“What do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The revolution was effected before the war commenced. The revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people.”
I had already watched three television histories of the American Revolution before I ever listened to this audiobook. One was a British production called “Rebels & Redcoats: How Britain Lost America,” which was four hours long. Another was PBS’s “Liberty! The American Revolution,” which was six hours long. And the last was the History Channel’s “The Revolution,” which was ten hours long (the longest of the three). The last two were quite good, and the British production was helpful for understanding the British perspective, despite the glaring bias that one finds in it if they watch certain parts of it. But I still learned some things from this fine audiobook about the American Revolution, which is five hours long.
What was it that this audiobook offered that these television histories didn’t? Chiefly, it is how it explored the reasons that the Americans rebelled against Great Britain. Rebelling against an established authority is not something to be taken lightly, particularly when that established authority outnumbers you so massively. Americans were taking on the most powerful superpower on the face of the planet. They were rebelling against the authority of British law, to which they had been subject until that time. Why did they do so? This is a complicated subject, and I will not attempt to do it justice here. But suffice it to say that this audiobook is nearly unparalleled at going into these issues. They show how the mother country attempted to tax the colonies, despite the colonies’ not being represented in the Parliament that was taxing them. This was something that the British had never attempted to do before 1765, when they passed the infamous Stamp Act. The actual amount of the tax was never the issue. The issue was whether the British had any right to tax the colonies in the first place
Boston Tea Party, 1773
They go into the various provocations that the colonies faced, from the Stamp Act to the Declaratory Act to the Tea Act to the Intolerable Acts. But they also go into the various thinkers that influenced the American Revolution. This ranged from classical writers like Tacitus, Cicero, and Polybius to British writers like Algernon Sidney and John Locke. Indeed, this is probably the best overview that I have ever heard, of the philosophy behind the American Revolution. This may even be more interesting than their telling of the war itself, although they certainly have some interesting segments on the battles. The narration of George C. Scott is also quite helpful, and helps to bring this long-ago (and important) period to life.
Battle of Bunker Hill, 1775
The author of this audiobook was George H. Smith. George H. Smith is one of the foremost authorities on the philosophy behind the American Revolution. This company (Knowledge Products) also did a number of other audiobooks about the United States Constitution, which he wrote the scripts for. These include “The Constitutional Convention,” “The United States Constitution,” and “The Ratification Debates.” George H. Smith also wrote some other audiobooks about Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” and Thomas Jefferson’s “The Declaration of Independence,” all of which I have listened to (and have covered elsewhere, in the pages linked to above). They certainly cover the latter two works in this audiobook (if somewhat briefly), but they give virtually no analysis of the postwar period. This may be because Knowledge Products covered it so well in their other audiobooks about the Constitution, mentioned above. Thus, they didn’t need to go into it much here.
British surrender at Yorktown, 1781
This is a great introduction to the politics of the American Revolution. It may be the best examination of the ideas behind the Revolution that I’ve ever heard. The aforementioned television histories of the American Revolution are certainly worthy of your attention if you’re an American Revolution buff. Nonetheless, if television finds it harder to cover ideas (and it probably does), this audiobook will more than make up for any such deficiencies.
“[T]he great anniversary festival [Independence Day] ... ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward, forevermore.
“You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is more than worth all the means; and that posterity will triumph in that day' s transaction, even although we should rue it, which I trust in God we shall not.”
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Part of an audiobook series
The United States at War
The American Revolution (1775-1783)
Others to be covered later
See also the audiobook series
The United States Constitution
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