Analyzing American Revolution - AARevolution.net

The American Revolution promised liberty. But inside the household, almost nothing changed.

Married women did not gain legal identity. Enslaved women had none to begin with.

And the same system that placed men over women, continued to exist and even helped justify slavery.

📄 ⁠Interview transcript & takeaways⁠

🚩About My 212th Guest Scholar: Dr. Kathleen Brown

Dr. Kathleen M. Brown is David Boies Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a historian of gender and race in early America and the Atlantic World, which are the subjects of this interview and about which she has published extensively, including:

►"Undoing Slavery: Bodies, Race, and Rights in the Age of Abolition"

►"Foul Bodies: Cleanliness in Early America"

►"Good Wives, Nasty Wenches, and Anxious Patriarchs ", which we discuss in this interview.

▶️Other Related Interviews:

—Dr. David Silverman:

Nativ Peoples - the biggest losers of the American Revolution

▶️Meeting AAR Scholars:

33 Historians - 33 Perspectives : a structured body of thought on the American Revolution.

⁠

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00 Selected Highlights

01:37 Guest Introduction

03:49 Defining Women

05:59 Legal Rights of White Women

10:26 Marriage

14:18 Regional Differences

19:31 Urban vs. Rural

23:43 Religion

29:50 Education

35:25 "Good Wives, Nasty Wenches, and Anxious Patriarchs"

45:33 Gender and Slavery

52:34 Women’s Expectations

1:03:55 After the Revolution

1:10:04 Just One Point

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Money. Loans. Smuggled goods. War supplies.

The American Revolution wasn’t just fought on battlefields—it was sustained through a shadow network most Americans never learned about. While Britain tried to crush the rebellion, Dutch merchants, financiers, and political factions quietly kept it alive—often in defiance of their own government’s neutrality.

And when Britain finally struck back, that hidden support triggered a wider war that reshaped the outcome of the Revolution itself.

📄 Interview transcript & takeaways

🚩About My 211th Guest: Dr. Peter Van Cleave

Dr. Peter Van Cleave is a Clinical professor of History and Director of Online Programs of the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies in Arizona State University.

His publications include the following areas:

►the connections between the Netherlands and the United States during the Age of Revolutions

►Thomas Jefferson and the "Notes on the State of Virginia"

►religious tolerance and religious freedom in the Second Great Awakening

►the relationship between the Dutch Patriot Revolt and the American Revolution

►the legacy of New Netherland and the Dutch in American history

►John Adams and Atlantic politics

▶️Other Related Interviews:

►Dr. Sophia Rosenfeld: the Enlightenment & the American Revolution

►Committee of Secret Correspondence vs. Secret Committee

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00 Select Highlights

01:50 Guest Introduction

04:00 Colonial Dutch In America

10:55 Dutch Influence in America

16:18 Division in Dutch Government

22:01 Dutch Decline

26:22 Dutch Recognition of America

29:07 Dutch Intellectual Influence

38:33 Dutch in the Mayflower

42:26 Dutch Loans to America

45:32 Dutch Dilemma of Supporting America

53:08 John Paul Jones

58:18 A Secret Treaty?

1:03:58 Sack of St. Eustatius & Yorktown Surrender

1:10:00 Why Dutch Contributions Overlooked

1:14:48 Dr. Van Cleave's Research

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Militias existed. Local defense existed. So why did Congress create the Continental Army—only to limit its power?

What was this army fighting for? Who served in Washington's Army, and why? And how did serving in the Continental Army create a new national identity—an American identity?

As for Washington, was he a good general? Was he qualified for the job? And did pivotal battles of the Revolutionary War change how soldiers understood citizenship?

📄 Interview transcript & takeaways: https://analyzingamericanrevolution.com/continental-soldier-citizens-americas-peoples-army/

🚩About My 209th Guest: Dr. Ricardo Herrera

My guest is Dr. Ricardo Herrera, a retired professor of Military History at the Department of National Security and Strategy in the US Army War College. Dr. Herrera has served as an Armor and Cavalry officer in the US Army. Dr. Herrera has published extensively on U.S. military history, including the following books that we discuss in this interview:

—"Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778", which was a Finalist in the Inaugural American Battlefield Trust Book Prize for History, and

—"For Liberty and the Republic: The American Citizen as Soldier, 1775-1861".

—His forthcoming book is tentatively titled "Most Uncommon Soldier: The Life, Letters, and Journal of Edward Ashley Bowen Phelps, 1814-1893"

▶️Other Related Interviews:

►Dr. Paul Lockhart - Valley Forge & Baron de Steuben

►Dr. Rafe Blaufarb - France… Revenge! Revenge! Revenge!

►Dr. Gonzalo Quintero - Spain: will be linked here when interview publishes

►Dr. Peter Van Cleave - the Netherlands: will be linked here when interview publishes

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00 Select Highlights

01:35 Guest Introduction

03:44 A Weird Organization

07:33 A Conservative Force

11:29 Continental Army vs. Intercolonial Militia

14:51 Colonial Rivalries

20:18 Recruiting Continental Soldiers

25:48 Dangers of Regional Regiments

28:27 Why Soldiers Fought

33:50 Forming an American Identity

39:29 Pivotal Battles That Changed Minds

47:31 Washington: Tactician or Strategist?

57:37 Congress Limits the Army’s Power

1:02:08 Did Congress Cut the Army’s Funding?

1:03:25 Largest People’s Army in U.S. History

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"Yankee Doodle" in our videos:

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How much power did King George III actually wield over British imperial policy? This is no idle question—after all, the 27 grievances in the American Declaration of Independence are directed squarely at him.

When we think about the American Revolution, we tend to see it through a familiar lens—one that magnifies our perspective—the familiar story of our fight against British tyranny, our grievances against the King, our resentment of Parliament, the brutality of British forces in the American colonies, and much more.

But what if that picture is not just incomplete, but deeply one-sided? After all, weren’t the British the other party to the Revolutionary War?

The story of the British side of the American Revolution has either been missing from how we’re taught history—or deeply misunderstood.

In this interview, my guest, Dr. Richard Bell, shares the British side of the American Revolution with surprising details that force us to rethink how the Revolution unfolded.

📄 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Interview transcript & takeaways

🚩About My 208th Guest: Dr. Richard Bell

Dr. Richard Bell is a historian at the University of Maryland. His research focuses on American history between 1750 and 1877, and he has published extensively on the period, including his latest book, "The American Revolution and the Fate of the World," which is the subject of our conversation here.

You can learn more about Dr. Bell and his other books by visiting his:

-academic homepage

-Personal site

▶️Other Mentioned Interviews:

►My interview with Dr. Rafe Blaufarb

—the French perspective on the American Revolution

►My interview with Dr. Gonzalo Quintero

—the Spanish perspective on the American Revolution

(that interview will be linked here when it publishes)

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00 Select Highlights

01:29 Guest Introduction

03:24 Was King George III an all-powerful despot?

05:56 The King After the Boston Tea Party

10:31 British People Neither Feared Nor Respected their King

12:36 News of Yorktown surrender in Britain

14:25 Did the King abdicate?

18:00 The British Embrace their king

24:52 British view of American colonists

27:13 British convicts in America

47:40 Cornwallis's 2nd and 3rd acts

55:07 Just one point

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"Yankee Doodle" in our videos:

►⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Choral, U.S. Army Band (Public Domain) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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The American Revolution was only one theatre in a global war—and far from the main event.

Geopolitical rivalry and revenge drove France to rally other powers against Britain, transforming a colonial rebellion in the Americas into a globe-spanning military conflict—a true world war.

After its defeat in the Seven Years’ War, France pursued a long-term strategy to weaken Britain, culminating in intervention after the American victory at Saratoga. The conflict quickly expanded to include Spain and the Netherlands, with naval fighting across the Caribbean, Atlantic, and Indian Ocean. Despite its decisive role, France gained little from the 1783 peace—and later viewed American diplomacy as a betrayal.

📄 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠I⁠nterview Transcript

🚩About My Guest: Dr. Rafe Blaufarb

Dr. Rafe Blaufarb is a historian in Florida State University. He is an Eminent Scholar of Napoleonic Studies and the director of the Institute On Napoleon and the French Revolution.

He is the author of many books, including the following:

• "Napoleon: A Symbol for an Age";
• "Napoleonic Foot Soldiers and Civilians: A Brief History with Documents",
• "The Revolutionary Atlantic: Republican Visions, 1760-1830";
• "Bonapartists in the Borderlands: French Exiles and Refugees on the Gulf Coast, 1815-1835";
• "The Great Demarcation: The French Revolution and the Invention of Modern Property"; and
• "The French Army, 1750-1820: Careers, Talent, Merit".

►My other interview with Dr. Blaufarb is "The Real Napoleon — Propaganda Genius Or Brilliant General?"

▶️Other Interviews:

►Interview with Prof. Joel Richard Paul: Silas Deane, Benjamin Franklin & Arthur Lee in Paris (will be linked here when it publishes)

►Interview with Dr. Gonzalo Quintero: Spain & the American Revolution (will be linked here when it publishes)

►Interview with Dr. Peter Van Cleave: Netherlands & the American Revolution (will be linked here when it publishes)

►Interview with Dr. Richard Bell

Ireland & the American Revolution

►Interview with Dr. Ivan Kurilla:

Russia & the American Revolution

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00 Select Highlights

01:42 Guest Introduction

3:19 French Religion vs. French realpolitik

6:17 Catholicism Losing In France

7:57 Americans more religious than the French?

9:58 Revenge

12:11 The Only Caution

14:01 French Nationalism & American Cause

15:34 Americans in Paris

20:09 Why the French love Franklin

23:18 France rallies the world for America

25:14 Spanish, the Dutch, Russia & others

28:05 French Navy & the World War

31:46 Britain Alone in a Global War

32:10 Ireland

34:32 What does France get from helping Americans?

35:55 Does France get what it wants?

39:07 France gets nothing

43:14 Legacy of feeling betrayed

44:02 France & the War of 1812

45:50 Just One Point

*****

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All images are in the Public Domain

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"Yankee Doodle" in our videos:

►⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Choral, U.S. Army Band (Public Domain) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Dichotomy of Russians traditions toward the United States started from the beginning - in the American Revolution. While Russia did not fear 13 rebellious colonies that would eventually form a fledging nation, the Russian government feared the ideas of liberty and republicanism that came from America, including the popularity of Benjamin Franklin in Russia.

An interesting point about this dichotomy is that it happened at the time of Catherine the Great - who called herself Republican and liked to be known as being an enlightened ruler. But this very enlightened ruler imprisoned Russians who disseminated the American Declaration of Independence and wrote of liberty and human rights, including the morality bankrupt practice of serfdom in Russia.

In addition to all the above, my guest scholar explains two ways in which the Russian Empire indirectly helped the American cause, and why it too Russia so long to formalize relations with the United States.

📄 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠I⁠nterview Transcript

🚩About My 206th Guest: Dr. Ivan Kurilla

Dr. Ivan Kurilla is a historian of U.S.-Russian relations. In addition to many appointments at U.S. universities, he previously taught at Volgograd State University and the European University at St. Petersburg. However, in 2024 he left Russia after being dismissed for opposing the war in Ukraine and is now based in the United States as a visiting scholar in the Department of History at The Ohio State University. His scholarship also focuses on the history of U.S. and American foreign relations, the international dimensions of the American Civil War, issues of historical memory, the misuse of history, and the role of historians in contemporary Russia. Dr. Kurilla has published extensively on these subjects.

▶️Other Interviews: --Interview with Dr. Sophia Rosenfeld about the Age of Enlightenment

--Interview with Dr. Jonathan Singerton about the Habsburg Empire and the American Revolution: That interview will be linked here when it publishes.

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00 Select Highlights

01:58 Guest Introduction

03:56 Russia During the American Revolution

10:51 Russia’s Enlightened, Republican Autocrat

14:54 American News in the Russian Empire

18:40 Franklin’s Fame in Russia

20:38 Two Russian Traditions Toward America

26:28 Empress Catherine Refuses King George III

32:51 Russia’s Declaration of Armed Neutrality

38:10 Francis Dana’s Militia Diplomacy in Russia

41:58 Dichotomy of Russia’s Revolutionaries

49:31 Just One Point

59:00 John Paul Jones in Russia

*****

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All images are in the Public Domain

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"Yankee Doodle" in our videos:

►⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Choral, U.S. Army Band (Public Domain) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

We incorporate parts of this fabulous performance in the beginning and end of our videos.

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Steuben after Valley Forge is a story we rarely hear—but it’s when his most significant contribution to the Continental Army takes place. Did you know that Continental soldiers actually liked Steuben, even though he was a tough disciplinarian? Or that the Continental Congress never fully paid him what he was owed?

This is the story of a bored, desperate, disgraced—but capable—Prussian officer who uses all his talents, tricks, and connections to volunteer for the American cause. He spoke the language of the Enlightenment about a Republic in America, and the Continental Congress eagerly anticipated his arrival. John Hancock himself went out to meet him.

📄 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠I⁠nterview Transcript⁠

🚩About My Guest:

Dr. Paul Douglas Lockhart is a professor at Wright State University. He is a historian of war and society in the Western world from 1500-1945. His research focuses on Northern Europe, with a specialization on Denmark. In recognition of his contributions to the study of Danish history , he has been elected to membership in the Royal Society for Danish History, which is a rare accolade for a foreign scholar.

I have previously interviewed Dr. Lockhart about Denmark and its military history: "The Longest Continuous Monarchy - Denmark's History - How An Empire Can Decline in a "Flash".

Dr. Lockhart has also researched and written extensively on the military history of the American Revolution, including his book "The Drillmaster of Valley Forge: The Baron de Steuben and the Making of the American Army".

▶️Other Interviews:

--Interview with Dr. Rick Herrera, author of Feeding Washington's Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778. COMNIG SOON.

--Interview with Prof. Joel Richard Paul: Silas Deane, Benjamin Franklin & Arthur Lee in Paris. COMING SOON.

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00:00 Select Highlights

00:02:25 Guest Introduction

00:04:13 Why Valley Forge?

00:06:24 Options Other Than Valley Forge

00:08:49 Washington's Army Compared to European Armies

00:10:43 Ethnicities and Languages in Valley Forge

00:12:32 Main Issue at Valley Forge

00:15:30 British Paid in Gold

00:17:26 Why Valley Forge Lasted So Long

00:20:24 Washington's Strategy of Winning the War

00:23:34 Steuben – His Real Name

00:27:03 Steuben Courting Americans

00:34:06 Steuben's Charm Offensive

00:41:14 Steuben's Demands

00:43:54 What Steuben Wanted from Washington

00:48:16 Steuben's Most Important Contribution

00:52:17 Steuben's Swearing – "The Force of Goddamns"

00:57:51 Steuben's Impact on Valley Forge

01:06:37 Was Steuben Ever Paid by the Continental Congress?

01:08:51 An American Standing Army

01:12:43 American vs. Prussian Army

01:14:35 Just One Point about Steuben

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"An abject disaster"! Native Americans were not a side note in the American Revolution — they were central to it. In fact, much of the war was fought in Native lands. Yet, their story is rarely told.

Most Native nations tried to stay neutral at first, calling the conflict a “war between brothers.” But expanding colonial settlements and pressure from both sides forced difficult choices. Most ultimately sided with Britain — and the outcome of the Revolution was disastrous for them.

📄 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠I⁠nterview Transcript

🚩About My Guest:

Dr. David Silverman is a professor of in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences at George Washington University. His research and teaching focus on Native American, Colonial American, and American racial history. He has published extensively on these subjects, including many books and book chapters. His latest book, published in 2026, is "The Chosen and The Damned: Native Americans and the Making of Race in the United States".

Dr. Silverman is a repeat guest on this program. In our previous interview, he explained the real history of Thanksgiving.

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00 Select Highlights

01:57 Guest Introduction

03:30 Native Americans or Indians?

12:55 The Longest List

18:04 Indians' Major Grievance

23:19 Natives' Dilemma: Dividing Nations

26:51 Why Indians sided with the British

34:19 Extinguishing Council Fire

39:24 Cherokees' Crisis

44:05 George Washington's Indian Attack

47:37 Double Standard: Indians vs. Loyalists

51:21 An abject disaster: outcome of the War

59:16 5/6: Federal Government's Indian Budget

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Were American Loyalists simply “traitors” to the American cause — or were they defending what they believed was constitutional government? Did most American colonists support breaking from Britain, or was the American Revolution really a "minority project," as my guest argues in this interview?

📄 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Interview Transcript ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

🚩About My 205th Guest:

Dr. Rebecca Brannon is a professor of early American history at James Madison University. Her research focuses on 18th century American history and is concerned with broad questions about the American Revolution and its consequences, including the American Loyalists and what happened to them, which is the subject of this interview.

She is the author of the award-winning book "From Revolution to Reunion: The Reintegration of the South Carolina Loyalists".

Dr. Brannon's academic homepage and personal website.

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00 Select Highlights

02:04 Guest Introduction

04:35 Defining Loyalists

08:30 Loyalists — No Taxes

11:07 British Miscalculations

14:22 % of Loyalists in America

20:42 Predicting loyalties

27:39 Franklin & his son

31:19 Fluidity of Loyalty

38:01 A civil war?

43:28 Loyalists & modern students

47:20 Why Dr. Brannon studies this subject

50:52 A Loyalist living next door!

59:23 "Just One Point" about Loyalists

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"Yankee Doodle" in our videos:

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What we often miss about the American Revolution is that it was in reaction to Britain’s empire-wide push for modernization—from India to Ireland, the Caribbean, and the colonies. The French and Indian War elevated Britain to unrivaled world power, but it also compelled Britain to overhaul its political, economic, and administrative systems—all of which met stiff resistance across its imperial possessions. Yet it was resistance from the 13 colonies in North America—which were not even its most valuable holdings—that sparked a global conflict and tested, humbled, and reshaped Britain’s power.

📄 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Interview Transcript ⁠⁠⁠⁠

🚩About My 204th Guest:

Dr. Steven Pincus is a professor of British history at the University of Chicago. He is a historian of Britain and its Empire, comparative revolutions and comparative empires, political economy, European ideas and Europe's cultural history of 17th & 18th centuries.

Dr. Pincus has published extensively on these subjects, including the following books:

• "The Heart of the Declaration: The Founders’ Case for Activist Government",
• "The Politics of the Public Sphere in Early Modern England: Public Persons and Popular Spirits",
• "1688:The First Modern Revolution",
• "England’s Glorious Revolution 1688–1689: A Brief History with Documents", and
• "A Nation Transformed: England after the Restoration"

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🖼️ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visual Index of the American Revolution⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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📑 Video Chapters:

00:00 Select Highlights

01:46 Guest Introduction

03:51 What is a Revolution?

09:29 Commonality of Revolutions

14:27 A Revolution or War of Independence?

21:35 Britain’s National Debt

33:47 British Patriotism

40:03 India & Hyder Ali

50:41 Revolution in Ireland

55:01 Confederal Empire

56:58 Elite Split in Revolutions

1:07:51 Just One Point

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All images are in the Public Domain

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"Yankee Doodle" in our videos:

►⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Choral, U.S. Army Band (Public Domain) ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

We incorporate parts of this fabulous performance in the beginning and end of our videos.

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