At the end of the Revolutionary war, people began to deal with the ideals of freedom and equality while maintaining slavery. Northern states mostly put slavery on a slow path to eventual abolition. Sothern States do not. In Massachusetts, several slaves sue under the argument that the Constitutions claims that all men are born free and equal means that they are born free and equal. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this w...
Nov 10, 2024•35 min•Ep. 333
The American Revolution Podcast round table met on Zoom to discuss Lord Dunmore's War on the eve of the 250th Anniversary of the Battle of Point Pleasant. Author Glenn Williams provided us with a great summary of those events. For more on this topic, get a copy of Dunmore's War: The Last Conflict of America's Colonial Era, by Glenn Williams (available in paper, Kindle, or audio versions). You can also listen to my summary of the war in Episode 44: https://blog.amrevpodcast.com/2018/05/episode-04...
Nov 03, 2024•57 min•Ep. 27
In 1783, General Henry Knox proposes the establishment of a private organization for Continental officers called The Society of the Cincinnati. National leaders see the new group as a threat trying to undermine freedom and self-government. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: The Society of the Cincinnati: Conspiracy and Distrust in Early America, by Markus Hünemörder . O...
Oct 27, 2024•34 min•Ep. 332
In November, 1783, Washington takes leave of his officers and the army after the British Depart New York. Washington makes his way to Annapolis to resign. Congress misses the arrival of the Dutch Ambassador and scrambles to get the final peace treaty ratified while accepting Washington's resignation. Finally a civilian, Washington arrives home at Mount Vernon on Christmas Eve, 1783. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this ...
Oct 20, 2024•32 min•Ep. 331
Although parties had established a preliminary peace treaty in 1782, the process of moving the British army and loyalist civilians out of New York took well over a year. General Guy Carleton remained concerned about leaving behind any loyalists who might suffer the wrath of their neighbors for loyalty to the crown. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: Guy Carleton: A Biog...
Oct 13, 2024•34 min•Ep. 330
The Powder Alarm resulted from a British raid in September, 1774 to capture powder from a local storage site. It made clear that the patriots needed better intelligence and a better rapid response system to challenge the British soldiers. Round table events are recorded live. Participants have an opportunity to comment and ask questions. If you would like to join a future event live, please join my mailing list to receive notice: Join the podcast mail list: https://mailchi.mp/d3445a9cd244/americ...
Oct 06, 2024•53 min•Ep. 26
Although major operations of the war ended in 1781, it took several more years before negotiators could work out a peace treaty. The American Peace Commissioners bickered with one another, and had to navigate French diplomacy and British politics to reach a final deal. On September 3, 1783, all parties signed Peace treaties in Paris, formally agreeing to the terms that would end the war. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to ...
Sep 29, 2024•36 min•Ep. 329
In June of 1783, British forces (not yet aware of the preliminary peace treaty that had been concluded in late 1782) attacked the Indian town of Cuddalore. The British besiege the city while a French fleet challenges a larger British fleet from control of the waters off the city. The British Commander, General James Stuart, finds himself fighting not only the French and Mysore, but also finds himself at odds with the British Governor who controlled the region for the East India Company. Blog htt...
Sep 22, 2024•34 min•Ep. 328
In the summer of 1783, disgruntled Continental soldiers march on Philadelphia, forcing Congress to flee to Princeton. Washington sends the majority of the Army home, keeping only a few hundred men. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: American Crisis: George Washington and the Dangerous Two Years after Yorktown, 1781-1783, by William H. Fowler, Jr. Online Recommendation o...
Sep 15, 2024•35 min•Ep. 327
British agent James Logan Colbert raises a force of western loyalists and Chickasaw Indians to attack a Spanish outpost on the Arkansas River. The Spanish garrison manages to chase off the attackers, but not before the sack the village and take prisoners. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: James Colbert and His Chickasaw Legacy, by Stephen L. Kling Jr. Online Recommenda...
Sep 08, 2024•35 min•Ep. 326
The Continental Congress struggles in late 1782 and early 1783 to find a way to pay the army and its creditors for the cost of the war. It's inability to levy taxes, or convince the states to pay, results in a financial crisis. Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris, announces his retirement. Word of the Treaty of Paris forces Congress to act. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of ...
Sep 01, 2024•36 min•Ep. 325
In early 1783, all Americans await the arrival of an expected peace treaty. The Continental Officers, afraid that they will be sent home without any pay and their promised pensions, organize to challenge Congress. General Washington manages to talk down his officers and save the country from a military coup. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: Swords in Their Hands: Geor...
Aug 18, 2024•35 min•Ep. 324
After a few final skirmishes, the British army evacuates Charleston, SC in December 1782. They take with them thousands of loyalist militia, civilians, and slaves. The Continental Army immediately takes control of the city. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston, 1776-1782, by Mark Maloy. Online Recommendation of the Week: “...
Aug 11, 2024•34 min•Ep. 323
In 1782 and 1783, as it becomes increasingly apparent that the British have agreed to leave the United States, loyalist officers like John Bacon of New Jersey and the Doan Brothers of Pennsylvania continue to fight. Bacon massacres sailors on Long Beach Island. The Doans rob county treasuries and steal horses. The patriots governments treat t hem as outlaws and hunt them down. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's...
Aug 04, 2024•33 min•Ep. 322
In the summer and fall of 1782, two expeditions of Butler's Rangers, supported by large numbers of Indian warriors attack American outposts in Kentucky and West Virginia. Daniel Boone in Kentucky and Ebenezer Zane in West Virginia fight desperately to fend off these attacks. George Rogers Clark leads a counter offensive into the Ohio territory. He expects support from the Continentals at for Pitt, but that support never arrives. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, ...
Jul 28, 2024•32 min•Ep. 321
American and British negotiators work out a final treaty. It gives the Americans most of what they want. France is frustrated that the Americans have worked out a deal before France could also agree to one. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: Britain and France at the Birth of America: The European Powers and the Peace Negotiations of 1782-83, by Andrew Stockley. Online ...
Jul 21, 2024•33 min•Ep. 320
John Jay takes a central role in negotiating peace with Britain after he loses trust that France will negotiate with America's interests in mind. France works with its ally Spain to retake Gibraltar, which Spain set as a condition for ending the war. At the same time, France tries to negotiate peace with Britain on its own terms. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: Ameri...
Jul 14, 2024•34 min•Ep. 319
During the Summer of 1782, Both the British and American Delegations fight amongst themselves trying to decide what peace should look like. Arthur Lee tries to recall the American Peace Delegation. Charles James Fox undercuts the British government's efforts to negotiate. John Jay throws Franklin's plans into disarray. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: The Peacemakers:...
Jul 07, 2024•31 min•Ep. 318
After the fall of Lord North's Government in Britain in early 1782, the new government under Lord Rockingham reaches out to Benjamin Franklin in Paris to discuss terms for a final peace. This began a protracted negotiation on the final terms of a treaty. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: A Diplomatic History of American Revolution, by Jonathan Dull. Online Recommendati...
Jun 30, 2024•33 min•Ep. 317
Through the spring and summer of 1782, British forces in Charleston under Alexander Leslie and Continental forces under Nathanael Greene skirmish with one another. Both sides recognize the end is near, but continue to fight over resources as they await a final end to the war. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: The Last Man To Die in the American Revolution: The Triumph ...
Jun 23, 2024•36 min•Ep. 316
Author Alan Pell Crawford discusses his new book - This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South. We talk about why the war in the south seems to be less known, and why it was more of a civil war than we see in the north. This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South, by Alan Pell Crawford. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 16, 2024•51 min•Ep. 25
Continental General Anthony Wayne struggles to keep an army in the field to challenge the British in Savannah. Finally, in July 1782, Britain abandons Savannah, returning complete control of Georgia to the patriots. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: The American Revolution in Georgia, 1763–1789, by Kenneth Coleman. Online Recommendation of the Week: Evacuation of Savan...
Jun 09, 2024•33 min•Ep. 315
After years of effort, Congress adopts the Great Seal in the summer of 1782. It also debates what to do about Vermont. French Minister Luzerne throws a huge party in Philadelphia to help with Franco-American relations in light of continuing money problems. George Washington adopts new badges for the army, including the Purple Heart. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: Th...
Jun 02, 2024•33 min•Ep. 314
In the spring of 1782, Colonel William Crawford leads an army of Pennsylvania Militia into Ohio Territory to destroy Indian villages. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: The Battle of Upper Sandusky, 1782, by Eric Sterner. Online Recommendation of the Week: Narratives of a late expedition against the Indians: with an account of the barbarous execution of Col. Crawford, h...
May 26, 2024•34 min•Ep. 313
Desperate actions by militia in 1782 regarding the murder of prisoners forces Washington to make a controversial decision. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: The Charles Asgill Affair: Setting the Record Straight, by Anne Ammundsen. Online Recommendation of the Week: History of Chatham, New Jersey: https://archive.org/details/historyofchatham00vand Join American Revolut...
May 19, 2024•34 min•Ep. 312
The French recapture St. Eustatius in late 1781, just as the French fleet under Admiral De Grasse returns from Yorktown. With the arrival of the fleet, the French also capture St. Kitts. Admiral Rodney and Admiral Hood join together to defeat the French fleet at the battle of the Saintes. Just as that battle is coming to an end, the Spanish, using American privateers capture the Bahamas. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to ...
May 11, 2024•34 min•Ep. 311
In March 1782, American militia destroy a Moravian Christian community of white settlers and Indians living in Ohio. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: David Zeisberger: A Life Among the Indians, by Earl Olmstead (borrow on Archive.org). Online Recommendation of the Week: Zeisberger, David Diary of David Zeisberger, a Moravian missionary among the Indians of Ohio, Vol. ...
May 05, 2024•34 min•Ep. 310
After news of Yorktown reaches London, Lord North's government falls. As new opposition government lead by Lord Rockingham forms despite the King's opposition. The new government focuses on recognizing American Independence and ending the war. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: Lord North, by W. Barring Pemberton (borrow on Archive.org). Online Recommendation of the Wee...
Apr 28, 2024•33 min•Ep. 309
British General Henry Clinton finds himself under increasing pressure from his own officers to resign command. General Washington approves an attempt to kidnap King George III's son in New York. Continental General Alexander McDougall faces a court martial. Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's episode. Book Recommendation of the Week: American Revolutionary: A Biography of General Alexander McDougall, by William ...
Apr 21, 2024•33 min•Ep. 308
The victory at Yorktown leaves the Continental Congress deeper in debt and weaker than ever. States, no longer fearing an imminent British threat, provide little support. Congress appoints secretaries who create a rudimentary executive branch with almost no power. British loyalist attempt to steal embarrassing and confidential records from the State House (Independence Hall). Blog https://blog.AmRevPodcast.com includes a complete transcript, as well as pictures, and links related to this week's ...
Apr 14, 2024•34 min•Ep. 307
