more younger Americans would aswell i think 16:40 The idea that the natives used bows and arrows over muskets is completely myth. By the time of the King Philip's war guns were already cemented heavily into native culture and practice. In fact in that conflict the natives mainly outgunned the colonists. By the time of the American war of Independence natives have been using them in conflict for about 100 years. If know how to use them properly muskets are completely capable in ambush tactics, especially in the Northeastern wooded land were the engagement range is about 20 to 30 yards well within the range of accuracy for smoothbore muskets. Bows still saw some use and that have value but they we're not the common weapon.

[@stevenschwartzhoff1703]

As for taxation: we should remember that most taxation was tariffs and everyone in the end paid them.

[@kellyem33]

But a well designed tariff preserves an industry, leading to a healthy local economy, a “tax” on the offshore producer. Its the only such excise with that kind of effect.

[@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.

[@kingcawleey]

I am so sorry for the loss of your great great great great great grandma, my condolences , its never easy

[@brettpeacock9116]

The best general that the Revolutionary side had, one who won way more battles than he lost, was the one general they managed to denigrate and alienate to the point that he deserted their cause: Benedict Arnold. He and Washington never got along and they disagreed about almost everything... One other point is that the British were still economically fragile from the Anglo-French Seven Years War of which the French and Indian War of 1756-7 was basically a minor skirmish. Some people call the 7 years war the first World War, as it was fought in many scattered areas of the world and the cost was enormous.

[@GuapoJhimi]

Regardless, he turned traitor. Whatever his loyalties were in the beginning, he was willing to sacrifice his name, reputation, honor, country, the lives of "his" men, and the future of his supposed cause, for a slight. An insult. A fit of pique. He is what he is: a traitor. A self-serving, self aggrandizing, traitor. I think Washington could see his ilk.

[@johnresto1603]

Where did you read that Washington and Arnold didn't get along? I would like to read more about that.

[@jason200912]

Lafayette was also as good as Arnold except Arnold has a bit of a temper with his annual resignations everytime he got mad despite it being an obvious bare minimum scapegoat style punishment that washington would impose

[@johnresto1603]

@@jason200912 no he isn't. What did Lafayette do for you to say that he is just as good as Arnold?

[@jason200912]

@@johnresto1603 he bought me a baguette and we ate snails together

[@Sean__F]

In the New York State capitol building there's a hall of governors where a portrait of every governor is hung, the one non-governor that is found there is Lafayette due to his service during the Revolutionary War

[@Adamdidit]

My thing with Paul Revere is this. He was summoned personally by Warren for this. His main task by all reports was to wake other riders. Then he was supposed to go warn Adams and Hancock. He was well known to them as a fellow Son of Liberty who had participated in the Tea Partty and also had hit a famous home run of propaganda with the Boston Massacre picture. Obviously he wasnt THE GUY that popular culture made him out as but the pushback that hes only known because his name rhymed seems equally off. He was well known, very deeply involved as a revolutionary already, and his tasks strongly suggest he was viewed considered one of the most important riders if not the most important.

[@crushedscouter9522]

yep. the revisionist history of him being a nobody is weird. usually comes from people who are trying to "well ackshually" so they can try to sound smart.

[@Adamdidit]

@crushedscouter9522 Id chalk it up to the simple well documented tendency to overcorrect. We as people do it all the time.

[@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.

[@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.

[@michaelsnyder3871]

My previous comment has disappeared so let's go again. 1. Every manual or discussion of guerilla warfare ends the same way, a transition to conventional warfare. You can't win and hold strategic points as guerillas. George Washington understood this. The French and Native Americans won at Monongahela, but eventually the British and American colonials captured the strategic points like Fort Louisburg, Fort Pitt, and Fort Ticonderoga. Armies lived off the land so armies had to control the land to feed themselves. That required a conventional army that could defeat the British on the battlefield. 2. Frederick the Great called Washington's Trenton and Princeton Campaign as one of the greatest of the era. Washington defeated the forward positioned forces of Howe. He leveraged the British out of New Jersey, only a few months after they had occupied it. At Germantown, he came within a whisker of forcing Howe to retreat. The near victory at Germantown, where a Hessian officer wrote in amazement that it was the first battle where he saw British troops running in rout had just as much impact on the French as Saratoga. And it was the reinforcements that Washington sent to Gates, including Morgan's riflemen that played a major part in Gates' victory. At Monmouth Court House, he again came close to victory, when Lee, who may have been a traitor, retreated from battle. As it was, Washington rallied his troops and they fought Clinton and the British to a standstill, and it was the British who continued their retreat to NYC, from which they never came out again. And it was Washington's decision to drop his plans for an assault on NYC and transfer the Continental effort south, where he and Rochembeau trapped Cornwallis at Yorktown. Washington learned from his experiences in 1776-77 and by 1778 was fully capable of winning a battlefield victory over Clinton and/or Cornwallis. 3. And yes, he kept the Army together, through starvation, and the lack of supplies and pay and the promises of Congress. He understood that as long as he kept an army in the field, the War for Independence continued. The British could take NYC and Philadelphia, but the schwerpunkt was Washington and his army. And while he did, he improved it through every winter, especially at Valley Forge, where not only was a single drill established, where before there were at least three, perhaps four, he instituted permanent brigades reinforced with a battery of light artillery operating as an integrated force. Compare this to the annual reconstitution of their brigades and divisions by the British. When Gates failed in the South, he sent Greene. When the frontier needed to be secured, he sent Sullivan with a mobile force to devastate the villages and farmland of the Iroquois, driving them into Canada, where they were no longer the same threat and where they created logistics demands on the British. 4. Washington was like other American generals who had to learn the art of war on the run, like Grant, Sherman and Sheridan. He learned from victory and from defeat.

[@dough9512]

Very good post! Thank you!!

[@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?

[@adrianainespena5654]

Molly PItcher seems a retelling of the real story of the Spanish Maria Pita, who when the English attacked the City of Coruna, she saw her husband get killed, she grabbed a sword and shouted. "If you have honor, follow me" and led the defendes to repel the invaders.

[@TheManadeath]

It was my understanding that most of the Deisms was more about breaking away from Catholicism and Church of England. To worship as they chose and to get away from persecution for difference in belief. Much of this, as I believe it to be, what pushes for them to NOT set up an official church run by the state and to avoid such option.

[@jdotoz]

Deism is a complete departure from Christianity.

[@kamilosowski3889]

I often wonder how well known (and in fact how big in reality) was the contribution of Tadeusz Kościuszko in American Revolution. In Poland we probably tend to overestimate it since he's our national hero but I wonder how it looks from an american perspective. I'd appreciate a small enlightenment on this matter :)

[@geoffreypereira8024]

The fortifications he built at Saratoga were vital to American victory there. That victory was big enough to convince the French to join the Patriots cause. So, he played a small but VITAL role 😊

[@danpatterson8009]

There were many people who saw little use for a "country", as long as nobody interfered with their farming. Pragmatic but not a long-term strategy.

[@GOODYGOODGOOD789]

15:57 I wouldn't call it a proxy war because it didn't start because of the French even though they were invaluable.

[@bigenglishmonkey]

as ive said in another video that a lot of Americans tend to believe is that Britain was the most powerful country in the world at that point already, and that they defeated the strongest army in the world, some even think we had the empire we had in WW1 which has never been the case, the British army was always strong and could pull of impressive feats, but for the large majority of history the strongest army in Europe has bounced around between the likes of France, Austria, Russia, Poland etc. Britain's land forces have always preferred small precision attacks over large scale warfare.

[@atfeldman123]

They had a pretty strong force under Wellington, for the time.

[@JB-lb5fn]

@@atfeldman123 Most of the troops at Waterloo were allies. The British army was very small for the time period.

[@Thoosken1386]

@@atfeldman123 that army was about 50/50 British/allies

[@pashico7082]

Before I watch, let me just say that Simon is just a talking head, paid to read scripts. It's important to remember not to blame him for any mistakes made. EDIT: Oh my god, people, please chill. Why does the internet suck so much.

[@dream1430]

Well, he still makes a lot of money from this so regardless of his role, he should bear some responsibility, whatever that responsibility may be

[@jarrettlowery2802]

That's part of the job

[@tombo6245]

I would say that he pays people to write his scripts. He owns all or most of the channels he appears on

[@thepeacefulbuddah]

Simon can read a script about Rutherford B. Hayes, and I'm sure if you ask him about Hayes a week later he'd be like: "who?" "Who would name their kid Rutherford?"

[@Helania12]

@@tombo6245I doubt that he owns most of these channels since he appears in so many random channels on KZbin. It seems more that he is simply paid to read a script.

[@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

[@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.

[@vaudevillian7]

The Americans fighting doesn't mean it's not a proxy war (they would need to do so for it to be a proxy war), just that the French are equipping the Americans to avoid fighting the British directly for as long / as much as they could - which is a proxy war from a French perspective. The Vietnam War was a proxy war, that doesn't mean that the Vietnamese had no agency. Almost all of the small arms used at Saratoga were provided by the French, practically all of the powder for the duration of the war was provided by the French from 1775 - they were not on the fence about support, only direct involvement. Ergo that meets the description of proxy war, supporting an intermediary while having no or limited direct involvement. Arguably it stopped being a proxy war after Saratoga.

[@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.

[@davidsigler9690]

As I read enough history on the subject, none of this is uncomfortable, it's just history that too few care anymore to study let alone read.

[@LBF522]

Shame that history and civics are not taught in school as much as it once was.

[@davidsigler9690]

@@LBF522 Sadly indeed.....

[@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.

[@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.

[@RemyJackson]

I feel the British underestimate Americans's understanding of our own history. Simon talks like Brits believe America single-handedly beat the British. We are fully aware of France's involvement. The bit about the American Revolution being a proxy war with France is from England's perspective. France's involvement in the American Revolution causes Brits to view it as just part of their conflict with Napoleon a few years later

[@Deano-Dron81]

Many internet US citizens believe they won both world wars alone …..You can’t even question their reasoning, they don’t budge, they think of a war as something kinda cool, then claim it as their own victory. 😆 I don’t think it’s about the British underestimating the Americans anymore, I think the Brits just let them have a lot of things and can’t be arsed with it.

[@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.

[@mattm7798]

I don't think it can be overstated how huge it was that Washington left office peacefully and after 2 terms. We were ready to make him another King George and he declined it.

[@coachgoltzbizpro23]

Being in a production of 1776 has definitely shown me that not everyone in that time believed in independence. Hell, I played George Read in that show. He was notorious for causing the deadlock in Delaware that forced Caesar Rodney to ride back from Dover to break that deadlock and give Delaware the yes vote needed to pass the resolution.

[@jacobchandler7642]

It may seem like the Founders' hesitance to leave the British Empire was un-patriotic, but it might have actually been a benefit to the Patriot cause. Armed revolutions have much greater capacities for senseless bloodshed when their leaders are just as zealous in advocating for violence as their mobs are for enacting violence (see: the French Revolution). Moderates help reign in the extremists and focus the cause more on creating a better society, as opposed to simply destroying the old masters.

[@DouglasLippi]

Lol I wouldn't be getting your history lessons from musical theater.

[@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

[@hank780]

2:35-2:39 this reminded me of a dialogue in AC 3 Connor: It seems your tongue has tasted sour grapes. The people made their choice, and it was Washington. Haytham: People chose nothing. It was done by a group of priviliged coward who sought only to enrich themselves. The convened in private and made a decision that would benefit them. I'm sure they dressed it up wirh pretty words, but that does not make it true. The difference, the ONLY difference between myself and those you aid is that I do not feign affection

[@weepingscorpion8739]

I really struggled playing through AC3 as I don't think it lived up to the Ezio Trilogy but OMG, Haytham was such a great character!

[@hank780]

@@weepingscorpion8739 that's understandable. Personally I think AC 3 and black flag the next best thing since the ezio trilogy

[@weepingscorpion8739]

@@hank780 Yeah, I have heard good things about 4. But I haven't played AC in a while so I need to get back to them.

[@hank780]

@@weepingscorpion8739 you should. I only played the "old generation" games (meaning all games form AC 1 to syndicate minus the chronicles). My favourites are: AC 2, brotherhood, 1, 3, black flag and Rogue. I am not saying the rest are bad. As for the "new generation" games (the rest from origins), idk. Never played them

[@stevenpearce8715]

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

[@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.

[@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.

[@benjaminpendleton7797]

Washington's night withdrawal fromTrenton and attack on Princeton was a great surprise attack and an inspiring follow-up to the first attack on Trenton. And there's no question that Washington had personal courage; his riding out between the lines at Princeton to inspire his troops was a demonstration of that.

[@oneamericannoparty.]

I've recently had people try to convince me that Lincoln was a Marxist and Reagan was a communist. I've been searching for a good breakdown addressing this and I'm not having any luck. Do you have any suggestions where to look? I believe some believe Lincoln was Marxist only because he was an avid reader of The New York Triibune and there's little evidence of at least one correspondence between Lincoln and Marx...to me, that's not evidence of him being Marxist. With Reagan I believe they are referring to when he was 27 he applied to become a member of the communist party but was rejected.

[@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!!!

[@jackmessick2869]

The story of Mary Hays (Battle of Monmouth) was written about by Joseph Plumb Martin, definitely a first person account.

[@theboyisnotright6312]

He wrote my favorite first person account of the revolutionary war. I highly recommend his book. The town I live in contains the only grave west of the Mississippi of a revolutionary veteran. His grave is a stone mockup of Fort Ticonderoga. He came too homestead in Minnesota at the age of 84. Tough old bird I would say😊

[@BohemianRaichu]

King Geroge III wasn't as obstinate as popularly believed, Britain didn't appoint a governor or viceroy figure to make decisions on behalf of the British state on the ground, so when requests were received several weeks later by ship, the issue had already moved on and the situation greatly escalated.

[@Revkor]

the issue boils down to is too centerlaized power. england of the time wanted to extert control of a colony that basically ran itself for over a century. the tx idea was sound on paper but failed in execution and how the parliment responded made things worse

[@ginjaico_6132]

It made me chuckle when Trump said that the French would be talking German if not for America. A good retort would have been the Americans would be drinking tea and playing cricket if not for the French.

[@bruh-lo5yy]

Haha, both are true

[@jason200912]

The funnier response would be that Americans would be speaking english without the french

[@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.

[@jakahl1470]

Here's a comfortable truth ... WE WON! Scoreboard baby!

[@CheerfulFerryBoat-ug8gr]

"America could never have won the war without France but France could NEVER have fought the war without Spain!" - Larrie Ferreiro "If we are saved, Spain and France must save us!" - Alexander Hamilton

[@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.

[@robertgiorlando7206]

Highly recommend reading: “Our First Civil War Patriots and Loyalists during the American Revolution” by H. W. Brands. Talks at length about the beginnings of the revolution and how it progressed. Fantastic book

[@oldeskul]

Paul Revere was captured during his famous ride and released a few hours later. The only reason why I can surmise why Prescott and Dawes aren't mentioned in the famous poem is because it's hard to find words that rhyme with Prescott and Dawes.

[@AndrewJamesGordon]

I think I read somewhere, can’t remember exactly where, that Parliament had actually decided to grant the request for representation in the House of Commons, but that due to how long communication took, the message arrived too late.

[@brycedyck8450]

I remember clearly the moment 40 million Americans suddenly believed France had a long history of surrender. It is terribly sad that a throw-away line from an animated sitcom could have such a wide-ranging effect on the public consciousness. The USA needs to fix it's educational system😂

[@andrewward5891]

Yeah the French surrendered in world war 2 because they were beaten. There was no point fighting after the Dunkirk evacuation. And the French didn’t lose because they are cowards. The French leaders counted on the Maginot line to stop the Germans and the Germans just avoided it.

[@cmlemmus494]

They did "fix" it. They "fixed" it to create a worker class that wouldn't ask questions of their "elected" leaders. They fixed it in the sense of "the fix is in". In general I agree with you, but I think that while the education system is a big part of the modern issue, it's not the underlying issue. There need to be major fundamental changes to the American power base before any change can happen on a large-scale.

[@Odysseus1313]

France surrendered after losing a single battle to a retreating army that was shitting themselves to death. Their insane king literally signed over the entire country for that. 😂😂😂 so yeah since America has never surrendered their entire country before and France has done it twice over the course of 700 years. I would say it’s a fair arguement. Maybe Europe should teach themselves how to actually make a point and not just insult people.

[@Makarosc]

​@@andrewward5891I'm sure that comforts all the French people the Germans murdered afterward

[@samlosco8441]

@@Odysseus1313The USA is a very young country and is also isolated geographically (Canada and Mexico aren't exactly threats), so it feels unfair to compare it to France. The French have one of, if not the, best military records in the history of the past 1000 years. In WW2 they were simply beat by a smart move from the Germans, but that doesn't disgrace their whole history

[@CheerfulFerryBoat-ug8gr]

Spain sent the very first foreign weapons to the American Revolution even before it began at Lexington and Concord! Diego de Gardoqui sent weapons to Marblehead Massachusetts in February 1775! Spain also sent muskets to Saratoga in coordination with the French! Spain sent weapons to the American Colonies inside French ships sailing from France! When the ships arrived everyone assumed the entire cargo was only French lol! Huge mistake but understandable!

[@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.

[@user-lg1rd7jb5m]

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.

[@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.

[@user-bl8bd3no3i]

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

[@raydavison4288]

An ancestor of mine, Burwell Burchett, received a land grant in Kentucky for his service in the war. Burwell died at Washington's encampment in Trenton, New Jersey. His family claimed the grant, and now almost everybody in Carter County, Kentucky, is descended from ol' Burwell(probably pronounced as, "Burl"). 😊

[@VloggingThroughHistory]

Interesting. My family comes from Carter County but I have no connections to him.

[@sayedmahbub8933]

6:00 So Washington was basically good at HR department & bad at CEO.

[@c.goodman5375]

What is also to mention with the taxation, like the infamous stamp act and the sugar molasses act, that it targeted the wealthy colonists. Stamp act was mainly on things like Newspapers and goods of higher value. Newspapers and Paper for letters for example where mostly used by people who had property or wealth. Same withthe molasses act. Rum was a drink of wealthy housholds at the time. And to produce it you needed the sugar molasses.

[@Dragonite43]

My guess is that Molly Pitcher is a real person, but her last name wasn't Pitcher. I think I remember hearing that she got water to troops in a pitcher, hence he being called Pitcher even if her legal name wasn't Pitcher.

[@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!

[@MGood-ij1hi]

One reason for the American Revolution that few mention is that the " Age of Enlightenment" that was going on in Europe led to slavery becoming less acceptable in England which worried American slave owners in the American colonies. It got to the point where the Americans were angry that the British kept their promise to the ex slaves who fought on their side to take them when they left. The freedom loving Americans wanted their property returned.

[@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.

[@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).

[@thomaswright8165]

I understand what the british commentators Explaining He seems to downplay Washington He knew when to fight and he knew when to retreat. He survived a long time before the French intervened. One of his greatest achievements. Was a escaping from new york right under general Howes nose Keeplng The Army together. At the brutal Winter at valley forge. He may have lost more battles than he won. But no one else could have accomplished what he did.

[@georgestreicher252]

My fifth grade went on a class trip to Washinton's headquarters in Newburgh, NY. He was there to keep an eye on the British who were feared would start up hostilities again. Large signal fires were ready to be lit to alert the Continentals and militias.

[@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.

[@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.

[@jerseyjon73]

One thing to keep in mind...myths that Americans may believe doesn't mean things are taught incorrectly in school. While some of these myths were taught back in the day, I can speak from first-hand experience that for the past 30 years, none of these myths are part of any real U.S. history curriculum.

[@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.

[@jon85753]

Yes, the Americans did stuff prior to the French entering the war fully, but still the Americans were fighting the War with French powder, sugested percentages range from 75 percent to ninety percent of all American gunpowder was imported, mainly from France.

[@bothompson-ov6ju]

The only video Simon's ever had a issue with was the biography of William Mckinney he failed to talk about the income inequality of the time and made Mckinney out to be on of the most underrated presidents in history

[@galaxywolf969]

Growing up in Carlisle Pa., we were always taught that "Molly Pitcher" was based on Mary Ludwig Hays(who is buried in Carlisle): According to legend, at the Battle of Monmouth (June 28, 1778), Mary Hays, wife of artilleryman William Hays, carried water to cool both the cannon and the soldiers in her husband’s battery-hence the nickname “Molly Pitcher.” Legend also asserts that when William Hays collapsed (possibly from heat exhaustion) or was wounded (we do know that he survived the battle), she took her husband’s place in the gun crew for the rest of the rest of the battle. Joseph Plumb Martin, a soldier in the Revolution and the author of "Narrative of some of the Adventures, Dangers, and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier" which was originally published anonymously in 1830 and is often cited as a primary source for the American Revolution recalls an incident similar to this in his memoir. Quote "A woman whose husband belonged to the artillery and who was then attached to a piece in the engagement, attended with her husband at the piece the whole time. Mary Ludwig Hays/ remarried and now Mary McCauley, was awarded an annual pension of $40 (equivalent to $879 now) by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on Feb. 21, 1822 for her service at the Battle of Monmouth and Valley Forge. However, historian's have been unable to prove any of this story to be true other than the pension paid by the Commonwealth. I think that: The historical record seems to indicate that, perhaps several woman too numerous to mention, deserve the same title and may in fact be a collective term for women who took part in various Revolutionary battles.

[@mcnultyssobercompanion6372]

Hearing about the necessity of French assistance during our Revolution has me thinking about Ukraine. I keep saying, pushing back against tyranny for the sake of liberty *is our heritage* as Americans. It's _what we should_ do. _Certain lawmakers_ in Washington would do good to watch this video and recall how and why _we exist_ in the first place. Slava Ukraine.

[@Maria_Erias]

We are a free country because the men of other nations were willing to lay down their lives to help us win that freedom. Granted, the rulers of those countries did it for their own reasons (chiefly since Britain was their enemy), but that didn't really mean much to the men doing the fighting and the dying alongside the revolutionaries.

[@mcnultyssobercompanion6372]

@@Maria_Erias Correct. But there are Americans fighting in Ukraine. As volunteers. I've seen the footage. It's harrowing. They're literally in the trenches alongside their Ukrainian brothers and sisters. _There are not a lot of_ Americans over there, but they're there, if not as representatives of the state. They're still willing. Regardless, to me the point is the aid. It sounds like (correct me if I'm wrong) you're minimizing the importance of aid to Ukraine compared to actually sending troops (ie, the French aiding us during us during our revolution is not the same as present day Ukrainian aid because the French actually sent troops- and we will not send troops to Ukraine.) I reject that because if we were to send American troops to Ukraine to expel the occupiers, World War 3 begins. And no one benefits. American aid to Ukraine in the form of weapons and ammunition enables them to protect their people *from the tyranny* of Russian oppression. It's bizarre that I even have to explain the parallels here.

[@fillosof66689]

Maybe the lawmakers in question payed more heed to the practical aspect of the same historic events rather than any moralistic lessons. Need I remind you how the Kingdom of France ended up, in no small part as a result of their adventures in the Americas?

[@michaelwright6702]

Adams would be pissed about the credit you give Franklin lol

[@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.

[@roguenine9LU]

Two sources that significantly altered my view of the American Revolution were The Dangerous History Podcast's series on the American Revolution and one of CJ's primary sources for the episodes, Maury Rothbard's Concieved in Liberty.

[@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.

[@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

[@pauldelray5839]

The colonies were basically left alone by England until the French and Indian War. British never really enforced tax rules consistently. Paying for the war led to strict enforcement of taxes. American colonists complained and England would concede or ignore enforcement or write newer tax laws with stricter enforcement. This back and forth really led to the break with the colonists. Yes, taxation without reprensentation was the issue, but a lack of a consistent policy and application of law was the real irritant.

[@KeithWilliamMacHendry]

There was a really interesting programme on BBC Scotland that my old man videoed for me, it was called Scotland's empire. Essentially it was about Scotland's disproportionately large role in empire which exceeded its population. There were interviews with US historians & Scottish historians & an amazing fact that came out of it was that the first battle of the war happened in the Carolinas where Ulster Scots who fought for independence ambushed Highland Scots who had been given lands in the new world by King George & therefore swore an oath of allegiance to the crown. The ironic fact is that these Highland Gaels had been sent to the colonies in the aftermath of the Jacobite uprising as punishment. The Highland clans duly swore an allegiance to a crown that treated them badly, yet then seen their value as great warriors which they truly were.

[@jcoburn32]

He ignored the stamp act. The stamp act allowed the British agents to enter your home at will to verify all your papers had the stamp. Violating your privacy may have ticked off a lot more than rich land owers.