Episode 128: Alan Taylor, American Revolutions: A Continental History

by Liz CovartApril 4, 2017

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Historians often portray the American Revolution as an orderly, if violent, event that moved from British colonists’ high-minded ideas about freedom to American independence from Great Britain and the ratification of the Constitution of 1787.

But was the American Revolution an orderly event that took place only between Great Britain and her North American colonists? Was it really about high-minded ideas?

Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Alan Taylor joins us to explore the American Revolution as a Continental event with details from his book, American Revolutions: A Continental History. 1750-1804.

About the Show

Ben Franklin’s World is a podcast about early American history.

It is a show for people who love history and for those who want to know more about the historical people and events that have impacted and shaped our present-day world.

Each episode features a conversation with a historian who helps us shed light on important people and events in early American history.

Episode Summary

Alan Taylor, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of American History at the University of Virginia and a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize in history, joins us to explore the American Revolution as a Continental event with details from his book, American Revolutions: A Continental History. 1750-1804.

During our exploration, Alan reveals why we should view the American Revolution as a continental event; how and why he thinks British victory in the French and Indian War started the imperial crisis that led to the Revolution; And details about the participation and involvement of white, African American, and Native American men and women in the American Revolution.

What You’ll Discover

Why we should view the American Revolution as a continental event
Why Alan begins the American Revolution in 1750 and ends it in 1804
How British victory in the French and Indian War started the imperial crisis
Native Americans and French Canadians’ involvement with the imperial crisis
How Somerset v. Stuart informed the imperial crisis
How Anglo-American Protestantism informed Patriot ideology
The disaffected
How the American Revolution divided Americans
Women and their role in the American Revolution
Native American allegiances during the American Revolution
Why Americans sought foreign alliances during the Revolution
How revolts in South America affected the American Revolution
How the American Revolution impacted the entire North American continent
Loyalist property confiscation and compensation
The political and social debates of the American Revolution

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Time Warp Question

In your opinion, what might have happened if Canada had joined the thirteen colonies and had rebelled against Great Britain? How would the American Revolution have been different? 